Avoid Bloopers and Slip-Ups

I am 26 years old, I am going to a university and I work in a warehouse. I have worked at the same warehouse for 5 years now, and they like me but are upset over mistakes and errors that I make over and over. It has gotten to the point where I am fearing my job because I am constantly making bloopers and slip-ups. I seem to either forget to do things when people tell me, for example somebody told me to place an order to send out in a "red bin" in order to indicate it needed to go out that day. An hour later when I got the order, I forgot to do so. Other times I will make mistakes when I read information. For example, we had an order to send out a part number, 2219. However I misread it as part number 2214, a more common item. So I sent part number 2214 instead. Things like this happen constantly and I am not sure how to fix it.

Answer:

People make mistakes all the time. My husband, who is a computer expert, says that intelligent computers make even more mistakes than dumb computers. Maybe it is the same with people.

When you receive a task to do, it is stored in your short-time memory. At that moment it feels like you will not forget it, but it is exactly what happens with everything you have stored in the short-time memory. That is why you must write down everything immediately.

You should either do things immediately or write them down. Once a day, read your notes and plan your work. What things need to be done immediately, what tasks need to be done today, and which ones can wait?

About the numbers: always double-check them or ask a colleague for help with that issue.

We all learn from our mistakes. A mistake is an excellent way of learning things. Every time you make a mistake, you should reflect on how to avoid making it again. Learn to organize your life and tasks to avoid mistakes.

After you are finished with your studies, you will hopefully get an interesting job. Making many mistakes could be a sign that you are not paying attention to your work because you have little interest in it; or maybe a signal revealing that you are tired, even if you need this job for the money. Do you make as many mistakes at the university or in your private life?