If you are in a hurry, slow down

I often remind myself of the German saying, “Wenn Du’s eilig hast, mach langsam” (“If you are in a hurry, slow down”) attributed to be a Chinese proverb. This paradoxical phrase encompasses my guiding principle for 2021: Slow Down.

I stopped setting goals in January a few years ago and switched instead to three principles that set the scene for the year. My process to get to the principles is simple; I review the year just gone, highlight my learnings and then look ahead. This year the process yielded not three but one simple intention: SLOW DOWN. The power and simplicity of it surprised me.

Even in lock down most of us are in the fast lane. In reality, we seem to have less time despite the fact that travelling, entertaining and running around are virtually gone. We sit in front of our computers for work and social catch ups, each meeting closely followed by the next, preparing food, home schooling, exercise, and more. We should have more time but have less. I wonder why we rush, what value do we get and what would be the benefits of taking our time?

Why do we rush?

It provides a feeling of accomplishment

But are you focused on the right things?

It feels good to be busy. Busy equals productive. But is it? It depends whether you are focusing on urgent and potentially non-important things or truly important things. Stephen Covey’s Time management Matrix is an excellent tool for distinguishing between the two and focusing on what matters most (to you).

It’s swimming with the current

But does it serve you?

Our culture values activity and speed. It’s much easier to swim with the current and ‘do’. Stopping and thinking requires conscious effort. How often have you replied to someone who says, “I’m so busy,” with “I’m not, I’m just taking lots of time to think through the strategic direction of the firm.”?

We’re seduced by the fallacy of “I’ll just do this and then I will…[fill in the blank]”

But the reward never materialises

One of my clients recently described it like this. “I don’t get things done during the workday because I’m in back-to-back meetings. I end up working late to get through my to-do-list and, as a result, I sleep too little and not well. I wake up tired. I repeat this a few days in a row. The quality of my thinking diminishes, my contributions aren’t as sharp and insightful as usual, I say ‘yes’ to things that I would normally say ‘no’ to, I don’t challenge things that I normally would. I have less patience with others and often find it hard to be fully present, thus my relationships suffer at home and at work. And so the rest I was hoping for isn’t forthcoming. I’m too tired to plan ahead and create the space for it.” Sound familiar?

It feeds society’s output orientation

Without considering what success looks like for you

Achievement equals success. We are all looking for our equivalent of the next Olympic medal. And usually within the construct of what society defines as success.

Apps track our progress and encourage us to achieve ever more – run faster, climb higher, lose more weight, look fitter, beat more competitors. That’s great on one level and I wonder, is that the only point worth pursuing? When I downloaded Strava a few years ago, I loved it; it encouraged me to go faster and it really motivated me. It didn’t work so well when I had a few health setbacks and needed to take it slower. Strava stopped being so effective when I just wanted to go running to run, not to compete. It’s worth asking yourself what you are measuring and whether you are measuring the ‘right’ things for you? That requires some clarity around what your success criteria are.

Why slow down?

It creates space for strategic thinking and innovation

Ideas are hard to access when your schedule is full, with hardly any space to even make a cup of tea. Under stress our brains go into tunnel vision; we only see what we need to deal with the task in front of us. In this mode our brains are excellent at filtering out anything deemed ‘not relevant’. It’s the difference between convergent and divergent thinking. Both will provide solutions, but only divergence delivers the wider perspective that germinates new ideas and strategies. In this new world we need divergent thinking more than ever.

It creates the climate for high performance

It’s so easy to multitask: to switch your video off and get on with other jobs whilst also half listening and interacting with whoever is on Zoom or MS Teams with you. Don’t be fooled! Others do know that you are not fully with them – whether they are conscious of it or not. Our attention creates the climate that fosters the quality of the conversation (see Let's Zoom in on what makes virtual meetings work). So, if people aren’t fully present, it creates permission for others to do the same. The quality of discussion will decrease, and psychological safety - a key ingredient for frank and open conversations - will wane.

Your nervous system affects that of others

I recently gleaned a great nugget from a neuroscience course I attended. Our nervous system impacts other people’s: meaning that if you are stressed, others might get more stressed too. Equally, if you are calm others might find it easier to calm down too. This is particularly important for leaders as the tone is set by the person with ‘authority’. Whether you are the most senior person in the room (virtual or real), the facilitator or the consultant; consider your state of being, conscious that it will impact the people you lead.

It enables you to listen and hear others

When we are back-to-back, we don’t have the capacity to listen; we are busy processing what we need to do next and how we get our point across. Our ‘hard disc’ is full. Everything becomes narrower and more focussed – thus shutting the space down. ‘Slow’ allows for more space, widening our perspective and giving us the ability to access objective thinking.

It makes life more joyful

Sometimes I have the feeling that I’m a tourist on a bus, exploring a city. The kind of tourist who follows the route, ticks off the destinations and places to disembark, then quickly explores before rushing back to the bus for the next destination. It’s not my ideal kind of holiday, yet I’ve been there. Powering through it so fast means I don’t really get a feel for the place, fully take it in or experience it properly. Instead, I process it. I get it done. We can go through our workday like that too. Indeed, even through our lives. There’s not much joy if it’s just from one to-do to the next.

What’s your slow?

Presumably you’ve slowed down long enough to read this article. Even if you’ve skim-read it there must have been something that piqued your interest in the title or perhaps the content resonated with you. Now you’ve got this far, I ask: what would change for you if you slowed down a bit? What would become possible? How different would you feel?

So, why not take a moment to think what slow could do for you? Then keep an eye out for my next article, which will outline some tools and tips for increasing your access to ‘slow’. And maybe, just maybe, by slowing down you’ll go faster.