What's The Point: Don't crash the plane

What's the point: Don’t crash the plane due to minutia

     Bearing no resemblance at all to my day job, I was watching a documentary series the other night breaking down all the causes and steps that resulted in plane crashes. In one particular case they mentioned something I recognized immediately but never had a term for called “Task Saturation”. Where someone has so many things to do that they become overwhelmed, particularly when under pressure. Obviously not ideal when you are plummeting from 30,000 feet. 

     Only slightly less deadly, is the stare of a professor or the poor soul in front of a room full of students, or the dread of waking up and seeing double or triple digits in your notifications bubble. We need to be aware of how both we and those that we work with can be overwhelmed and find ways to help. Planning and checklists are one way, yes they are tedious to make. But they help, especially with less experienced personnel. Allowing them to fly on their own without you in the jump seat looking over their shoulder. You also need to have a plan for the times you need to go on autopilot with some things, in order to prioritize what is most important.