Ikigai Thought for Today: Mismatched Socks
Simplifying life, one sock at a time.
Last week we began exploring ways to apply the 80/20 rule to eliminate noise in our lives making room for the few vital things that lead to Ikigai.
Revisiting this story of my friend Jeff is timely for two reasons. One it is a fun example of noise reduction in everyday life and it happens to be the second anniversary of his unexpected passing.
Some elements of this story are best experienced through sound, so I encourage you to enjoy the story in audio.
And now…Mismatched Socks.
Audio narration by David Marlow
I Don’t Have Time to Sort Socks
The insurance business is widely populated with people who compile and analyze statistics using them to calculate insurance risks and premiums.
They are called actuaries.
While there are many actuaries in the world of insurance, it would be safe to say there never was one quite like my friend Jeff Marks.
At 6’2” tall and nearly 200 pounds, I’m a good-sized guy. Standing next to Jeff made me look small.
He could be loud, opinionated, and demanding. He knew his stuff and wouldn’t let you talk him out of something easily.
He would, however, always listen to what you had to say. If you made your case, Jeff would change his mind and promptly tell everyone you were right and he was wrong.
It took me quite a while to convince him of Continuous Improvement's value in improving our business. When I finally did convince him, there was no better evangelist.
Which leads me to his socks.
Black Socks
“What are these?” Jeff asked as he slammed a giant Allen Edmonds wingtip on the desk, his right foot still inside.
“Your shoe?”
“No, these!” he shouted, pointing to his socks.
It seemed the message of small incremental change and daily improvement had gotten through to him so well that he evaluated everything he did in his daily routine, including how much time he spent on socks.
“I had brown socks, blue socks, black socks, white socks, and green socks. I mean, who actually NEEDS green socks? Got rid of them all, and now I only have black socks.”
He also simplified his wardrobe, removing any clothes that didn’t go with black socks.
Laundry was easy, and there was no need to sort socks.
Being an actuary, he calculated the time and cost savings from his sock project, which was substantial.
Sorting Socks
He got me thinking about my socks. While I wasn’t ready to go with only black socks, it was apparent the sock process in my house was overly complex.
Sorting socks took a great deal of time. Inspired by Jeff, I bought only one type of running sock, and when it was time for them to be washed, they went into a small nylon bag and were washed together.
When they came out of the wash, there was no need to sort, and they went back into the draw together.
With dress socks, I followed something my grandson does. He wears mismatched socks on purpose. “It’s the style,” he told me. Again, no need to sort or scramble for clean, matching socks. For him finding two socks is enough.
The Lesson
I’m sharing this story for two reasons. The first is Jeff passed away unexpectedly recently. The socks experiment was something that came immediately to mind as I spent time remembering our friendship.
The second was a connection to Ikigai. Jeff had his sock process, I have mine, and my grandson has his.
Socks may seem trivial, but as my actuarial friend pointed out, we spend a great deal of time dealing with them. This is true for many routine things in our lives.
Finding ways to deal with those routine needs that serve us better leaves us more time and energy to focus on things that matter.
Finding the best ways for us is the most Ikigai thing of all.
And now I have socks that are INTENTIONALLY mismatched from a company called Sol-Mate. same pattern on each sock but different placements of color. Very fun.
Perhaps I do spend too much time sorting my argyle socks. I could just roll each one and then pick any two. Or...enjoy the meditative moments making matches. Thanks for the memorial of your friend and co-worker.