Details are Like Annoying Gnats

I don't like to deal with a lot of details. One of my sisters is reading an award winning book called Ghost Wars. Though the book is very interesting, I can't seem to get through it because of all the mind-numbing details; I want to skip ahead to the facts and find out where the author is going with the book. Yet when I jump ahead, I miss something.

I don't like to read fine print (even though I know it is important at times). I don't like lengthy, detailed instructions either.

When I have to deal with a lot of details (work, home, community responsibilities, etc.), I feel like my thoughts are under siege by swarms of annoying gnats that I just want to swat out of the way.

Sometimes, however, I miss the details all together - I simply don't see things that others are tuned in to see. For instance, I used to be a professional communication assessment researcher for a training and development laboratory in Portland. On one occasion, I was finalizing a report that included several tables of statistics. I thought my report really uncovered some interesting findings and could hardly wait for our program director to see the work I had completed.

When my boss finally came by my office to talk about my work, he started off my telling me how much he appreciated all my work and praised me for some of the insights I had developed. Then he said, "This is a great first draft. I am looking forward to seeing your final work when you fill in these missing columns of data here in the middle of the report."

Even though I had gone over the report more than once and had tried to be very careful, I missed some important details. I have learned since that time that when it is important to pay attention to every bit of information or every detail, I can use a couple of strategies that help me slow down and catch things that I might otherwise miss.

First, if it is written work that I am dealing with, I can read the material out loud. By doing this, I am forced to slow down. I can also ask other people who are particularly good with details to check my written or other work to make sure I didn't miss anything. I am fortunate to have lots of "detail people" in my life.

What kinds of strategies do you find most effective when having to pay attention to all the small stuff?