760 THE PRINCIPLES OF SELF-CREATION
"About two years ago I noticed that my power of concentration
was weakening. I neglected my correspondence until I looked with
dread upon the formidable pile of letters. Reports accumulated and
subordinates were inconvenienced by the delay. I sat at my desk with
my mind wandering elsewhere.
"Other circumstances also showed plainly that my mind was not
on my work. I forgot to attend an important meeting of the officers
of the company. Another time one of the clerks under me caught a
bad mistake I had made in an estimate on a carload of goods, and, of
course, saw to it that the manager learned of the incident.
"I was thoroughly alarmed at the situation and asked for a week's
vacation to think things over. I was determined either to resign or
to find the trouble and remedy it. A few days of earnest introspec-
tion at an out-of-the-way mountain resort convinced me that I was
suffering from a plain case of mind-wandering. My physical and mental
activities at my desk had become haphazard. I was careless, shiftless,
and neglectful-all because my mind was not alertly on the job. I
needed a complete new set of working habits, and I made a resolve to
acquire them.
"With paper and pencil I outlined a schedule to cover the working
day: first the morning mail, then the orders to be filled, dictation,
conference with subordinates, and miscellaneous duties, ending with
a clean desk before I left.
"I asked myself how habits are formed, and my answer was by
repetition. I realized that I have been doing these things over and over
thousands of times, but not in an orderly concentrated fashion.
"I returned to the office and put my new working schedule in
force at once. I performed the same duties with the same zest and, as
nearly as possible, at the same time every day. When my mind started
to slip away I quickly brought it back. From a mental stimulus created
by willpower, I progressed in habit-building. Day after day I practiced