How to increase conscientiousness? / Make fewer mistakes

[horsewoman]

As far as I can tell most folks here score high on conscientiousness. Unfortunately, this is not the case fo me. I’m prone to slipping up when it comes to details, I miss little mistakes that mostly are not bad, but embarrassing because of the frequency in which they happen.
In my office job, this has caused me considerable chagrin – things like mixing up invoice numbers or sending out documentation templates to our team with small mistakes I missed – which means of course that I have to resend it.

There was a thread where @jacob said it was unthinkable to him to be late in returning a library book – I need to mark it in my calendar if I manage to do so!

I suppose I’m doing OK at making general plans (at least that what people tell me and come to me for advice) - but the details oft he execution kill me.
And funnily enough, I unerringly spot mistakes or logical errors other people make, but not so much my own.

Now the thing is, I‘m mightly embarrassed by this and highly motivated to do better. My boss is extremely conscientious, and she spots lots oft the mistakes I make – which is good, because it gets caught before it leaves the office, but bad because I look like an idiot.
So there are checklists, reminders, extra control instances I try to implement, I try to work slower and accurately – but it does not seem to get better. The mistakes I eradicate with these tools get replaced by other stuff. It seems there is an unending amount of stuff one can mess up in an office environment!
Obviously, I can't solve the problem with the mindset that’s causing it – so what do I miss?

[Stahlmann]

It's interesting what kind of image after all have my messages based on my activity...

Nevertheless, I make the same mistakes of being Mr Logic. Maybe it's autism. If so, you can get help on this from your government. Free money. No job=no problems. World is saved.

[horsewoman]

@strahlmann, can you please rephrase your first sentence, I don't understand what you are trying to say.

As for autism, I'm definitely on the spectrum but so high functioning that no doctor on this earth would give me an attestation of disability - I would not want that anyway, as this would be a total fraud.
I like my job, but it simply frustrates me to no end that I can't get better in this. Usually as soon as I'm able to recognise a problem I'm able to develop strategies to work at it, and to see results. In this case my attempts fail and I can't see why.

[Stahlmann]

Hmm. In this case I can offer no help for this moment.

Maybe reach meta level where your conscientious^2 take care of conscientious^1? But this purely philosophical intellectualisation.

[Dream of Freedom]

Conscientiousness is a fundamental personality trait—one of the Big Five—that reflects the tendency to be responsible, organized, hard-working, goal-directed, and to adhere to norms and rules. Like the other core personality factors, it has multiple facets; conscientiousness comprises self-control, industriousness, responsibility, and reliability.

- psychologytoday.com

I don't think conscientious is the right word here. Maybe perceptive or detail-oriented?

Can you come up with an exercise or two to practice noticing details? Going over your work before you send it out should help. Try not to multitask. Are you over-caffeinated? Are there distractions you can eliminate? Noise cancelling headphones could help for instance.

[chenda]

I think I'm similar horsewoman. It's similar to my approach to reading non fiction books on topics which interest me. I rarely read them from start to finish, I just flick through them and read sections which interest me and it all comes together in a very ad hoc way.

The only solution I've found - this might sound weird - is to work in a very minimalist, ultra organised space. When I used to work in an office I would spend a lot of time doing things like sorting paperclips into different pots depending on their size, ensuring the files on my desk were arrange in ascending order of size, that sort of thing. I don't know if this was just another form of procrastination but it made me feel more in control and I believe it helped me to get stuff done more efficiently.

I've also learnt to accept procrastination as a necessary part of the work process. So if it's like 'I'm not in the mood to write this report because it's complex and not a copy and paste job' I'll just put it off until tomorrow, and write a nice new to do list.

