Scale and value

Say I've got a nagging problem with one of my systems.

And, say I finally decide to put aside one whole day this week to fix that problem.

Is it worth it?

Maybe.

What if I told you I only encounter that problem once a year, and the real problem is that it takes me an hour to do something that could take 5 minutes?

Sure, that's frustrating.

But is it worth a whole day of my time?

That's 8 hours of work. Considering the scale of the problem, the fix won't save me that much time in 8 years.

And there's a very good chance I won't even have this problem 8 years from now.

That's why scale matters.

Here's the thing;

A little math goes a long way.

A problem that feels like a big headache — but that only comes up now and then — may be frustrating, but it may not be worth solving.

Or, maybe there's an alternative solution that's less sexy but more pragmatic. Like handing that onerous task to an intern.

Time and money are always limited, so it makes a lot of sense to pick your battles …

… and to consider the scale of a problem when estimating the value of a solution.

All the best,
A.