How's Your Timing?
Do you remember the last time you walked from a shopping mall to a parking garage or from the bank lobby to the sidewalk?
You probably hit the revolving door in stride - and thud – if only for a moment, you were stopped in your tracks as you labored to set the door in motion.
Nobody was coming in the opposite direction.
The stubborn fortitude of a revolving door isn’t a foreign feeling for most people.
The building where I work has two giant revolving doors. They have ten-foot glass panes and top to bottom metal handles on the sides.
I usually lean my shoulder into the door and give a little hip thrust to get it moving – just like when I had to push the sled in high school football practice. In both cases, exerting just a bit more effort than I would like.
But on the days when my timing is right, I’m standing in a short line of people waiting to use the door. When it’s my turn,I step into a door that’s already in motion and walk through with barely a touch.
Walking through the heavy revolving door without the need to square up and push feels like hitting a five iron straight and long down the fairway. Or like catching a fastball on the sweet spot and sending a line drive into left center field.
It’s effortless, smooth, and easy. It’s a good feeling.
But usually on the days when I walk through the revolving door with ease, I find myself standing in a packed elevator shortly afterwards.
When is timing important?
When it comes to minimizing effort and maximizing outcome, timing plays a huge role.
If you want to rent an apartment in New York City, or probably most places with nasty winters, you’ll pay less if you start your lease in the winter months. The other side of that coin is you’ll have to move while the snow is flying.
If you want to buy a car, you’re likely to get a better deal at the end of a month. As the dealers are crunching to meet their quotas, they’re more inclined to make a deal that works out in your favor. But you might feel more pressure and anxiety to act quickly – pressure and anxiety you may not feel earlier in the month.
What outcome are you timing for?
Timing plays a big role in achieving the outcome you want. But good timing is different for every person. It depends on the specific outcome for which you’re optimizing.
If you’re price sensitive for your next apartment, then your timing will be best in the winter. But if you’re more sensitive to bad weather than to spending money, your ideal rental timing will be in the summer.
If your biggest goal on your next car purchase is saving a couple grand, good timing for you will likely be month end. But if big purchasing decisions stress you out, and you don’t want the act now anxiety, your car buying timing is better at the beginning of the month.
If you love skipping through the revolving door without breaking a sweat, then you’d better time your arrival with the crowd. But if you hate riding a crammed elevator with ten of your least favorite co-workers, you’ll arrive ten minutes early and be happy to push the heavy door.
Timing is one of the best ways to maximize your outcomes. But before you can decide on what good timing is, you need to be clear on the outcome you’re trying to achieve.
Following the crowd might result in having the best timing. But if it doesn’t result in the outcome you want, it wasn’t the best timing for you.
In any important decision you make, ask yourself, “Am I timing for the spinning door or the empty elevator?” Then act accordingly.
