K.I.S.S., which is shorthand for ‘keep it simple, stupid,’ has been the mantra by which I live and operate for as long as I can remember. I think it started because I’m basically a lazy person. Lazy in the sense that I don’t believe in taking an hour to do a job that should be knocked out in ten minutes.
Even as a kid, I always looked for the simplest and quickest way to get any job done. As I grew older and learned to be more politically correct in my language, I changed the saying to ‘keep it short and simple,’ but the meaning is the same. Unless you’re forced down a complicated path, always take the easy way.
Regrettably, my approach to work has not always met with approval. I had a supervisor years ago when I was a young Foreign Service Officer—well, not actually so young as I became a diplomat after 20 years as a soldier—who used to complain because when I had to write replies to queries on consular issues, I wrote in a simple, straightforward way. Her technique was to write in dense paragraphs of legalese that would take an immigration lawyer to interpret. My feelings on that were that her letters were useless to the average person seeking information.
Who wants to have to pay legal fees to have a letter explained to you? She even went so far as to criticize me in my performance evaluation for being too ‘blunt and direct’ in my letters. I just shrugged and took it. That I eventually received promotions faster than her and within six years was senior should say something, but I’ll just let that fact speak for itself.
Another supervisor I had used to complain because when he gave me something to do in the morning, I usually had it completed and turned in before the close of the day. His practice was to take assignments and put them away for a day before even looking at them. I never understood why and never asked him. Nor did I change the way I worked. He was another one who eventually was junior to me because I got promoted and he didn’t.
There’s a lesson here that I hope you’re paying attention to. Life can be complicated at the best of times, so there’s no reason we should add to those complications. Simplifying things and not procrastinating can, in fact, smooth over some of life’s complexities. Letting jobs pile up is also one of those unnecessary, avoidable things that make life difficult. Some people seem to believe in ‘never do to day what you can put off until tomorrow.’ The problem with that is ‘what do you with the things that arise tomorrow?’ I believe in getting it done and moving on, starting with doing the most important or essential things first, and working my way down the list.
Just a few words of sage advice that I hope will help make your day, week, month – the rest of your life – a lot less stressful. – NWI
