Pushing the Limits of Human Tailgating Performance - In the Bathroom Line

I am sure everyone who reads this blog has found themselves in a long bathroom line - whether it is at a football tailgate or rock concert. There is nothing worse than holding it in for a few hours and then arriving at the porta - john to find 18 people waiting in front of you.

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a die hard Cleveland Browns fan and you can find me at just about any home game in the Muni Lot before the games. Last year, I began the experiment of timing how long it took people to finish their business in the bathroom. After a couple of tailgates, I established that a male COULD be done in an average of 45 seconds and a female COULD be done in an average of 60 seconds. Yesterday, I launched the experiment full scale and the results were astounding!

It was around 11 am (the height of everyone's drinking) when I arrived at my usual porta - john line. There were 15 people in front of me in line.

I began timing from my digital wrist watch and creating a little buzz at the back of the line. The first two people finished in over 90 seconds - far from the average. Come on people this is not acceptable!

I began to talk up the average times from the back of line. Although a number of people looked at me like I was crazy, I could tell that people were ready to beat the clock. The next female finished in 63 seconds. The next male in 55 seconds. People were beginning to prep themselves to save time once they got in the porta - john. The next female was done in 59 seconds. People were cheering for the new record holders. The next male 45 seconds. The next female 49 seconds! Not one of the last 12 people in front of me took over 60 seconds!

What is the point of this rather goofy blog post?

I have timed people running shuttles and other conditioning drills for years. On the first set, people usually run within their comfort zone. As soon as I challenge them to beat their time, they immediately push harder and destroy their first time.

Can this carry over into real life situations like bathroom efficiency ? I think the results say a resounding yes!

Most people do not know what they are capable of accomplishing until they are prompted and pushed to do so. Even in a setting like a bathroom line -everyone has to pee, but nobody is doing anything to speed up the process. They just accept the fact that the wait is going to be long.

Not me my friends! Accepting mediocrity is a major pet peeve of mine.

By adding a little competition and motivation to a traditionally long and boring process reduced wait time by 6 minutes for 10 people. Who doesn't want hold their pee in for 6 minutes less?

Go hard and compete at life people! Everyone will benefit from it.