Constant silly mistakes

LegacyUser

I work in sales and estimating for a construction related firm. I'm quite mathsy and part of the job involves specialist software supplied by our manufacturers to spit out material prices pre and post discounts, markups, maybe with and sometimes without VAT etc. depending on what you require the info for. I have to mark it up, add varying rates of labour, add vat sometimes etc. It's a constant moving target.

I do know exactly what to do and how to do it. Doesn't stop me making mistakes constantly.

I've just been rumbled on yet another mistake involving hundreds of euro. Now I have to ring the client and ask for more money which is humiliating even though I know they'll probably be okay with it.

I know that I've always had below average concentration but I can't go on like this. My nerves are jangling. I'm afraid to do my job over fear of mistakes and it's not like I have a huge amount of other opportunities with things as they are.

Gone Drinking

I read somewhere that chewing chewing gum helps with concentration, i dunno.. worth a shot i suppose.

Other than that, i'd double check everything.

prinz

Get a good night sleep and concentrate I had the same issue when I started in the job I'm in now. Involved figures and money too. Bah humbuggery there's nothing to shake the confidence like ringing asking for money because you made a ballsup. It happens. Just make sure you review your workings, even ask someone else to have a quick look.

InReality

How long have you had the job ?

Where you making mistakes from the beginning of it , or has it started recently ?

Did anything unusual happen around the same time that you started making mistakes ?

Has anyone else mentioned it you ? The amount/level of mistakes your making might be totally acceptable in your line of work.

biko

Can someone else there go though the numbers too? Second pair of eyes and all that.
Or else triple check everything.

LizardKing

Create a checklist and ensure you follow this before sending the quotes. Note in particular anywhere you made a mistake before, just get into a habit or routine to do this everytime and try not to cut corners.

ManOfMystery

Make sure you take regular breaks. If possible, do the work, have a break, then come back and double-check it - nothing like a clear head to pick up on mistakes.

LegacyUser

Thanks for the help

Must try the chewing gum thing.

I do sleep properly. I don't let myself get dehydrated. I take my breaks etc. I can't think of a reason for the mistakes, lifestyle or otherwise. I do double check things but I have a terrible habit of overlooking mistakes repeatedly. It's not problems with arithmetic, more problems with forgetting to add for this or take for that. Today's miscalculation occurred 2 weeks ago when I took a discounted figure and discounted it again before marking it up.

At the moment we're just so busy and I wear so many other hats in work that I get pulled in too many directions simultaneously. It's not a very old company so there are still tons of systems to bed down once and for all. This means that there isn't too much support even though it's not an inhospitable place to work by any means. In time, the formal checks that exist elsewhere will be adopted. In the meantime, I just feel so frustrated by my feeble brain.

cafecolour

Double check, double check, double check. You will make mistakes like that all the time. The key is just to catch them yourself. Worked a similar job myself.

zxcvbnm1

DO you suffer from depression by any chance?

LAck of concentration is one of the many symptoms of depression.

shmaido

Stop taking coke on weekends?

Silverfish

shmaido wrote: »

Stop taking coke on weekends?

The OP never stated they did this.

mikemac

I do the same in work OP but I work in a different field.
In fact I've sent emails to senior management with spelling mistakes you wouldn't see in After Hours

Double check everything.
But if you are in a rush and panicky you'll miss something.
So call over your team leader and ask them to double-check it while you go on a short break

The key points are take small breaks and ask somebody else to check your work

sardineta

Consider a role better suited to your abilities.

zxcvbnm1

mikemac wrote: »

I
The key points are take small breaks and ask somebody else to check your work

I don't think this is good advice.

You cannot continually call people over to double check your work.

You are being paid to do your own job yourself.

Obviously getting assistance every so often is fine - but within reason.

It's also unfair on the other person if they are being continually taken away from their own work to assist yo with yours. Their work will then suffer as a result.

Also - if you are seen to contnually need assistance in doing your job then people will lose respect for you professionally.
You've gotta try to bluff it to an extent.

My advice is firstly try to find out why you keep losing concenytration.
Is it just mental lziness? Or is there some other reason.
ARe you drinkinb a lot during teh week?
DO you smoke a lot of dope?

Try to identify teh cause of teh problem and then try to solve it.

In the meantime you have to learn how to manage it.
Such as continually writing down important things.

You will need to develop your own strategy for best managing it as you along.

greendom

A technique that I find useful when double-checking is to imagine you are the person receiving your document or perhaps the person who discovered your mistakes.

It really helps me to spot things I would otherwise glide over

joejoem

shmaido wrote: »

Stop taking coke on weekends?

I hear ya dude, the op is quite obviously taking too much coke on weekends.


WAKE UP. DRUGS ARE NOT THE ANSWER.


Unless your depressed, then they might help you. Or just get you high.

CorkLady1983

was in same boat as you for a while, constantly making mistakes for no reason, really silly ones as well, - improving focus and concentration is the main one...Drink plenty of water really helps, and limit coffee intake to the absolute minimum. I used get withdrawal symptoms sometimes. If possible go to a quiet place and double check your work. Spelling and numbers were my main one. Made out a list of things to check off before signing off on work or handing over to someone else. Getting on a lot better now at work thank God....:D

JonathanAnon

could you not create something in Excel or Access to automate this, and then you could match your own calculations up against it.

dresden8

Unregistered wrote: »

At the moment we're just so busy and I wear so many other hats in work that I get pulled in too many directions simultaneously.

There's your problem right there. One of my old bosses had me doing six jobs at once and then wondered why they weren't done properly.

Unfortunately it only cleared up when he left.

If you can, when you're doing this kind of important work tell everyone to feck off, you're busy on important stuff. Do one thing at a time and do it properly.