careless mistakes
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
India
April 22, 2008 4:45am CST
we all make them, more so in childhood. But in middle life, it is really becoming too much for me to handle, so much so, that it may very well cost me my job. This is no rant, so sob story but a genuine call for tips.
I have always been prone to making careless mistakes in my work. In school, my grades suffered (though its not an excuse for my mediocrity) and in later years too, I have found that it left a blemish on my otherwise foolproof efforts.
My job is mainly typing at office and I know that my efforts never lack sincerity and thoroughness. This is one of the reason I am loved by all (specially the Boss) and my table is never empty of matter to be typed. I love my job yet, no matter how hard I try, there is one single mistake…HAS TO BE. I just cant type it all correct. May a 2 in place of 3, maybe ‘of’ in place of ‘or’ whatever. I have never been able to type correctly 100% anytime. I even check it but somehow the mistake escapes me. Today was the height of it. I typed out a date May 6th and instead of Tuesday, I typed Thursday! I don’t know how!!! I mean if I am seeing Tuesday written, how did I type Thursday??? I am sure I checked it too! I am at a loss. It has gone and come back from the Clients side to us (nobody at our end checked it coz they had faith in me) and I have offered to compensate my company from my account for any loss suffered. But this is getting too much for me to handle! I cant beat myself, I cant strangle myself and I have tried everything to stay calm and focused. Its driving me nuts now, I feel like tearing my hair like crazy. Do any of you have any tips on how to improve myself?
3 people like this
10 responses
@dpk262006 (58676)
• Delhi, India
22 Apr 08
Sudipta! I suppose you type out on a computer. So I would advice you the following:
(i) You must use the 'check spelling' and 'check grammer' option, before taking a final print out.
(ii)If you type fast, you are likely to commit mistakes, so do I in my office, so it would be better if you control your speed a bit. I mean make it slower as you deemed it fit.
(iii) Please enlarge the 'font' while typing out the matter on the computer screen, larger than the normal font. E.g. if you are using 14 in Aarial, make it 16 or 17 and when taking out the final print, change the font to the appropriate mode.
(iv) Please read the matter slowly and calmly after typing it out. If you submitt the paper in 12 minutes after reading it, instead of submitting it in 10 minutes without going through it, I feel no body would mind extra 2 minutes. But this extra 2 minutes would save you from any kind of embarassament, in case a mistake occurs from your end.
(v) Else, compare the matter with your trusted colleagues, before finally submitting the print out.
I hope, we you take care of the above points, you would be in a better poistion.
But do not feel like strangle yourself.....LOL! Please do not feel depressed or let negative feeling overpower you.....this will effect your performance and efficiency.
My best wishes are with you, you would succeed in your mission.
Deepak
Have a great day!
P.S. - Pl. check your best response.
Deepak
Have a great day!
P.S. - Pl. check your best response.1 person likes this
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
23 Apr 08
Deepak, I just love all your advices. You have understood my problems perfectly. Yes, I do type very fast and is one of the major reasons why majority of the typing work in the office gets done by me. People prefer my speed so I am always in a hurry to ‘maintain’ my reputation. I usually type in Arial 11 but from now on its Arial 14 for me, no less. I am making a very very conscious effort to slow down and actually revise myself everything I type out before submitting. Problem is that my fingers run faster than my eyes or my mind. I have to learn to rein them in before they throw me over the abyss!
Chkd the BR and thnx for it.
@dpk262006 (58676)
• Delhi, India
23 Apr 08
It is good that you are aware of the points, which aggravates your problem, so I hope that you can get rid of your trouble (a bit of firm determination on your part would help you). You can restrict your speed, and re-read the text before final submission.
Deepak
@dpk262006 (58676)
• Delhi, India
23 Apr 08
Could you please check out this one:
http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1485293.aspx
dpk
@paid2write (5201)
•
22 Apr 08
Nobody can be perfect and no-one should expect you to be perfect all the time. Mistakes and errors do happen and some have more serious results than others. I can't see how changing Tuesday into Thursday by mistake can be too serious, the client should understand it is a simple error, as should your employers. You seem to be well respected by your boss and I think you should not feel too bad about this.
As we get older most of us hate getting things wrong. We are all human and can never be perfect. We can only try to do our best.
1 person likes this
@dpk262006 (58676)
• Delhi, India
22 Apr 08
I entirely agree with you........"no body is pefect all the time".
1 person likes this
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
23 Apr 08
You know how some clients are! They are forever to ready to make you revise something on any pretext. My Boss trusts me a lot on a host of other things too (apart from my typing skills) and this is what makes me feel all the more bad. I have always tried to be my own judge and in my own eyes, I have failed myself miserably. I really dislike any fingers being pointed towards me for any reasons (exception being if I genuinely feel that I am right) and though the finger-pointing hasn’t started this time, if I continue this way, it soon will. And you know how relations between employee and employers are and I am not getting any younger!
Anyway, I take it as a signal for more concentration on my part. Thnx for your words of comfort.
@frontier2002 (630)
• Malaysia
22 Apr 08
Hi there, it happened to me too. being careless in even small matters.. Like looking at the calendar, it states there Tuesday, and i thought its Thursday, so i got a mixed up Tuesday and Thursday on my calendar of event. haha.. i know i have problem concentrating. Focusing is a little bit of problem for me as my brain works too fast. and because of this, when i read, or type, i tend to skip a few words as its too common and when i type, i don't know how my fingers can get to the wrong keys.
