As the World Changes...and I shift my focus towards the Super Bowl!

Throughout the world historic events are unfolding to start 2011. A wave of democratic change is sweeping through the "Middle East" starting in unassuming Tunisia and stretching to Egypt, Jordan, and even Lebanon (to varying degrees and with slightly different objectives). And the world is watching to see if these events will resemble the fall of the Berlin Wall (a giant shift in global politics) or the Tienanmen Square protest (strong ideals and good photo-ops, but still results in the same guys in power). In one country in Africa ravaged by 30 years of civil war and under development a new nation is about to be born as the South Sudan referendum chugs along, while on the west coast a country on the brink of peace and economic recovery descends into a violent political stalemate. Add in record floods in Australia, paralyzing snow storms in the US, two ongoing wars, and the ever present tension on the Korean Peninsula it 2011 is shaping up to be a banner year.

So with all of this going on I find my Monday work effort completely distracted by none other then the Super Bowl! I realize that its a day late, but living in Uganda would require a 3:00am start time to catch the game live and seeing as how the Bears couldn't be bothered to make it to the big game then I can't be bothered to wake up at 3:00am. But as an American citizen it is still my duty to watch the game, so a colleague who is far more technologically savvy that I (not too hard to do) has digitally recorded the game and we will watch it after work. Which brings me to why I am distracted. In order to keep the game exciting (we don't get the commercials so the actual game will have to be the focal point) I am avoiding all forms of media that might tip me off to the final score. While this would not be possible in the US, in Uganda (and most of the rest of the world) people don't care about the Super Bowl so no one is really talking about it. But my office is connected to the Internet and much of my work requires me to be online, so every click of the mouse is like playing Russian Roulette with the final score. Even my Gmail account is off limits, who knows what email someone has sent (The 2006 Bears Super Bowl was ruined this way while in Darfur) or what advert is scrolling across the top (in that creepy way that Gmail always knows what your thinking about). So I've attempt to schedule a lot of meetings, catch up on some filing, review some progress reports, and other mundane task that keep me off the computer.

The problem with mundane task is that they are in fact mundane. You know you have to do them as part of your job, but they aren't really all that exciting. But luckily in my distracted Super Bowl state of mind I think have come up with a way to fix this problem... we simply start approaching our mundane work task with the same attitude the most professional football players approach their everyday work task, with unabashed ego and a little creativity.

You all know what I'm talking about. A running back picks up 4 yards on a basic running play (his job is to run the ball, he completed his task) and the guy jumps up, flexes his biceps, and grabs his crotch in one fluid motion that took more time and effort then the actual play. And this happens every play! Make a tackle, do a back flip; catch a pass, cartwheel time; make a block, WWE wrestling move. And everyone does it, from the biggest stars to the 12th string running back who simply managed not to fall down on the kick-off team. Hell, even the kickers do chest bumps when the knock the extra point through.

I used to think that this was all about ego and showing off (and maybe an audition for Dancing with the Stars) but now I realize that it's how they make it through mundane tasks. Ask any human being not living in the USA and they will tell you that football is incredibly boring. Stop, start, short run, dropped pass, punt, holding penalty, and 2 hour of commercials for maybe 30 seconds of watchable athletic achievements. The players have realized this too, so in order to make things more exciting they celebrate everything like their lives depend on it. It's brilliant!

Imagine your average day at the office. Your wrapping up a program meeting and as everyone files out of the board room a fog machine is turned on and everyone jumps up and down as high as they can while screaming and then the best guy on the sales team comes out last scowling and mugging for the cameras!

Complete that report on time; strike a pose

Successfully make copies; climb on top of the copy machine and howl like a wolf

Up Date your Outlook calender; Michael Jordan fist clinch while you glare at the rest of the office!

This way everyone knows that your doing your job (no more performance reviews, just lots of bear hugs and Gatorade baths) and during those free moments in between task you can be thinking of the next exciting way to demonstrate your ability to carry out the responsibilities assigned to you. This is going to revolutionize everything! Time to get that contract completed...I have my dance move already set!