"Why is it that the little jobs always causes the biggest headaches," I heard many people say before.  The more correct version (the way Dr Phil will most probably put it) would be: "Why do we only notice the headaches when the job is so small?"

Come on now, we have all had those jobs that aren´t that big in comparison to what we normally do, and all of a sudden we end up having a pain in the neck, cramps in the O-ring and stress rates, cigarette bills and caffeine poisoning that far exceeds any Recommended Daily Allowance for these high priced and emotionally taxing entities.

The reason is quite simple, really, so let´s use an physical example.  Grab a piece of white paper, tear or cut it to the following size:  1 metre by 1 metre.  Make a SMALL dot with a permanent marker on it (imagine doing the same on a piece of paper 100 metres by 100 metres)... then ask someone to see if they notice that there´s a little black dot on it.

Now do the same, but this time use a piece of paper 10 centimetres by 10 centimetres... I bet you don´t have difficulty seeing the BIG black dot.  And THAT´s why the small jobs more often than not create those big headaches and a heck of a lot of work, for minimal funds in return.  It´s so easy to notice the cracks in the deal, and those cracks seem s-o-o-o big in comparison to the rest of the deal.

So, why don´t we use this analogy to our advantage.  What if we break any deal up into smaller blocks, ya, a grid of things-to-do, and we fine comb them, looking for black dots.  Piece by piece... or peace by peace.  Yup, I know, it sucks, because we want to get everything done yesterday, but chill, sit back and think for a while.  Thinking, analyzing the job (especially the things that you do as a routine) and refining it should never be substituted with "just get it done" pal.

True, oh yes, very true, there are those jobs that comes and goes like a hurricane - however, let´s try and minimize the damage... picking up the pieces and building up what´s broken is sometimes more taxing on your emotions than on your body and mind, never mind how it chows your cash flow, time and human capital.  Catch 22: if you stress about getting it right, you most probably won't get it right... your brain needs energy to think, and energy to stress... both, in excess, can't happen at the same time.