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Variable speed

Rushing is usually a bad idea. We get flustered or anxious, we forget or ignore important things, and we often feel guilty about it afterwards.

Rushing is usually a way to make up for a deficiency in your processes, and it’s generally best avoided whenever possible – by planning ahead, by setting off in good time and allowing slack, by thrashing early.

Working fast is not the same as rushing. It’s focused and productive, about getting good work done in (more-or-less) the minimum amount of time needed, rather than trying to get work done in less time than it needs.

Equally-and-oppositely, some things need time and space. Allowing sufficient time is different from dawdling.

The trick is to find the right speed for the different parts of your work (and life). Moving fast in one area will allow you to slow down in another. A period of rest or leisurely progress may (because you’re fresh, or because you’re clearer about where to go and why) enable you to travel faster later – and to enjoy it more.

30 mph is a bad speed for a trip on a motorway, and sprinting makes it difficult to hold hands.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and recommended resources...

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