One way that SafeStart defines rushing is by going faster than you normally would go. And we all know how it feels to be in a state of rushing—whether you’re late for an appointment or need to meet a deadline. Whatever the reason, that overwhelming, rapid, manic, racing feeling is inescapable. And when you add that feeling to task planning, the outcome is often not favorable.
The most obviously dangerous examples of rushing occur in the workplace, from electrical safety to the production line. But rushing can be even more dangerous off the job. The holiday season seems to be a time when this haste is increased. It’s the time of year when there are additional things on your to-do list and there aren’t enough hours in the day to complete them. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to get their shopping done, reach the grocery store on time, and race home from work in order to prepare for after-work activities. But since rushing is such a common phenomenon, people often dismiss it and become complacent about the risks.
According to Persephone Doupi, senior researcher at the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), that can lead to potentially serious injury. She says, “The influence of hurry on the occurrence of accidents cannot be downplayed. Hurry weakens the ability to concentrate and increases risk-taking whether at home, at work or in traffic. Often, the hurry experienced at work does not stay at the workplace. Instead, the busy mind travels from the workplace to traffic and the home environment – or vice versa.”
People identify rushing as the most common state of causing their injuries. When you’re moving faster than you normally would go, it’s easy to miss seeing hazards. Rushing can also lower your senses, compromise your reflexes and make you more susceptible to being overcome by other states like frustration and complacency.
Eric Bright, product manager at Snap-on Industrial UK agrees: “Our experience has taught us that the main reasons people work unsafely is a result of rushing to meet deadlines, to finish the working day on time, fatigue from working extended periods without enough rest, frustration at a particularly complicated job or a lack of skill, or the complacent worker who thinks, ‘I’ve done this a hundred times before, I don’t need to follow safety guidelines’.”
When you’re in that frenzied rushing state, you may be quick to become frustrated over things that normally wouldn’t bother you like traffic or a red light. The good news is that rushing is a state that you can self-trigger on, which is a skill people develop in SafeStart training. In order to get ahead of rushing (and other subsequent states) this holiday season, here are several tips you can share with workers (or make use of yourself too):
1. Prepare a to-do list
The first thing you should do in an effort to get ahead of rushing—prepare a to-do list to make potentially overwhelming tasks more manageable. Lists are a great way to ensure you remember to do everything you need to do, and they keep you on task to make sure everything gets done. Your list should include the task that needs to be completed and should be arranged in an order to make following the list easier. For example, grocery store lists should be organized by section so you could grab all of the fruit and veggies you need before moving on to the deli section, then the bread counter, etc. so that you don’t need to go back and forth across the grocery store to get all of the items on your list. The same rule can be applied by the location of stores or objects to limit the amount of travel in order to cross things off your list.
Another tip for making lists is to break them down into small, more manageable tasks instead of tackling everything at once. Not only will this list help in keeping you focused but it’s also very satisfying to cross things off the list when you complete them.
2. Give yourself extra time
A little bit of planning is needed for this next tip. When you know you have errands to run or a list of things to do, a contingency plan for the inevitable delays that are often encountered will make a huge difference in making sure that the to-do list isn’t pushed off to another day. The best way to eliminate rushing is to make sure you’re not going to feel rushed. If it takes 20 minutes to drive somewhere, give yourself 30. There are always things that will eat away at the clock like forgetting your wallet or unexpected weather or traffic. Once you experience the luxury of extra time, you’ll wonder why you never planned better before!
3. Pay attention to peak times
Part of giving yourself extra time is planning around peak times. There are known times that certain areas will be extra busy (after-work traffic, malls are busier when school is out, etc.). This also applies to your own schedule—don’t run out on your lunch hour to complete important tasks because not only are you on limited time but lunch hour is the time when other people run out to do their errands, creating an influx of people thus shortening your time. There are certain times of the day that you will naturally be slower due to fatigue, so consider that while you may have more time later in the evening, your drive to go, go, go and get things done may be low.
The holidays see increased injuries not only in the workplace but at home and everywhere in between. Do everything you can this holiday to make sure that rushing doesn’t cost you more than any time you think it will save.