My local post office is massive but rudimentary. A huge space, equipped with barely anything. The waiting area in front of the counter consists of a rope-and-post barrier and a “Queue here” sign. That’s it. Except for one more thing.
With five people ahead of me and some time to kill, I noticed how nicely folks were lining up. Everyone left at least half a meter of space between themselves and the next person. It was welcome but unusual in a busy place like this, where mostly-grumpy people go to complete mostly-necessary everyday tasks.
Suddenly, I felt a middle-aged lady breathe down my neck. Okay, not quite, but she definitely inched a lot closer than everyone else. “Here come the people in a hurry,” I thought. Wondering when it would be my turn, I looked down. Then, it clicked.
Next to the barrier, on the floor, were several stripes of worn out tape. Set horizontally in equidistant gaps of maybe a little less than a meter, they said two things loud and clear: “This is where you should queue, and we’ve been here since the pandemic.” Clearly a remnant of a time when lining up with distance was more essential, the tape was still doing everyone a favor today—and probably would be for some time to come.
Sometimes, we make changes out of necessity and forget to revert them later. Then, only with the hindsight of even more time do we learn: Actually, this was the right thing to do all along.
Allow your temporary fixes to linger. Observe them just a little longer than you’d have to, and if you find yourself surprised, don’t be afraid to keep the lines.
