When I Got Stuck Chasing Big Dreams
Felt totally lost trying to climb up at work. Saw this “Karen Moss Work Wisdom” thing floating around, figured eh, why not? Just wanted something simple to kick my butt into gear.
The “Just Pick One Thing” Tactic
Started Monday morning drowning in tasks. Remembered Karen saying “don’t boil the ocean”. So I grabbed a sticky note like she suggested. Wrote down ONE big work thing bugging me: the messy team report deadline. Slapped that note right on my laptop. Ignored everything else screaming for attention. Felt weird ignoring emails, but kept telling myself “one thing”.
Did it help?
- Morning was rough: Phone buzzing, Slack pings exploding. Almost caved twice.
- Lunchtime: Report outline was DONE. Not polished, but bones were there.
- Surprise Win: Finished the whole dang draft before clock-out. First time ever.
Fixing My “Poke Me” Habit
Karen kept ranting about “boundaries being invisible walls”. My big weakness? Letting folks interrupt me constantly, ping me all day long like I’m tech support. Her fix? Tell ’em WHEN I’m available. Simple. Dumb. Terrifying.
Plastered this in my Slack status: “Deep Work: 9-11am & 2-4pm. Ping after 4pm for fires only.” My hands shook hitting enter. Panic surged when Gary immediately messaged: “Urgent?” I replied like Karen’s script: “Critical?” He went “Meh.” Silence after that.
By Thursday? Actual magic:
- People started WAITING. Saved dumb questions for 4:05pm.
- Finished two backlog tasks during “deep work” blocks.
- Felt less like a doormat.
What Actually Stuck
Honestly? Her advice ain’t magic beans. Just common sense with teeth. But doing these two tiny things:
- That physical sticky note trick? Gold. Eyes see it, brain listens.
- The public “Do Not Disturb” sign? Terrifying but necessary.
Still chasing the big goals. Still messy. But now? I got two small weapons instead of just flailing around. Report’s done early this week. Didn’t strangle Gary. Small wins, people.
