It’s obvious it’s not summer in this picture since there are no leaves on the tree but it’s not really obvious what season this really is.
The calendar says it’s spring. These and other birds have begun to sing their morning accolades more loudly — or maybe there are just more birds to hear.
While the season in this picture may not be obvious, we encounter many things in life that are obvious and yet we overlook them.
For example, when doing payroll for a relatively new client, every time I created the pdf report to send to them so they could cut the checks for their employees, it crunched the hours, rates and breakouts for nine employees into one page instead of the three. I struggled with this frustrating occurrence for a few months until today I wanted it resolved…once and for all.
As I’m chatting online with software support, the customer service rep (CSR) starts asking questions such as ‘Does it happen with other clients?’ When I answered no, I realized it had to be some kind of a setup problem with only that company. Over the next 15 minutes or so as she’s assessing the situation, asking more questions and beginning to offer complicated ideas, I decided to check out some of the setup choices.
As I reviewed the printer setup for reports, I saw a check box clicked to print landscape reports on one page wide. Duh….. I unchecked the box, refreshed the report and bingo! I had a readable version the client didn’t need a magnifying glass to see. I shared my new-found information with the CSR so maybe she could help others find the obvious easy fix, too, before trying more complicated alternatives.
The obvious eluded me for a few months until the frustration grew. I was in such a hurry to get it done, my mind wasn’t focusing on simple things. I allowed frustration to cloud my brain cells of common sense.
Why do we make things so complicated? I did it; the CSR did it. I’m sure we all do it at different points in our lives. I recall saying to others when playing with a new phone or camera: When all else fails, read the instructions!
What might you be overlooking that may be right in front of you and easily fixed, that could make your life run a little easier? KISS (Keep it simple, stupid!) should be my motto!
