Suffice it to say, I know my way around a computer. I can pretty much repair most software issues, and some hardware issues here and there.

Last week I had an issue with some software, and, though I don't know why things went wrong, I set about trying to fix it, especially because it affected my email program.

I went through many different fixes, doing some of them multiple times. Some of these things were complicated, some of them were overly time consuming. However, nothing I seemed to try was working, and I was getting quite frustrated by it all.

Finally, I thought of something that was relatively easy, and something I should have been doing all along. So, I tried it, which took less than a minute, and suddenly, all was fine once more. I wanted to kick myself because, instead of looking for the simple solution first, I went on the attack, thinking the problem was something much worse.

Most of us look at things that go wrong and want to pick them apart, dig deep, and hope that we find some nugget that will explain everything. Sometimes, the solutions are right on the surface. Many times, all it takes is a question or a statement to someone else, writing something down, or remembering some bit of courtesy or decorum.

Of course, it's not always so easy, but it's always best to try to remember to start with the simple stuff first, then if more is needed to do more. It could save you a lot of work in the long run.