Examining the economics of the mail, he [Charles Babbage] pursued a counter-intuitive insight, that the significant cost comes not from the physical transport of paper packets but from their “verification” – the calculation of distances and the collection of correct fees – and thus he invented the modern idea of standardised postal rates.
James Gleick – The Information: a History, a Theory, a Flood
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Where in your work, your life, are you counting stamps when you could be sending packages?
Nit-picking or penny-counting might be costing you a lot more time, money, emotional labour, good-will than you think you’re saving.
Maybe you could standardise, or maybe counting stamps just isn’t worth your effort at all.