It's All In The Details

I'm a detail person. Planning and analysis are two of my favorite activities. I am in my element when I can focus on organizing and planning down to the most minute detail.

I love getting lost in the details. Whether planning a trip or building something; I don't believe you can ever be too detail oriented!

One of the ways I feed my detail fetish is by creating checklists. I create Excel spreadsheets with packing lists for hunting trips, fishing trips, camping trips, business trips, etc. You name the trip and I have developed a checklist for it. I even have multi-level checklists that allow me to check off various stages of the preparations from buying a particular supply to loading it into a cooler or tote to loading it into my SUV.

There is no detail too small to be included on a checklist.

My obsession with details carries over to other projects, also. You've probably heard the old saying, "Measure twice, cut once." Well I take that quite literally when working on a project. I measure every cut, fold, bend, etc. several times before completing the work. I rarely end up with wasted materials due to incorrect measurements unless I am feeling rushed by pressure from other people. In fact, I ended up with extra materials while building our new tree stand platform. The plans I was using included a lumber cut list. I found that - with just a little time and effort - I could actually cut all of the pieces I needed from fewer boards than the plans called for. I managed to save an entire twelve foot two by six and ten foot two by four merely by paying attention to the details and measuring everything carefully before cutting anything.

I also tend to over-engineer everything I do. The playset I designed and built for the boys in the backyard nearly twenty years ago still stands strong and, I'm sure, could safely hold half the neighborhood should I invite them to a party in my yard. (I'm not going to, but it would hold them if I did.)

Now I realize that my tendency to plan and measure ad nauseum drives my family nuts. Diane usually does a pretty good job of pretending to be patient as I measure several boards and calculate the best way to get the materials needed with the least waste. She even feigns interest as I explain what I am doing and why I elected to do it a certain way.

The boys, on the other hand, do not feel the need to pretend to be interested or patient. They both seem to have a pretty good dose of their Granny in them. She is more interested in just getting something done than making sure it is done well, or even properly.

I'm never going to win one of those construction contests they show on DIY Network where the teams have eight hours to design and build a themed deck. I'm never going to win an award for elegant design. But I guarantee you that I will happily get lost in the minutiae of whatever I undertake.

After all, it's all in the details.