I often find myself running from one problem to the next, doing just enough to solve it (or at least calm it down for a bit) before moving on to the next issue. On the surface, I get a lot done. The work is good enough that people rarely question it and more often than not, they praise it. But I know it's not my best work. I know that I'm doing the minimum to get to the next problem. And worst of all, I'm not giving myself any time to think about and learn from each problem. Sometimes this running around is needed, but most of the time it's not. As I wrote in "A Reality Check on Work Stress", I often find myself feeling overwhelmed when I don't need to be. I'm not sure if that's what causes me to run around so much or if it's a result of it.

So how do I fix this problem? I'm trying to slowly change my priorities, which is why I'm writing this blog. Old habits are hard to break, of course. My usual answer to most problems is to just try harder - if I put in enough effort, I can overcome anything. It works about half the time, which is pretty good, all things considered. That's what I'm doing this time, mostly because it's all I know but also because there are lots of other problems to take care of.