The easy way might be the right way

Stop overcomplicating things

Readers of a certain age may remember an ad campaign from the office supply store Staples. A small red button labeled “easy” miraculously solved all kinds of challenges, from pens that run out of ink to hard math problems to changing twin babies’ diapers at the same time.

The idea, of course, was that Staples made getting office supplies as easy as pushing a button. The fantasy was so powerful that Staples even started selling an easy button desk toy.

Now I am quite sure that the desk toy will not solve any problems. But there are all kinds of metaphorical easy buttons in life. And in many cases, the easy way is absolutely the best answer to whatever problem is facing you.

Go with the crowd-pleasers

For instance, I keep reading magazine articles pledging to solve the headache of meal planning for me. And I’m like…what headache? We have pasta on Monday. We have some iteration of chicken and rice another night, breakfast for dinner some night, make-your-own pizza some other night, and we outsource dinner for another night (generally Wednesdays). That’s Monday to Friday right there. If we want variety we can cook elaborate meals on the weekend or order something more interesting on Wednesday. I am sure that your crew, likewise, has certain easy crowd-pleasing dinners that they enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with serving these frequently.

With gifts, giving cash is hitting the easy button. It’s fine for a wide variety of occasions, and for a solid percentage of occasions (honestly, possibly most), the recipient will prefer it to whatever you would have picked out. So embrace it.

If you wear dresses to events, a simple black dress can be an easy outfit for most occasions. Unless you’re the sort of person who’s frequently photographed for the tabloids, no one’s going to notice that you’re wearing the same thing on more than one occasion.

If you need to bring a dessert somewhere, bring chocolate chip cookies. They work just fine. Have a go-to karaoke song. Paint walls in Benjamin Moore White Dove. Have a restaurant you always suggest to visiting out of town guests.

What it means to grow up

I actually believe that part of adulting is knowing about a certain number of easy buttons and availing yourself of them whenever the situation permits. When we’re young we often think that everyone is watching and judging us, and so we need to impress people with our command of a wide variety of things, places, outfits, meals, etc. Then we get older and realize no one is noticing. Indeed, people tend to be happier with sure fire hits than with experimentation that can go awry.

I don’t like the phrase “taking the easy way out” because it’s pejorative. In many cases, the easy way is not only fine, it might be preferable to something harder. At 6:00 p.m. on Monday your crew is going to be happier with pasta than with some elaborate new seafood dish that your gourmet magazine said was amazing. Maybe it is, but so what? Make it for yourself on Saturday.

In the meantime, don’t make life harder than it needs to be.