On Tinkering While You Wait

There's a moment in every service call when you realize the vendor isn't coming as fast as you need them to. The client is waiting. The problem isn't solving itself. And you have a choice: sit there and wait, or start poking at the thing.

I choose to poke.

The $4,500 door hack didn't start as a heroic troubleshooting mission. It started because I was bored and curious. The smart door wasn't working, the app was sitting right there on my phone, and I had nothing better to do than tap around and see what happened.

What I discovered is that most systems — especially 'smart' ones — are built on simple logic. If this, then that. When you understand the rules, you can usually find a workaround. The door's automation wasn't broken; it was just configured wrong. A few adjustments later, it worked.

The vendor was not pleased when I cancelled the service call.

But here's the real lesson: idle time isn't wasted time if you use it to learn. When you're waiting for someone else to solve a problem, you have implicit permission to start solving it yourself. The worst that happens is you don't figure it out and the expert arrives anyway. The best that happens is you save $4,500.

Tinkering isn't about being a genius. It's about being willing to try things when the stakes are low and the curiosity is high. Most of the time, you'll learn something. Sometimes, you'll solve the whole problem.

Either way, you won't be bored.