Abstract of the book. The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload

It’s important to think about the worst-case scenario so you’re always prepared.

Imagine this: You’re on vacation and have just found out that the airline has lost your luggage.

How would you react? Of course it’s good to be optimistic – perhaps they’ll find your bag! But it’s better still to be prepared. Good thing you brought that extra toothbrush!

Each time you plan something, you should consider all the things that could go wrong and think of a solution to them before they occur. Planning for failure in this way needn’t be difficult – it’s as straightforward as placing an extra key under the flowerpot by your front door.

A plan B is especially important in business situations. It’s true that sometimes things just happen. You forget an important appointment, or you lose the contact details of someone you need to speak to.

But, if you plan your time ahead, these mistakes will be less likely. With the assistance of an electronic calendar, either on your phone, computer, or both, you can ensure you’ll never forget about meetings again.

A plan B at work can also include keeping an extra shirt in your office, in case you accidentally spill your coffee before an important appointment with your boss!

It’s also important that we don’t rely on technology alone to prevent us from slipping up. Phones, computers and other technical devices aren’t perfect and at some point will let us down without warning. This is why you should also prepare non-technical solutions as a backup.

This is something that your taxi driver does. They always keep a plastic credit card press in their car in case their electronic credit card machines doesn’t work. This way, they can ensure they don’t lose any fares due to technical failure.