Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
Watch Your Slow Variables
"Slow Variables." That's what Marshall Thurber calls them. Slow variables are the little things that seem inconsequential, seemingly not worth your time, yet if you ignore them, they'll sneak up on you. Often it's hard to know which ones to ignore, and which merit attention.
For example, if you decide not to brush your teeth today, will you get a cavity tomorrow? Not likely. How about if you skip a couple days? A week? Longer? Short of the potentially socially awkward halitosis consequences, sooner or later you'll have to pay the price for poor dental hygiene.
Here's another. Let's say you have teeny, tiny gap around the frame of your front door. In the winter, you might feel a small draft. But it's not much, and you have other things to deal with. It can wait.
Now let's do the math. If that gap is, say 1/16 of an inch wide, and it runs the height of the door, and along the threshold, that is approximately (36" W x 80" H) 116 inches in length. Multiply by 1/16" wide, and you have a gap of 7.25 square inches! That's equivalent to a hole approximately 3 inches in diameter! If you had a hole that big in your house, would you ignore it?
Consider your daily (?) workout, dessert after dinner or snacks in between. On the positive side, consider all the little things you should be doing, that add up also: Blogging, sending greeting cards, sending a "thank you" for a referral. Little "touches" all add up too.
We're told not to sweat the small stuff. I get that. But sometimes the small stuff is incremental, and it's actually big stuff. Watch your slow variables!
For example, if you decide not to brush your teeth today, will you get a cavity tomorrow? Not likely. How about if you skip a couple days? A week? Longer? Short of the potentially socially awkward halitosis consequences, sooner or later you'll have to pay the price for poor dental hygiene.
Here's another. Let's say you have teeny, tiny gap around the frame of your front door. In the winter, you might feel a small draft. But it's not much, and you have other things to deal with. It can wait.
Now let's do the math. If that gap is, say 1/16 of an inch wide, and it runs the height of the door, and along the threshold, that is approximately (36" W x 80" H) 116 inches in length. Multiply by 1/16" wide, and you have a gap of 7.25 square inches! That's equivalent to a hole approximately 3 inches in diameter! If you had a hole that big in your house, would you ignore it?
Consider your daily (?) workout, dessert after dinner or snacks in between. On the positive side, consider all the little things you should be doing, that add up also: Blogging, sending greeting cards, sending a "thank you" for a referral. Little "touches" all add up too.
We're told not to sweat the small stuff. I get that. But sometimes the small stuff is incremental, and it's actually big stuff. Watch your slow variables!
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