Most people in positions of authority have a tendency to spout a lot of demands, and quickly, often amounting to nothing more than gibberish–at least that’s all that can be parsed out from it by the time you’re done trying to follow what they’ve said and pretend to care by jotting it down on a notepad. So by the time you look down at the information you’re supposed to proceed with and see what’s actually on the page, you realize that the boss either infused his coffee with drugs that morning, or you were just that inattentive. Probably a hybrid.
Having to go on minimal clues for what you’re supposed to do in your next task, you will work to piece something together with the spit and glue that are the tools you were provided with. And since your deadline is imminent, you yourself might just end up returning to the boss with a finished product as nonsensical as his original requisition.