Will it really take just 5 minutes?
I just wanted to get my car washed.
We had had back-to-back snow storms and my car was filthy. You couldn’t really tell what color it was, and you could barely read my license plate number. It was bad.
So I just wanted to get my car washed.
I decided to get a pass for the express car wash down the street (next door to the now vacant lot). In the past, I had bought passes onsite, but the last time I got one, they told me I could sign up online…super simple.
Or so I thought.
After about 45 minutes struggling with forms that required “optional” information I didn’t yet have (like my non-existent pass number), I finally managed to add my vehicle information and somehow bought two single use tickets, not the pass I had hoped for.
I ended up going to the carwash and talking with the attendant. He brought the issue to his very understanding manager, and I’m now playing phone tag with him to undo the incorrect purchases and set up the pass I had intended to buy.
What should have taken 5 minutes took me over an hour and $40, and I still don’t have the pass I wanted.
Has this ever happened to you?
It’s so tempting to “just check that thing off the list” when we think it will be easy. While this can be a helpful strategy to make progress on the never ending to do list, it’s easy for small things to spiral out of control and take over.
I should have stopped when I realized I was at risk of pulling out my hair, but instead I continued to endlessly try things because there was no way I was going to be defeated by a simple app. Instead of admitting to myself that the task wasn’t as easy as I thought and getting the help I needed, I made an even bigger mess that’s now cost me time and money.
When you’re finding your schedule overrun by things that should have been easy but weren’t, here are a few things that might help keep the easy things easy:
Check your assumptions
Before you begin, take a quick moment to mentally review why you think this will be easy, and be honest with yourself about why. Is it wishful thinking, or reality?
Do you think updating that report will be quick? Is it because your coworker who usually does it is a wiz at spreadsheets? Are you? Think that home repair will just take a minute…but do you know already that you have all the right parts?
Time box it
Still thinking it will be easy? Give yourself a short time limit to do the task - and seriously reevaluate if the work is still unfinished after your timer goes off.
Have a few emails to quickly review? Avoid getting sucked into deeper work by setting a timer so you can move on. Have a few minutes to tidy up the living room? Do it during a commercial break so you don’t get sucked into alphabetizing the bookshelf.
Avoid scope creep
One reason simple tasks take longer than they should is when the task is no longer the simple one we started with. Keep yourself focused to ensure you don’t go down a rabbit hole.
Have a few minutes to put together the basic agenda for your next staff meeting? When you realize you don’t yet have the data your team needs to make a decision, make a note to prioritize that work (or delegate it) tomorrow. Heading out for a quick Target run for dinner groceries and realize that they have a sale on closet storage? Send yourself a message to measure that closet so you can come back later in the week to get just what you need rather than guessing and picking up something now that doesn’t actually fit the space.
Easy things become hard things in a hurry, if we’re not careful. But checking your assumptions before you start, time boxing the task, and keeping scope small will help check those small to dos off your list so you can prioritize and focus on the big things.
What easy tasks are you making hard?
Do you find yourself often spending more time on the small things and not enough on the big things, but you aren’t sure why or what to do? I help clients figure out what’s getting in the way of achieving their big goals.
You’re here. You want to be there. I can help.
Let’s talk. Book time, and we’ll figure out how to get you unstuck and going.
How will you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
February 6, 2025
About the author:
Christina Von Stroh is a leadership coach who helps her clients become wildly successful by applying iterative software development practices to achieve their dreams. Want to work with Christina to help you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
Book your free strategy session.
