But… Slow is the new Fast
COMMENT, Global — Speed has overtaken (most of) our lives.
Work more.
Produce more.
Do more.
Be more.
More, more, more.
I do know of what I speak, until recently I marched to the beat of a steady clock.
Tick tock tick tock.
The marching army of minutes and seconds.
Accordingly, I spent the first few years of my working life mastering time management. Squeezing more into less time.
I wouldn’t call it time wasted, but then again slavishly following the time doctrine of efficiency.
Courses, exercising, work, eating, studying.
Squeezing in a Lot of Work
In my early-mid-20s I was contracting at 3 companies, teaching 3 days a week - of data analysis & reporting skills to corporates, teaching 1 day a week marketing to small business, and teaching Non-English Speaking Background business courses in the evenings.
2 nights a month I also attended and taught public speaking through Toastmasters wherein I was Treasurer.
In between I was going to the gym 4 times a week, and running along the Eastern suburbs coast line in the morning (when I could be bothered getting out of bed).
My weekends were spent eating out in cafes (at that stage good food was very cheap in Sydney, as well as being fresh.) No time to cook.
Because I was young and had energy, it got done.
Of course I wasn’t married, and was trying my luck on anything female with a pulse. I was always busy.
The Pluses of the Time Doctrine
I gained a lot from all those organizations.
The various multi-cultural people from all of walks of life I met taught me a lot.
One of the many fascinating business observations was seeing a strategy implemented by a corporate from a frontline and an executive view. Of course there was rarely alignment between strategy & outcome.
During this busy time I learnt more about how businesses actually work (as opposed to theory) than at any point prior.
And was the fittest I have ever been in my life.
Throughout it all my incredibly scheduled life was managed by a detailed diary and a series of Filofaxes, PDAs and other devices.
And I got something out of it. At least in those years.
But as you get older, you can’t do it any more.
The Problem with the Incessant March of Time
The problem is that managing your time in such segments is tiring.
What is exciting becomes mundane.
Constant time pressure means you start to feel stressed without knowing that you are.
Constant feeling of more to do, means you never relax.
You go somewhere, spend money, but rarely enjoy as your rush onwards.
The buzz when you get out of bed becomes the stone in the pit of your stomach.
The future: Slow Down
We are entering the world where the ultimate benefit is to not rush.
Where relief of stress is the ultimate lifestyle accessory.
Bearing in mind the way innovation is adopted, we can see the nascent trend towards a slowing down.
Travelling for the journey, not getting there
Turning off the TV
Reading long books
Poetry
Enjoying fresh locally-sourced food cooked and eaten locally.
The good news is it has begun.
It’s only starting.
But slow is the new fast.
Take care,
Christopher
Speaker. Author. Editor-In-Chief. Executive Director of Innovation, 2thinknow.
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