In a world where hustle culture is a thing, you can often feel pressure to get things done as quickly as possible. After all, the more things you do, the faster you’re going to become successful, right? Not necessarily.
Learning to take things slowly can be valuable. It can help you develop focus, concentration, and consistency. Following a comfortable pace allows you to enjoy what you’re doing and keeps you away from burnout.
Despite being aware of the benefits of taking things slowly, it took me some time before I committed to doing it. Here, you’ll learn the realization I made that pushed me to approach life at a slower pace.
1. There are some things you can’t rush
Even if you want to go as fast as you can, there are some things you just can’t rush. Some tasks have processes that you literally can’t speed up. When you do find a way to do it faster, the quality might deteriorate.
When making steak, you can’t just blast up the heat to speed up the cooking process. If you do, you’ll end up with a burnt steak that’s still raw inside. You’ll want to take your time slowly to cook that steak at the right temperature.
Many valuable things around us today are valuable exactly for this reason. People, including you and me, know the value of time and effort it takes to produce something valuable.
It’s not just for material things either. The relationships that we have aren’t something we can rush. That’s why we hold on to them so hard, because it’ll take a long time before we get to have the same thing again when we lose them.
Slowing down will help you appreciate the process and save you from a ton of frustration.
2. You'll have more time for evaluation, reflection, and feedback
When driving fast, the steering wheel becomes stiff, making it hard to turn. Things around you pass you by so fast that you don’t get the chance to enjoy the scenery. You just end up with tunnel vision that makes you see nothing else except the finish line.
The same thing can happen when you hurry to get things done. Sure, you will arrive at the finish line sooner, but you’ll miss out on many things. You’re also not giving yourself a chance to take a turn when you need to.
Slowing down allows you to take a careful look at what you’re doing. It opens up room for you to evaluate if you’re doing right or if you’re even on the right course at all. Taking things slowly gives you the leeway to change course when necessary.
3. Progress is progress
No matter how slow you go and how little progress you’re making, progress is still progress. Sometimes we don’t give small progress enough credit. It can add up quickly and turn into something very valuable.
James Clear gives an excellent example of how small things add up in his book atomic habits.
“If you can get 1 percent better each day for a year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you are done.”
We often get stuck on making huge impacts. The concept of overnight success is something we just wish we could have. The praise we can get from achieving something great in a short period can be intoxicating.
The truth is that many, if not all, of the great successes we see today were slowly built up for years. We never got to see the grudge work, the hard training, and the failure behind them. We just see the grand result.
So don’t forget to celebrate your small wins. What’s important is that you’re moving forward.
4. Consistency is key
Having the speed to accomplish a certain task is valuable, assuming you produce consistent results. Otherwise, you might end up frustrated, wondering why you only produce mediocre results despite all the work you put in.
Slowing down can help you gain focus and concentration to develop consistency. As you get the hang of the process and learn from the feedback, you make fewer mistakes. Your output will become more uniform and consistent.
If you’re just starting on a new skill, taking it slowly is even more important to get consistent results. Take things down a notch and get into the groove of what you’re learning. As you make progress, you will become more competent at what you do.
5. You’ll eventually get faster over time
As you continue to develop a skill to achieve a certain task, you will eventually get better and better at it. And speed goes along with getting better.
Your process becomes more streamlined as you learn new techniques and become aware of the nuances of what you’re doing. You’ll make fewer mistakes and follow more efficient paths to get to the finish line faster.
Speaking of the finish line, that’s why athletes take so much care to practice the right forms in the sport they pursue. They don’t rush the most fundamental steps, so they don’t become sloppy and inefficient when playing. They develop muscle memory that will lead to the best results.
The same thing goes for us. We first need to take things slow and develop muscle/mental memory to achieve our goals. Once we do, we’ll start doing it subconsciously and much faster than we started.
Warnings
Taking things slowly isn’t always the best option in every scenario. So here are some warnings:
Remember that it’s also important to strike a balance. If you know you have an urgent deadline coming up or there’s an emergency, just do what you can with the time you have.
Sometimes just showing up is the best we can do. Part of taking things slowly is taking a deep breath and trying again.
Another thing to look out for is the intention of taking things slow. If you’re not getting anything done because you over-analyze your task and want it to turn out perfect, that is a different matter
Analysis paralysis and perfectionism are the enemies of progress. The whole reason why we want to take things slow is to make meaningful progress, not prevent it.
Conclusion
Taking things slowly can feel like losing a very precious resource – time. But when done properly and for the right reasons, you’re not losing time; you’re investing it.
