I was due to pay for my web hosting the other morning, so I called to make the payment because I had a couple of additional questions. When it was time to read my credit card number to the representative he said “give me the numbers four at a time and I’ll repeat them back to you”. This blew my mind.

With that simple directive, he completely solved an annoying inefficiency I had experienced every time I had ever given my credit card number to a sales agent. Who goes first? How do I know you’ve heard what I said? How many numbers at a time? At best it’s a crapshoot to see if you can guess the credit card number policy of your particular representative, and though it often works acceptably, it’s never buttery smooth the way it was thanks to my man Shelley. 

I love this solution because it tells me what to do and it clearly states what I can expect in return.

So this week I’ve been trying to think of elegant solutions like this to inefficiencies in my life.  Nothing to report yet, but the mental coffee is brewing.