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Time Mgmt #11: Expertise

Updated: Jan 21, 2020

There is a story about a large manufacturing machine that broke at a factory. Every day that that machine was out of work, it meant hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial losses. No one knew how to repair the machine except a mechanic that had just retired. Sadly, he was no longer on staff. In a moment of desperation, the company president summoned the mechanic asking for help. The newly retired mechanic shows up and pinpoints the problem in less than 5 minutes and replaces a $1 bolt. The machine was immediately fixed and the factory went back to production. The company president asked the mechanic for the bill. The mechanic submitted an invoice for $10,001. Upon getting the bill, the top executive complains: "Why are you charging $10,001 for just one simple bolt? That's totally unfair!" The mechanic replied: "The bolt is only $1, but to know which bolt need to be replaced costs $10,000. You were losing hundreds of thousands per day until I showed up, however, I am just charging $10,000. Fair is fair." The company president knew that the mechanic's expertise needed to be paid. Expertise takes cares of what no one else can. How did this man become an expert? By repetition. He had worked in that factory for many years. Most people become anxious of doing the same thing not knowing that repetition is the key to developing any type of expertise. A friend of mine repairs Rolex watches for a living. It is amazing how he tears apart a $10,000 watch in less than an hour. He will put it back together, lubricate it and pressurize it in just about the same time also. How can he do that? Repetition. He started at a young age, and kept doing it over and over and after years of training he repairs Rolex, and Omega watches for high profile people in South Florida. It takes thousands of hours to become an expert, but it is all worth it!

Some people hate the monotony of repetition because they don't understand that by doing things over and over, our brains develop better ways of doing things. By repetition, our creativity is stimulated and our brain and hard coordination improves. By repeating the same thing over and over, we give ourselves the opportunity grow and improve.

Want to reduce time? Focus on repetition. Be patient with yourself. Don't allow yourself to stop. Don't become anxious but rather stay hopeful. Every time that you repeat the same task, you are increasing your chances of becoming an expert. Experts know how to do the job to perfection, they do it the first time and at a fraction of the time! Become an expert in your field one day at a time.

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