#3 Slowing Down

You’re going to hate this one. I’m writing it and I hate it. Are you ready?

Slow Down!

Especially when you are new at something, it can be all too easy to punch turbo and crank out as much work as you can. And there’s a time and place to do that, but it’s pretty rare that you will find yourself needing to blindly rampage across the battlefields of work. No, far more of the battle comes from paying attention to everything that you are doing, ensuring that you do it right the first time. 

Just imagine a task that you have to do. Maybe it’s sorting some paperwork, organizing a cabinet full of stuff, or cleaning a room. How much time would it take you if you got it done as fast as you could? You would get it done pretty quick, right? But imagine how long it would take you to do the same task twice at your top speed. Would it still get done quicker than if you just slowed down and paid attention to getting it right the first time? That’s what winds up happening when we hurry-we wind up doing it wrong, and have to do it all over again. Then we wind up spending far more time than we wanted on something, all because we didn’t do it right the first time. 

And sometimes it costs more than our time. It takes up resources as well. Time gets wasted, money may have to be spent, and materials will have to be bought and re-bought. Hopefully it’s a resource that is expendable, but if you aren’t so lucky, your inattentiveness might cost you big time! But here’s the thing-once you get good at something, you will get that speed back. You just have to get into the habit of doing everything right the first time. Then you will have the speed and the accuracy the first time around, and you will become a force to be reckoned with! 

I had this happen to me today. My job is to measure and cut pipes. At first, I did the bare minimum. I measured where I was supposed to cut, slapped the pipe on the machine, and started cranking out pieces of pipe. In about an hour, I was well ahead of my coworkers who were setting them up to ship. I was so ahead, in fact, that even with them working I had an entire table filled with these pipe pieces. 

But there was a problem-I was making mistakes left and right. Pipes were mislabeled, some were cut too short. Others, too long. Some were even the wrong size! It was a disaster. But, above all else, something was nagging at me inside. Inside me was an “ick,” a feeling that I wasn’t doing it right. So I slowed down, started paying more attention to what I was doing. I started getting into a rhythm to make sure that I covered all my bases, doing all that was needed for the project. 

And you know what happened next? That feeling went away! As I started doing things better, I got more excited about the work I was doing. And I was still able to keep up with the demands made of me. For a while, at least. But by the time I was starting to fall behind, I had already decided that anyone who had a problem with me could stuff it. 

“You get pipe cut right, or pipe cut fast, but you won’t get both.” I told them. 

And I finished the day with my head held high! I was the victor of this battle because I gave it my very best. I still came home tired and sore, but I didn’t act like a brainless beast. I did good, and that good made me proud. 

So practice slowing down. It will feel uncomfortable, mostly because you will feel like you are failing to prove something. But trust me, you’re proving it! Any schmuck can absent-mindedly tear through task after task, but it takes a true craftsman to show his work some love and care. This will set you apart from the rest. 

But do know that you may have to tell some people to stuff it. They may not like the pacing, and demand that you give them more, more, more. Just practice this saying. Rehearse it if you have to, but be ready to say something like this:You can get quantity or you can get quality, but you can’t get both.

And you can gauge how sassy to be with this. If it’s a coworker, and the environment is lax enough, have some fun with it. But if it’s a boss or another higher-up, respectfully argue it. Explain how you are dedicated to creating quality work, such that anything you touch will not have to be redone. Then remind them about how this will save them precious resources, like their money. And if they don’t like it, then they don’t value a good work ethic and you may as well work for someone else. 

So there you have it, one of the hardest lessons about becoming a quality worker. But learn it well, and the world is yours!

Until Next Time

May Peace be your Guide.