[Alphaville]

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Obviously, I can't solve the problem with the mindset that’s causing it – so what do I miss?

ooof, that's a tough one...

some people take ritalin? but... that comes with side effects. so, maybe... a little coffee?

i would try breathing deeply and slowing down and improving focus.

i think that the anxiety you probably have built around this does not help. i.e., the more mistakes, the more mistakes.

this reminds me of viktor frankl's story of the man with sweaty hands who came to ask him for help... every time he worried about his sweaty hands his hands would sweat more. the solution... was a joke (best to read about it than me explaining.)

also consider interruptions and distractions from the environment and how to reduce them. maybe people come to talk to you, maybe someone has the radio on, maybe you're asked to do something else and can't focus. there is a case study in "switch" where nurses dispensing medication in a hospital (or something else i can't remember) started wearing an orange vest so the people would not interrupt them. maybe find your version of the orange vest?

last, you mention that you catch other peoples mistakes easily. so, what about you do your numbers or whatever, put them aside in a special tray, them give it a second pass where you review it like a stranger's work, before you send it out? e.g. i type my posts here fast and have to always edit afterwards... many times

[horsewoman]

@DoF - I still think it is the right word. I do have a reasonable self-control and can be very industrious if the mood strikes or if I'm higly motivated, but this is never consistent.
I also do not consider myself overly reliable, because I often miss deadlines, appointments and like I wrote above I can never be sure that my work is without mistakes - and I do check over it before I send it out. That is the sad thing! I check it over, even have lists with things to look out for - and still stuff gets by me. For example, I'm prone to switch numbers (it should be 78 and I write 87). I know this and look for it, but my brain does not register the mistake. I can process numbers best in groups of three, so I try to group them this way whenever it is possible.

Just this morning, I was writing an invoice and the number was 2021-0061 - I accidentally typed 2021-00601 and never noticed it, even though I check every print-out and the PDF after I attach it to the email. I only noticed when I started the next invoice that the number was faulty, so I had to send out a correction (continuous invoice numbers are the law in Germany, so this is important!). Embarrassing!

@ Alphaville - My office is very silent, I'm mostly alone apart from my daughter who does homeschooling in the next room. She seldom needs my help, though. Very few distractions, and I drink 1 cup of coffee a day, so that's probably not it. But you are very right in regards to anxiety, this has been steadily mounting, the longer I am in this particular job with my boss' eagle eyes and a very small group of customers.
I went out feeding my chickens today before starting with the invoices, so I was full of fresh air and "poultry induced happiness" = very relaxed... But as soon as I was in, I got nervous again, because I made a few stupid mistakes in the last billing cycles. Since the same 3 people get this invoices every month, I cringe in shame even with a small mess-up like this morning.

The only solution I've found - this might sound weird - is to work in a very minimalist, ultra organised space. When I used to work in an office I would spend a lot of time doing things like sorting paperclips into different pots depending on their size, ensuring the files on my desk were arrange in ascending order of size, that sort of thing. I don't know if this was just another form of procrastination but it made me feel more in control and I believe it helped me to get stuff done more efficiently.

This is something I've implemented after I made a super bad mistake - sending something with sensible information to the wrong person because I accidentally got a sheet of paper mixed into others. I have now an accordion-folder with compartments and I sort every transaction into a separate see-through plastic folder, putting it always away before I take out the next folder. Since then I never mixed up documents, at least.

[Loner]

Do you work fast? Perhaps slow the rhythm down, if you have time. Setting the work aside for a day, as Alphaville suggests, and then reviewing it the next, with fresh eyes, usually helps me. Nothing ground breaking here, but if your bosses catch your mistakes quickly, they're probably easy to spot, meaning that it's possible that you just did not review your work enough times before sending it in. Maybe you could make a rule in virtue of which you don't hand in an assignment before you have reviewed it entirely X times? The more you check everything, the more mistakes you'll fix beforehand.

[Campitor]

@horsewoman

All humans tend to be their own worst editors for the simple reason we already know what we want to write. We visualize the correct information on the page despite the fact it's incorrect. We are seeing in our mind what's not actually there.

One way to combat this is to come back later and re-read the information before sending it along. Incorrect spelling will stand out more clearly and you'll have a 2nd opportunity to calmly revue the information with fresh eyes - no more illusion of accuracy.

