Beware the easy fix

Do you recognize what the above is?  It's my own worst enemy.  The "Jet-Start" button on the microwave.  I can place my food in the microwave and with one touch I start it running for 30 seconds.  I love the speed at which I can accomplish my task - close door, press one button, done.

The problem is, there are many items which don't need to be microwaved for 30 seconds, like bread or baby food.  What's a guy to do?  Press two-extra buttons like "1,5,Start"?  No way.  I try to get around this additional burden by pressing the "jet-start" button and then grabbing the door at the correct time.  Unfortunately more often that not I forget and the food is ruined.

I've fallen victim to valuing speed vs. efficiency.  I posted about this subject from a different angle when I wrote about Good vs. Good Enough.  Being efficient means finding the best balance between the long-term and short-term value of a task.  Sometimes the quickest way to get something done isn't the best, because you could have produced much greater long-term results (or saved much more time in the long run) by spending a little more time on the task.  For example, it takes 5 extra seconds to press the additional two buttons on the microwave, but 5 minutes to replace and rewarm ruined food, a factor of 300.  The efficient thing to do is press the two extra buttons.

I am still all about quickly getting things done.  But I always try to weigh the short-term and long-term results.

In the lighter side of news:  If you haven't heard it yet - my business partner, Holly, made national news when for kicks she put her Eggo waffles on eBay in response to the national Eggo shortage.