Think differently to get the result you need

This isn't about jerry-rigging an experiment to achieve the desired results. This is about when you need to get something done, can't get it done, and find another way to do it.I sometimes do things at the last minute.I found myself without a place to stay in Washington, D.C., this week because of my own absent-mindedness. I searched every hotel booking platform. I searched Airbnb. I asked a few friends. Hotels were outrageous, unless I wanted to stay at one where multiple reviews mentioned cockroaches. (I didn't.)All the Airbnb locations were rooms in a shared apartment and, to be honest, I wasn't in the mood to make friends and live with some stranger, even for two nights. And most were a bit out of my price range at the last minute.I kvetched to a couple of friends and one mentioned an excellent bed and breakfast she often stayed at in D.C. Of course, it was booked up. But suddenly - what about B&Bs? Why didn't that occur to me earlier?In less than five minutes, I'd found one of the top-rated B&Bs in our nation's capital, a 15-minute walk of everywhere I need to be over the next three days, for less than I would have had to pay for a cockroach-infested hotel.I changed what I was looking for, and found something better than I realized I wanted.Sure, a B&B is a little bit closer to Airbnb (and thus the name) than a hotel. I will have some socializing with people I don't know, but I can also just go up to my room. I really just wanted a place to lay my head and have a hot shower.I got exactly what I needed, for less than I was willing to spend, all because I thought about my problem differently.Photo by Markus Spiske via Unsplash.