Struggling at work - looking for tips.

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That's a good one! After a a few different jobs my cart can start to have layers and layers of tools. I often end up sifting through hammers and ratchets and prybars and whatever else I haphazardly throw in there. I do actually waste a lot of time looking for the one socket that's underneath everything or that one bolt I need. I guess that could definitely lead to distraction for me.

Sometimes it takes 15-20 min. to put everything away at the end of the day.

Keep them coming!

Your neat and organized tool cart always being in order is a biggy. Put each tool back in place when you are finished with it. If you have a tool is out of place that tells you you still haven't finished what you were doing.
 
very good advise about takin vacation and spendin time with the ladie and the kid's...tomorrow is promised to nobody...enjoy it while you can
When someones life is in your hands you really need to focus. I know first hand! PRODUCTION is all the advisors and management care about, NOT you! I worked for a local Ford dealer for 9 years and dealt with many things. Most were garbage! I of course was a Body Tech but danger looms there too. Liabilty is yours as well as the companies when it comes to vehicle repairs. The dealer that I worked for made us carry Nextel phones. OMG what a joke! Expected to be on your hip throughout the day. Biggest distraction ever imo.

Best thing has been stated below. Triple check everything. Hang a wrench/ratchet or take it off/let it hang.. You more than likely are just Plain ol' Burnt out! If you got vacation time, Take it! Go get you some Ginseng for your focus and take it daily(It works!). Use this time to forget work and cars. Got a Lady, take her to the beach or something. You gotta clear the **** outta your head. When you go back to work you will feel the difference!
Just my 2 pennies!
Good luck
 
I can tell you this I'm not a tech, but I was a Manager at a Nissan dealership for a long time and my best friend happened to be the head Tech. Well one day he did a tire rotation and didn't torque the right wheel down all the way! (Ouch) My friend has been a tech for 26 years, He made a bad mistake,the wheel came off on a six lane highway luckily know one was hurt! or killed. Obviously,his mind wasn't their that day or he got rushed. Just come up with good work patterns. Always remember speed comes with consistency. I would also not worry about what others think. If you feel like you have
a Black Cloud over your head then you will!
 
I need to add my 2 centavos.
I have been a service manager and shop forman for a couple places (Goodyear, Aamco Trans, Taylor Rentals and Midas) over my years and need to tell you.
That if I had a coworker like you I would LOVE it.
Very attentive and typically perfectionist people with a mission for what they want ASAP.
ADHD people can pay good attention to doing things they love to do, and you seem to have that love for what you do (or do you do it for a job an not really like it?) cause it really matters in your situation.
Also, self doubt is the killer of minds.
Everyone makes mistakes and you will continue to due so on occasion, but don't let it tell you that you are not good enough to be out there and do it.

Dude, my wife tells me that she might not think I'm capable of some stuff here and there and guess what?
Sometimes she's right, and most times she ain't

There are a lot of good responses to this thread and some great info, so you should take the info that works for you and implement it.

BUT by all means keep in mind that you can do it and you know it, because otherwise you will already be defeted without even trying.

Slow down a little and go through each event of what the job is in your mind and "Get er Done"
 
After many many years of being a mechanic for large and small shops and on my own. I can say the one mistake made by us is chasing the flat rate time the manuals say it should take. Speed tends to result in more oversight. Now that I'm older and turning wrenches again after retiring from the fire dept. I work at a pace that I feel good about and the hell with the flat rate time! I also have always marked a tightened bolt with a white paint pin, this works for me. I think slowing down a bit might help you.
 
Was wondering if someone was going to bring that up............

My son is just as you describe yourself. We tried everything from meds to therapy and everything in between.....and I am NOT a believer in doping up a child, either. The best we got was something that worked kinda halfway for a short period until his system got used to it. I swear I could see on his face sometimes a look like wires were crossing in his mind.
 
everything written here is good advice....no doubt!. But I was just thinkin, if you are "distracted" by something in your life then your mind is NOT 100% on your work...and that distraction can include the fear of failure on your job! the remarks of others are no help and if there is more than a simple distraction going on then you need to evaluate the impact it is having on your work life. like was suggested take a week off...but instead of going on some elaborate vacation... take some YOU TIME and think about all the things that you think about every day and try to assign a priority to each one.....I am betting somewhere in there is an unresolved issue or a focus point of contention or something that is capable of distracting you from the otherwise competent job that you know you can do!

I know this has happened to me and when I had time to reflect on ME and the things I thought about and did during a day....an issue made itself apparent and it was a legit concern that had blossomed into a definite WORRY!! Turns out I had no idea I was even worried about it until I was talking to a friend and telling him of the dilemma....he said do you realize that you have said this worry thing at least 5 times during our talk??!? I had not and it sure helped with the concentration once I identified what was using up most of my brain to worry about vs using that part of my brain for my work!!

something to think about
 
def some great advice here, i to am a service tech and the tought of someone getting hurt because of my negligence scares me and probly drives me the most to make sure that everything is in check.for me having a clear head and a clean work enviroment are key,also having the people at the front counter on the same plane as you are also key.its sort of comforting on some level to know that i am not the only one with these concerns. anyways,hang in there rmchgr,mama said there would be days like these.

a clear head is a great way to start the day,and leave all your troubles behind you.
 
