SINGAPORE: Tired of causing trouble at work, a woman took to social media to seek tips from Singaporeans on improving.
“What do I do as a naturally absent-minded and careless person? Is there hope? I want to be better than this,” the woman wrote on r/askSingapore on Saturday (April 13).
“I’ve been working in this job for almost a year. I do try as much as I can to do good work but I make a lot of face palming kinda mistakes. I do think I am quite a careless and absent minded person which is something I detest myself for.”
Despite implementing strategies like setting reminders and double-checking her work, she continued to miss critical details, leading to errors that went unnoticed until pointed out.
“Every time I get called out my heart sinks and I feel completely useless,” she said.
She also recounted an incident during a major event where she “was so caught up in everything” that she nearly leaked confidential information.
Fortunately, the current systems swiftly prevented the leak. Nonetheless, it served as a reminder for her to improve her performance and exercise greater caution to avoid similar errors in the future.
“I hate that it’s like this, and it feels almost inevitable. Every time I make a mistake, I tell myself that I should just learn from it and not do it again. It makes me feel better but then something else always comes up.”
“You’re only human so it’s ok to make mistakes”
The comments section on her post was flooded with supportive messages and advice from Singaporean Redditors. They empathized with her struggles and said that making mistakes is a natural part of learning and growing.
They encouraged her not to lose hope, assuring her that she would overcome her challenges and become more adept at handling tasks with perseverance.
One individual said, “You’re only human so it’s ok to make mistakes. That’s an important thing I learned from my boss. He also said if you’re tired stop work and resume the next day.”
Some also speculated about possible factors contributing to her difficulties.
They suggested that her current job or profession might not align with her natural inclinations or that issues like insufficient sleep or an imbalanced diet could influence her performance.
In addition to these supportive messages and insights, a few Redditors shared practical tips to help her improve her situation.
One suggested having conversations with colleagues or friends in the same field to rationalize the impact of her mistakes and decide on appropriate steps forward.
Another Redditor compiled a list of strategies, writing:
“1. I think you can try to think of yourself as the owner of the tasks. What’s the purpose of the tasks, and why is it important? If you are the owner of something, you are more likely to be careful and make sure you protect your work.
Reminding yourself to check is not enough because u need to know what to check. So back to the question: why is this task important? If I only have one shot, what must I get right?
2. For decisions or tasks that are time-consuming or consequential (such as sharing confidential info) always align your proposed steps with your manager before doing. Use this to ask any questions before you start doing work.
It saves you and your manager’s time by preventing things going the wrong way.
3. Be systematic in your thinking and doing, especially if you know you tend to be absent-minded. Step by step.
4. Always take down notes during meetings using the same notebook so you know where everything is recorded/saved.”
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