[Loner]

Hm, reading your new post, yes, I'd suggest going over everything in an obsessive, overly conscious manner. Sometimes, we (I, anyways) review our work in a robotic way. We're not all there. The examples you mention (78->87; 2021-0061->2021-00601) is an example of the kind of mistakes I'll do when that happens. When I really need to prevent those mistakes from happening, I usually review things multiple times, very consciously ("Ok, the first number is a 7, alright, I'm writing a 7 here, and the second number is an 8, so I'm writing ..."). It's time-consuming, but it usually works.

[horsewoman]

@Campitor & loner - I thought I had been doing that (checking more than 1 time, working slower) but I suppose one is really not a good judge of how effective this is, or rather when one slides back into old behaviours...

Maybe I really need to overhaul my whole process when it comes to writing invoices, as this is what bothers me most when I mess up.
I have been thinking about asking my boss if I might look for a software to create the invoices (instead of Excel), so that I can make fewer mistakes.
We do have a pretty tricky client/payment structure with third parties however, so far I found no software that is not too expensive and would work for us. But I have not yet looked deeper into that, so that might be an idea.

Since I only work three mornings a week it is not easily and consistently done to look at my work the next day - those invoices need to get in a timely manner out so that money comes in! But this is probably only an organization matter, since I'm objectively not overwhelmed with work. My boss is no mean task master, I can take as long as I need to do good work.

[Alphaville]

are you maybe a little bit dyslexic? my dyslexic friends always mix up numbers. a lot of them in the arts. it's normal.

i'm not dyslexic but i hate invoicing... bookkeeping in general drives me nuts, and i'll outsource it gladly.

maybe you could ask an accountant or it person to figure out a system for you? even within excel... some way to predetermine...

eg you could fill autofill invoice number lists in advance maybe....then use up the number like it's a ticket you punch (cut/paste).

[ertyu]

As someone else with bad attention to detail, I say don't force yourself to do what you're not wired to do. I focus better after no breakfast + a bulletproof coffee in the morning, so you could try that. i am vaguely add, and i self-medicate. But just like with autism, I suggest accepting how your brain works and seeking occupations that play to its strengths. I am someone who has a hard time with jobs where i need to people in particular ways, and i'm in the process of accepting this for my own life: i might have degrees, but also, my brain works how it works and will never be able to cope with jobs other people might breeze through.

[horsewoman]

@ alphaville - No, I'm pretty sure I'm not dyslexic. I have nearly perfect spelling (in German), indeed that is one are where I make very few mistakes.
There is also such a thing as "dyscalculia" but apart from switching numbers I have no problems with (regular) maths. I don't like it, but with a calculator I can figure out most stuff.

The trouble is - I am the accountant person... and the IT person in our company So me thinks I might be able to solve this actually with software. Typing out my problem here has already helped to get some perspective.

@ertryu - you make a very good point. I'm in the great position that my boss does mostly not care how I do things, as long as they got done. Until a few months ago I had a co-worker who took care of most of the invoice stuff, but the company split up into two, and now I need to do it because the co-worker stayed in the other fraction. I have taken it over in September last year and I notice that I get stressed out more each month (each billing cycle). So I probably need to admit to myself that I'm not good at this and get software to help me. I'd like to stay in that job because the field staff/team and the boss is great, and apart from the billing, I love the work. Plus, I can work from home, which I thoroughly enjoy.
I just thought how hard can it be to write invoices in Excel? We only have around 50 a month, so it should be manageable.
Apparently there are too many ways one can type in faulty stuff for someone like me.

[Alphaville]

I just thought how hard can it be to write invoices in Excel? We only have around 50 a month, so it should be manageable.

i'd rather stick a fork in my eye 50 times than write out 50 invoices a month in excel

you're doing fine

[Riggerjack]

If you are using excel, why aren't you using an invoice template set up for each of your customers? Invoice numbers, and repeating information prefilled in? Less to do, less to check, fewer possible mistakes. The only part of your invoice that should need to be filled in manually would be whatever is unique about that invoice.