Quote:
How do you guys double check your work before sending it on it's way? Do you use a checklist of some sort? Clearly, a 3 mile road test will not always reveal a mistake.

By doing exactly that.
Double check your work.

Most guys I have worked with as techs were pretty set in their bad habits and it's hard to change.

Some guys need the fear of God put into them when it comes to leaving bolts loose.

At both dealerships I worked at you would get fired no questions asked if you did not torque wheel bolts before and after a test drive if the wheels were off.

One simple thing you do when doing brake jobs and I do this every time.

1. Remind yourself that you are responsible for the safe repair of this vehicle and that it's your ***, not the dealer you work for if something goes wrong.

2. When the job is finished, put your wrench back on the bolts to make sure everything is tight.
Then pump the brakes and seat the pads.

3. Check for leaks and do another visual inspection to make sure everything is seated properly, brake pads in correctly not backwards-seen that happen.

4. Check your bolts again, and again if you must.

5. If you leave to help someone else or go to lunch, check the bolts again when you get back.

6. Torque the wheel bolts before/after test drive.

The second dealer I worked for made you put the car back up on the lift and recheck for leaks and recheck all bolts if you did a brake job.
This makes for excellent quality control and makes you a more conscientious technician as a result especially if there is a policy saying your *** is fired if you don't do this.

I am a mobile mechanic and answer to nobody but the customer.
I cannot afford to eff up someone's car and have no dealership or anyone else to back me up but myself so I am extra careful and responsible, but I have seen some techs who are careless because they have this notion that the shop they work for will bail them out if something happens.
In my opinion, a shop that bails out their eff ups is a disaster waiting to happen and encourages bad habits.

Shops with good training like to hire new techs because old techs are set in their ways.
If you can instill some good work habits in a young tech right off the bat, you've won half the battle.
 
Just wanted to reply to a few things here. I understand that this might come off as "I am careless, how do I fix it?". Being careless is not the issue, I have no desire to re do things or put peoples lives in jeopardy.

Distraction for me (a person with ADHD) can be instantaneous. The type of distraction that others have mentioned can obviously be a problem for me or anyone. The kind of distraction I am referring to can be caused by someone walking by me or the sound of a door opening. There have been times when I am distracted like this and whatever I was doing (say, tightening a bolt) might as well could have never happened since my brain is already on to the next thing. Unfortunately, my brain is wired that way. I am trying to come up with methods to combat this tendency so I don't screw things up. It's easier said than done when you have to undo a lifetime of doing things a certain way.

But you know, I have come to realize that I may have been a little arrogant before and have never really instituted any rules for myself, like 'double check your work'. I have come to the conclusion that this attitude does not work. Hopefully this will help me to slow down and think before I let something fly. What can I say, better late than never.

I did actually use the paint pen method on a subsequent brake job and it worked OK. I also had a pretty big job to do where I had to take a lot of stuff apart. When I put it all back together, I paused at each 'threshold' to make sure all fasteners were tight and anything else was back in its proper place. I also tried to keep my cart as clutter free as possible. I did a good job and everything went back together smoothly. Yeah, it took forever but warranty paid 5 hours so it was not an easy task. I was proud of myself!

Thanks for all the advice, suggestions and encouragement, its been very helpful.

- Greg
 
Just wanted to reply to a few things here. I understand that this might come off as "I am careless, how do I fix it?". Being careless is not the issue, I have no desire to re do things or put peoples lives in jeopardy.

Distraction for me (a person with ADHD) can be instantaneous. The type of distraction that others have mentioned can obviously be a problem for me or anyone. The kind of distraction I am referring to can be caused by someone walking by me or the sound of a door opening. There have been times when I am distracted like this and whatever I was doing (say, tightening a bolt) might as well could have never happened since my brain is already on to the next thing. Unfortunately, my brain is wired that way. I am trying to come up with methods to combat this tendency so I don't screw things up. It's easier said than done when you have to undo a lifetime of doing things a certain way.

But you know, I have come to realize that I may have been a little arrogant before and have never really instituted any rules for myself, like 'double check your work'. I have come to the conclusion that this attitude does not work. Hopefully this will help me to slow down and think before I let something fly. What can I say, better late than never.

I did actually use the paint pen method on a subsequent brake job and it worked OK. I also had a pretty big job to do where I had to take a lot of stuff apart. When I put it all back together, I paused at each 'threshold' to make sure all fasteners were tight and anything else was back in its proper place. I also tried to keep my cart as clutter free as possible. I did a good job and everything went back together smoothly. Yeah, it took forever but warranty paid 5 hours so it was not an easy task. I was proud of myself!

Thanks for all the advice, suggestions and encouragement, its been very helpful.

- Greg

It takes time and you will get yourself trained if you work on it. I am also ADD but not Hyper. Your mind runs in high speed and in 20 directions at the same time. There are certain triggers that really do you in. My worst trigger is that da^& beeping noise at McDonalds for when the french fries are ready. I don't go to McDonalds because of it. There was different seven catagories of ADD identified when I was tested but they could have added to them since then. Do some research and see what type you are and see what methods that others use in daily life. I am not talking drugs, I am talking coping skills. I can have a dozen projects going on at once and have to make myself go back and finish them. Of course these are my projects and nothing for others. In some ways we are blessed because we can work on many things at once.
 
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