Haircuts

I find myself conflicted every five to six weeks, sometimes seven. I greatly prefer staying home versus nearly everything else. But I can’t stand it when my hair gets too long. This is the horror that is my life.

I checked in online with my three boys. The app reset when I missed a step, so I missed a boy and checked myself in twice. I figured we’d be ok because I had four people needing haircuts, and four people checked in.

Once we arrived, I told the person behind the terminal, and she assured me it made “no difference.” It did. But not for a while. There was another person there with his four boys. Since they were there first, I assumed they would all go first, and then we’d cycle through our haircuts.

That didn’t happen. We learned we had the same name, mostly. He was Richard Ingrum. Now we had three Richards and far too many Ingr[a/u]ms. We couldn’t have confused the staff and the system any further. It took 15 minutes to get the computer, tickets, and staff sorted out. We went back through the craziness as I again explained that one of the two Richard Ingrams, no, “Ingram with an A,” was actually Chase. Happy to report that we all eventually got haircuts.

These systems were originally designed to create simplicity and efficiency. Somewhere along the way, the thing intended to simplify ended up deeply complicated. If we focus too much on the tools or the process, we can lose sight of what we are trying to accomplish. The mission can become managing the tool and not accomplishing the goal.

Where do I miss my target by focusing too much on my path? Can I take a step back and remind myself what I am trying to accomplish? Do my tools distract from my work?

Be curious, be kind, be whole, do good things.