If proficiency is a function of talent, principles, and practise, to develop an attention to detail, I invested heavily in the latter two—being detail oriented doesn’t come as second nature to me.
Early in my career, after a few careless mistakes, I learnt to always double check my writing, and triple check my calculations.
It slowed me down at first, but what I gained was a confidence that I could be detail oriented.
More recently I realised a positive side effect of writing this blog is the daily practise of sense checking my thinking and communication. There are benefits to asking myself every day, “Does this make sense? Do I really believe what I’m saying? Is this simple and easy to digest?”
We end up becoming what we practise each day.