Helmet fire, also known as task saturation, is a silent killer among pilots. As more things happen at once, you start to fail. You might get fixated on one thing–like the 20 cent light that killed 101 aboard Eastern Air flight 401. Or you might shut down entirely.

The problem is that you don’t even feel the true extent of the problem.

Task saturation happens everywhere, even in marketing. Ever forget to do something you promised somebody else, while in the middle of a days-long fire drill? That could be task saturation at work.

One of the solutions is to focus on what’s important, depending on where you are. At 30,000 feet, a pilot can do lots of things. At 5,000 feet while doing 600 mph, you focus on one thing: flying the plane.

What’s the equivalent of “flying the plane” for marketers? It’s making sure the ads are seen by the right target audience. If you don’t show ads to people, you’ll crash and burn.