So Don and I gave ourselves an early Christmas present and added a Roomba to our existing arsenal, which includes the Dyson “animal hair edition”, a Dirt Devil Dynamite, a 9.6 volt Dust Buster and no less than 12 lint rollers (as you can see, I’m not about to admit defeat on this issue). It was with great excitement that I charged up our new warrior, programmed it to run every morning while I worked, then turned it loose to enter into the hairy fray. It rolled quietly across the floor, marching to the intelligent beat of some internal program that caused it to go around obstacles, creep into the tightest spots and find its way back out, and adapt to changes in flooring. When it came to a particularly dirty spot – more often that I care to admit – it would increase its attention in that area, going in purposeful circles until the crisis was resolved. An hour later, I was still sitting there watching it, fascinated by the combination of determination and flexibility of this little machine. Then it went back into its charger to rest and recharge for the next round.

After a week, we are winning the Battle and the novelty has worn off a bit for the dogs, but I still continue to marvel at our little Roomba and how it approaches life at Dog Hair Central. I believe we could all benefit from a few life lessons from the Roomba!

• View obstacles as a necessary part of the job. It is easy to get frustrated when life’s problems get in the way. Change your perspective to see these challenges as part of the process, not a barrier to the process.
• When something isn’t working, try a different approach. How often do we keep trying to solve a problem at work or at home with the same ineffective-but-familiar tactic that didn’t work the last time. If yelling at your kids to clean their room didn’t work the last six times, perhaps it’s time to try something new!
• Sometimes you have to let go of your to-do list and focus all your efforts on the critical problem at hand. When we hit those ugly spots in life, like the flu or a busted water pipe, we tend to try and keep juggling all our existing projects, often at a very high cost to ourselves and others. Next time your internal “dirt indicator’ light comes on, put your well-laid plans on hold for just a moment and take care of cleaning up what is right under your nose.
• When you’ve given your best effort and you’re still stuck, ask for help. Some of us view asking for help as a form of failure, when staying stuck actually increases the chance of failure. So ask for what you need and then keep moving!
• Even if there is more to do, when your batteries are running low, go home and recharge. There will always be more dog hair and your inbox will never be empty, so don’t wait until you run out of emotional gas and get stranded in the middle of nowhere. Tomorrow is another day.