So at the end of the day I’m catching up on some domestic duties around the apartment.  And one that I must do is the laundry (running out of work clothes).

So this time I happen to be waiting for the washer to finish the rinse cycle and prepping the dryer (throwing in the dryer sheet and waiting for the washer to finish).

Now in my apartment is a small washer dryer combo.  And I’d been frustrated with how long it had been taking to dry my clothes.  It used to take one cycle of 50 minutes.  But lately it has been taking 2-3 hours to do one load.

So I assumed that it was just because I was packing the dryer too full and not getting enough air through things.  And that would be reasonable…and would be wrong.

And why was that wrong?  And what does it have to do with insanity and your business?

We’ll as I’m staring thoughtfully into the dryer I notice the air holes in a section at the back of the dryer.

Now in the past there has always been a lint trap in front of the dryer that I religiously empty each time.  But with this dryer I couldn’t find a lint trap.  So I just assumed it had some kind of internal lint trap that didn’t require user maintenance.  Another reasonable but stupid assumption.  I thought maybe they’d dummy-proof the dryer since apartment dwellers are notoriously bad about maintenance and they didn’t want dryer caused fires.

Wrong again.

So for a year I’ve been running the dryer and dryer times are getting slower and slower.

So what happened?

I reached into the back of the dryer at the vent hole area and…low and behold…there is a lint trap at the back…and a whole boatload of lint.

And after pulling that gob of heat dampening lint out of the lint trap, my next load is dry in…50 minutes again…it’s a miracle!

So after smacking myself upside my head and thinking how much money I’ve wasted running a dryer for hours and hours more than was needed I thought…there’s a lesson to be learned here for everyone.

Including business owners like you.

So what’s the definition of insanity???

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. – Albert Einstein

Now I’m no Einstein (obviously) but how many times are you putting your head down, following a script or procedure or routine that made sense at one time but after things have changed (like lint filling a lint trap…or the internet driving business marketing) have you not noticed the change and wondered why you’re not getting the results your efforts deserve?

So in this instance, a simple change (emptying the lint trap) resulted in reducing drying time by 66%.

What if a similar small change in your business could generate a similar boost in cost savings, increased sales, or profit?

It is very possible…IF…you step back from the routine and get a new perspective.

Now go clean your lint trap!