"It just seems I am constantly plagued by little irritants that absorb my time and eat up my day!"

I can't tell you the number of times I've heard that complaint when I've had opportunity to help people achieve greater effectiveness in the workplace. The fact is, they are usually telling the truth. They really are being hindered by any number of easily fixed, often tiny problems that have been there from day one. The problem is that we tend to adjust to the situation instead of adjusting the situation, and the irritant remains.

I have found consistently that when my clients move into a new office, they immediately start working and don't give themselves adequate time to "set up their nest" (get organized). Perhaps the most humorous example of this was with a Colorado client who hired me to come out to train 12 of his people in my daylong seminar with hands-on coaching. As I rotated through and worked with each attendee, I entered one office, and to my amazement, it was beautiful! Nothing out of place, all very organized, even gorgeous to boot! I asked the owner of the office why she even took the course. She replied that there was something about the office that had been bugging her for years, but she couldn't put her finger on it. I told her that I could not help her, that the office was close to perfect, but she insisted that I spend some time there analyzing her situation.

As I watched her begin her work, the phone rang. As she reached for it, I noticed that the cord was about 25 feet long. While speaking, she began to wrap it around her desk, her neck, and her computer. It was a nightmare to watch. After she hung up, I asked her if she always answered the phone like that and she said, "Yes, and it drives me crazy!" The phone was on her right and she was right handed, so the long cord lay across her writing area and was in the way all over her desk.

Realizing this, I suggested that she put the phone on her left. It took us three minutes to move the phone. When it rang again, she picked it up with much ease, talked for a moment, hung up, got up, gave me a hug. And I got big bucks for that!

Do you know how long she had lived with that little irritant? For seven years. She had put up with a small irritant (probably "inherited" from her predecessor) instead of removing the irritant that had hindered her achievement. Once identified and fixed, she experienced the same relief we feel when a speck of dust is removed from our eye.