Kickouts and Kickoffs - The Week In Review

As the year winds toward a close I spend more time glancing over my 2011 goals.

Last year I'd written up a weekly journal of the week's highs and lows. This year I continued the idea of a weekly journal, if not necessarily highs and lows.

And, well, frankly I haven't done it.

Without further ado, here are some thoughts from the past week.

I was in a 3-day training program at the office, topic of "Lean Technical Training" - corporate-speak for eliminating waste of time (i.e. money) from the way we do business.

First of all, just gotta say what a blessing it is to work for a company that's able to focus very deliberately on doing things better, rather than just reacting to fires.

Secondly, I learned a new favorite term, "kickout." This is work that you receive, that doesn't belong to you. Think of a switchboard operator without a directory. The operator mistakenly assumes that if someone asks for Bob Jones, and she doesn't have Bob Jones' number, then she should try to answer the caller's question. But this is work that Bob should do. Provide the operator with Bob's number, and the best & fastest answer will be provided. Our department spends a lot of time doing kickout work.

Is there kickout in my personal life? In one sense, no. I'm pretty good about not letting other people's problems become my own. In another sense, yes. Mistakes of the past are still too sticky in my memory, way past the expiration date of useful lessons learned. Silly to churn it and kick up old grimy clouds of dust to darken the mood. Fortunately, at least in the last week, such silliness has not turned into counterproductive actions, and simply washed away as wasted thought energy.

Have you ever had a sudden burst of productivity? My training session let out early on Thursday by a few hours.

- "Might as well get a workout in."
- "Why not get that haircut I was going to put off until Friday night?"
- "I've been meaning to cash in that savings account with PNC Bank (see 4-part story for background, the Tale of the Noblest Knight)."
- "Now that I've got a $2,000.15 check, why not restock the health savings account?"
- "How about stopping in to order those new tires I've been needing for months?"
- "There's a load of laundry that could get started."
- "Think I'll give Mom a call and see how she's doing."

Within two hours I'd knocked a ton of errands off the books that I wasn't even thinking about when I woke up that morning. That momentum fired me on through the 2-hour basketball practice and 1-hour tutoring session afterward. Got home at 9:30 and was lights-out by 10.

Yep, basketball tryouts were this week. Three days, sixty players. Got it down to 26 and held three practices since. I am definitely feeling the benefits of two years' experience in the program, and I'm able to help out our newest coach some too. This year I'm determined to build up my "book of drills" that any good coach needs to build practice plans, etc. It'll surely help the Normal Community High School boys' basketball program to have an assistant coach who's equipped like a head coach. Fifty practices and twenty-five games ahead!

Mom had successful cataract surgery, Jack's prepping for a stand-up comedy act next Thursday, Dena's Kiwanis presidency is in full swing and she got prospects on a potential new graphic design client for her freelance business (www.denamcdonald.com).

I met a new potential student for math tutoring. And I got contacted about doing a jam session guitar/singing with a band.

Health's good, life's good!