Simplify By Solving Problems
Posted on January 26, 2011 by LJ Earnest
Categories: Simplification,Techniques
Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.
Many times simplification is taken as about getting rid of “stuff”. While that is true, sometimes simplification is about changing the way things are done, or solving a problem.
This distinction was brought home to me when I opened a cabinet a few days ago and had candles tumble out around my feet. We keep all our spare candles in this cabinet: tea lights, votives, pillars and tapers. (We burn a lot of candles around here).
My first instinct was to pare down what we have. But the fact of where I live is that we lose power, and we need to be prepared. We use candles during these times for stationary light sources. So looking over what we had, there was little to go.
But then I realized it wasn’t the amount that was wrong: it was how the candles were stored. So a trip to the dollar store yielded a few baskets, and the problem vanished.
So the next time you are faced with a situation where you want to simplify, ask yourself if it is the amount of stuff that is the problem, or is there an underlying problem that needs to be solved.
Photo by ~Brenda-Starr~
If you enjoyed this post, please buy me a cup of coffee!