In your case, the more we try not to make mistake, the more likely it is going to happen. We can never foresee mistake coming right at us. But we all learn from mistakes. So, don't get discouraged and don't assume that people at your workplace are talking behind your back and don't assume that they have no faith in you anymore after what had happened. You did the right thing by admitting your mistake. But to willingly compensate your company for loss suffered is quite not right. you're a single being in a ship and the company is like a mothership. Without crews, the mothership cannot move by itself. It need crew members in every section to navigate the ship. It applies the same to your situation. Other workers has faith in your work. And the result of your work, is their work too. You are in a team. You're not alone and don't think that you alone are responsible okay.. think about it.
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
23 Apr 08
Hi frontier,
Its amazing how people from completely different parts of the world can have similar problems and situations and can relate to each other. You have got me completely right when you say that ‘Focusing is a little bit of problem for me as my brain works too fast’. It’s the same with me. I am thinking of a thousand other pending jobs and situations when I am doing something and since its been almost like 15 yrs that typing is my main profession, my fingers seem to have developed a mind of their own! But this has been a serious warning for me, no less. Have ever tried controlling your brain? If so, have you succeeded and what have you done?
Regarding the compensation part, you are correct again. On hindsight, it was a knee-jerk reaction from my side and after things settled down a bit, two of my colleagues (with whom I shared my misery) actually told me the same thing that each work from the office is a collective effort and so a collective responsibility. They also told me that maybe why Boss wasn’t harsh on me coz even he understood that he should have checked it himself before the final signature. It was nice of them, but I thought that coming from old colleagues, they were just trying to soothe my troubled soul. But with the same coming from you, I think they were correct after all.
Thnx so much for your thoughtful response.
@MichaelJay (1100)
•
22 Apr 08
First of all, you have to forgive yourself.
We all make mistakes.
The man who never made a mistake never made anything.
Apologise to your employer and let them know how bad you feel.
As a boss I would be impressed by the sincerity of this.
Why does your mind go off track when you are working?
Maybe there is an outside anser to that which you need to address.
Good Luck and don't be so hard on yourself.
1 person likes this
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
23 Apr 08
Hi Michael,
I have apologized and even offered to compensate for any loss, which of course my Boss never accepted. He’s kind on me this time, he knows my sincerity but I know that there wont be any second chance. There just cant be in the corporate world.
I have tried concentrating many times but I just don’t know what happens. Its like the page goes blank. I mean its not a physical problem, but I don’t know! Thnx for your words of encouragement though….I am now being double cautious with everything I am doing at office.
@jesbellaine (4139)
• Philippines
22 Apr 08
Oh that is okay, nobody's perfect and like they have said, you need to learn to forgive yourself. Maybe after that, you will start feeling better about yourself then start a new day. Goodluck!
1 person likes this
@SViswan (12051)
• India
23 Apr 08
Your job sounds very similar to my first job...and I have to say I was pretty good at it too.
Since you know there's always a mistake, just take a minute or two to check it thoroughly. I'm sure this mistake happens due to typing fast and trying to keep your reputation intact (lol..I used to do it too...the more everyone trusted me..the harder I would try...and then it was easier to make more mistakes).
I can understand how it can be embarassing for the company when the client sends back something with a mistake.
I would tell you to use the spell check option (that would help only for the spelling mistakes...and some grammatical errors). It might not be of help when you type Thursday instead of Tuesday....BUT if you are typing the date along with it, it usually displays the right day as a hint and then you can't make a mistake.
After typing out your material, take a deep breath and cross check the document....not once but twice. I'm sure an extra minute or two is not going to ruin your reputation...infact, it might do wonders for your reputation when you go back with 100% results.
All the best!
@subha12 (18441)
• India
23 Apr 08
don't get so much down. mistakes are made by all human. i understand your situation. i laso b=never do work taht is 1005 flawless. i have seen that in many cases i do the mistake when it was not expected. may be i at last can detect that and change. But i think there are something in subconcious mind that we do mistakes.
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
23 Apr 08
thnx for your response Subha, yes I know we all make mistakes and I am always trying to rectify my own.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
23 Apr 08
First take a deep breath and relax. okay now do not beat yourself up. you are a human being and all of us do make errors. but first you need to get some faith in yourself. tell yourself I am somebody, I am unique, I like myself and really mean it. Now sit down and type some silly stuff and then type one sentence that you just know will be perfect. You do not believe in yourself and it shows in what you wrote. You show great intelligence and you said your boss loves you so now you must love yourself. So you make an error. That can be corrected. You do not deserve to be choked or beaten. You are somebody. Tell yourself I am somebody and do it with conviction. Now type a sentence and it will be perfect. I bet you it will be.
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
23 Apr 08
you are soooooooooooooooo nice. After a long long time I feel like a child again, being gently guided by a caring hand towards the best way out of a sticky situation.
I am a bit low on self-confidence, have always been and perfection in work is one of the ways of redeeming myself. So I feel really really bad when I let myself down. It seems the old monsters of low-esteem and inferiority-complex are just outside the door forever knocking and every mistake on my part just makes their work easier. However, I am keeping on repeating to myself what you have advised and since you say so, I am sure I will emerge a stronger person.
Thnx so much for being with me.
@vanillachen (2)
• China
22 Apr 08
Mybe you are much tense when you are working.Mybe you always think that you are careless.So I think the cause which is responsible for your careless is that you are lack of self-confident.So trust yourself.Trust you are the best.Trust you can do everything well.That's eccensial.
1 person likes this