I score a 7/100 on conscientiousness. I am also on the spectrum. I understand what it is to have extreme strengths, and extreme weaknesses. When my weaknesses are causing me anxiety, I remind myself that other people have these same weaknesses without my strengths, and they still get by. That what is causing me problems causes others problems, as well. That helps me keep my anxiety in check, because when I am focused on my faults, it's easy to get in the habit of comparing me without these faults, to the real me, warts and all. In this mode, the real me suffers by comparison to an idealized me. But when I compare my work, to other's work, I see that I make mistakes in X, and others make mistakes in Y. Or in X, Y, and Z. Gotta keep perspective.

When I try proof reading, my issue is that I already know what should be there, and that is what I see, not what is actually there.

To get around this, I delay sending anything off until the next day, and turn reviewing yesterday's work as my morning "get into work mode" start of the day. This reminds me of the previous day's work, and any details to be cleaned up. Plus I'm groggy enough to not have a clear idea of what should be there, so my mental auto-fill is less of an interference to proofreading.

We all make mistakes. Automating some opportunities to make mistakes away may help. Changing work routines may help. Keeping a healthy perspective also helps.

Good luck.

[horsewoman]

i'd rather stick a fork in my eye 50 times than write out 50 invoices a month in excel

you're doing fine

Maybe I have masochist tendencies? Who knows?!

If you are using excel, why aren't you using an invoice template set up for each of your customers? Invoice numbers, and repeating information prefilled in? Less to do, less to check, fewer possible mistakes. The only part of your invoice that should need to be filled in manually would be whatever is unique about that invoice.

I do that of course, all repeating info is pulled out of a "data base spreadsheet" that I need for other purposes as well. But either my Excel skills are not good enough to automate some stuff or we have by now really outgrown the spreadsheet method. My former co-worker was totally happy and great with it, but it seems not to work for me.

I score a 7/100 on conscientiousness. I am also on the spectrum. I understand what it is to have extreme strengths, and extreme weaknesses. When my weaknesses are causing me anxiety, I remind myself that other people have these same weaknesses without my strengths, and they still get by. That what is causing me problems causes others problems, as well. That helps me keep my anxiety in check, because when I am focused on my faults, it's easy to get in the habit of comparing me without these faults, to the real me, warts and all. In this mode, the real me suffers by comparison to an idealized me. But when I compare my work, to other's work, I see that I make mistakes in X, and others make mistakes in Y. Or in X, Y, and Z. Gotta keep perspective.
...
We all make mistakes. Automating some opportunities to make mistakes away may help. Changing work routines may help. Keeping a healthy perspective also helps.

Good luck.

Thanks, that is a fantastic point, and something that is easily forgotten. Only while typing all that out I realized how (needlessly!) stressed I'm with this whole invoice thing. There is absolutely no need to cling to the old method, when there are affordable software solutions out there to help me with the stuff I'm not good at. It only occurred to me last week that I could look into getting a software. Trees and forest!

Thanks for all the thoughtful answers, guys. I see a little clearer now!

[Campitor]

@horsewoman

The more focused the job (scanning documents for accuracy for example) the less time you can endure the process. Most people are capable of doing very focused work for roughly 4 hours before mental fatigue starts to deteriorate their accuracy and attention. Distractions also add to the mental load.

Cal Newport has a bunch of books regarding focused attention which is a bedrock of being conscientious. In regards to using Excel for invoices - how do you get the data to input? Is it a handwritten note or is there a database with the information loaded? Excel allows you to import data.

[horsewoman]

@campitor - our cooperation partners are government agencies. Unfortunately the German government is not known for being progressive in terms of digitalization. That means I get all pertinent information via snail mail (I kid you not!). So I have to enter all the data manually into the database, which is connected with the invoice templates.
I have by now a pretty good system when it comes to process the letters and get the data into the database correctly. A lot of the mistakes that happened at first are no longer happening because I tweaked that until it fit my thought process and built in several control instances. Due to some complications with unmatching datasets (or it seems lacking skills on my part, or on the co-workers part who set it up initially) I need to use different templates for the invoices, which in term makes it inevitable to enter the invoice number manually, in alignment with a outgoing invoice ledger (another sheet).

Ugh, while writing it out I realize how cumbersome this is. I need to get billing software ASAP.
Thanks for the book tip, I'll check that out.