I was fired back in 2013. It was unexpected. It sucked at the time. But it was one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. Truly. Because the following year I learned a lot about people, how they operate, how the world truly works and what our special powers are.
When it comes to those of us who work in TV News (or any medium for that matter), we all have one particular power that we take for granted. Efficiency. In no other career can you complete a task in a shorter amount of time, effectively…and repeatedly.
Each day there are new assignments, new tasks and new challenges that all require information to be gathered, digested, and exported in a format a 2nd grader can understand. And that is required day in and day out. It’s a special talent. A mandatory talent.
It truly hit me when I was working on a project for someone and they asked when it would be completed.
“Do you think we can have this wrapped up in a week or two?” they questioned cautiously.
“I can have this done for you by tomorrow,” I responded confidently.
The person didn’t believe it was possible. But it absolutely was possible. In fact, dragging it on for a day or more would have been ridiculous and waste of time in my opinion.
It took me a long time to realize that this is how slowly a lot of the world works. Journalists are special kinds of people who work under unimaginable deadlines. And nearly ten out of ten times, the deadlines are met. Is it healthy? The jury is still out. It’s just a byproduct of the job.
It can definitely be used against you. If you crank out work at that speed, a customer may start to expect it. So you must use this super power sparingly and when it makes the most sense.
So if you’re a journalist and are wondering what your super powers are, think about efficiency and how you can apply it to every day tasks outside of the job. You will amaze yourself and the people around you.
If you’re someone who needs something done fast, it may be a good idea to call your nearest journalist.
