Let me share Ockham's razor with you: "entities should not be multiplied needlessly". So, you are probably asking, what does that mean, who is Ockham, and why should I care? William of Ockham (sometimes spelled Occam) was a logician and theologian who lived from around 1288 to 1348. What his maxim tells us is that you should go with the simplest explanation rather than making things needlessly complex. According to Anu Garg (aka the Wordsmith from A.Word.A.Day), it's a razor "[b]ecause Ockham's razor shaves away unnecessary assumptions." Another way to describe this is "making mountains out of molehills". But it is something we've all been guilty of at one time or another. Someone doesn't return a phone call or e-mail and we immediately start constructing an elaborate scenario about what has gone wrong in the relationship. Whereas what actually happened is that the person was simply too busy at the time to respond. Garg includes the example of medical students, who are told "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." So don't make yourself needlessly stressed out -- go for the simple solution.

One day last month, I was getting ready to go to a client meeting. But, before I left I did just one more thing. So, I was running late and hurrying and wound up missing a turn and having to backtrack and was even later. Luckily, my client has also fallen prey to just one more thing, so we were able to laugh about it. Nonetheless, I really don't enjoy the stress of running late, I like to be on-time for things.

To my amazement, when I got back to my office, I found the latest e-mail from Angie and Courtney (Lead Star, Leadership by Angie and Courtney) waiting for me. The title is "One More Thing . . . " and they discuss falling into the trap of "I can get one more thing done" before I go. They agree that always being five minutes late is a bad thing. What they suggest is that the next time you're ready to head for an appointment, but you look at the clock and try to decide if you can finish just one more thing, Don't Do It. Leave! Maybe you'll even arrive early, which means you will be calm and relaxed instead of harried.

By the time you read this, I will be in Japan. My daughter and I are taking a two-week trip to visit friends and do some touring. We'll be spending a few days in Tokyo, going to Kyoto (and the nearby town of Uji in the heart of tea country), and seeing some other places. If you'd like to see what we're up to, I will be posting notes and photos on my Blog.

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