How slowing down can improve productivity and help you grow your business faster.
We all sense intuitively that rushing is counterproductive, yet sometimes we feel we have so much to do that we have no choice but to rush. But think about a time when you rushed to complete a task: Did you really save any time? Did you have to go back to fix mistakes caused by rushing?
Rushing can exact a high price: Unhappy clients. Costly mistakes and misunderstandings. Lost sales. Hurt feelings. Beyond all these costs is that rushing causes us to lose our serenity and feel stressed and anxious.
Of course, you have to get your work done. However, you can move quickly without rushing. What is the difference? When you move quickly, you are focused, centered, and in control of yourself, like an Olympic skater spinning on ice. When you rush, you are scattered, un-centered, and at the mercy of emotions or outside forces. When skaters lose focus, they fall–and we do, too.
It’s easy to talk about staying focused and not rushing, but in the tumult of everyday life, it can be hard to do. Fortunately, you can adopt a few habits that will build your capacity to regain control of your time and ultimately be more productive. Here are a few ideas to prime you for success:
Before You Start Your Day
Knowing your main goals for the next day before you sleep at night enables you to hit the ground running in the morning.
Don’t jump on your smartphone the moment you wake up. Instead, take a few minutes for yourself. Gather your thoughts and intentions before you let the world come charging in.
In my experience, even a few minutes of meditation or prayer in the morning can make the difference between a productive day and a frazzled one. A centering practice I learned long ago is this: Sit up straight with shoulders back and feet flat on the floor. Put your attention on a spot about three inches below your navel. Then take several deep breaths, focusing on the center of your belly.
During Your Day
Figure out when your most productive hours are and use them to accomplish your most important tasks. Entrepreneur Alex Cavoulacos suggests following the 1-3-5 rule: Plan to complete one major task, three mid-level goals, and five small jobs daily. If you can only accomplish one big thing, consider the day a success. To achieve this, follow these tips.
- Prioritize. Focusing on the small number of tasks we can achieve daily requires us to prioritize them. Clearly, there will be interruptions; your task is to manage them so you can still accomplish your main tasks.
- Work to completion. Do not multitask. Multitasking is the source of most rushing. When we try to do three things at once, we generally do all three badly. As a recent Harvard Business Review article stated, it takes an average of 15 minutes to re-orient to a primary task after a distraction such as an email. You may have the illusion that you are more productive because you’re juggling balls madly: Be aware that this feeling is illusory and ultimately leads to a frazzled mental and physical state. You might not be able to complete a whole project during your available time. If that’s the case, then complete a sub-task.
- Work in short increments. Research indicates that the brain works best in 20-minute increments. After that, our focus begins to wane. So take a moment to stretch or take a quick break every 20 minutes to keep your mind fresh.
- Allow time to re-read before sending any email or document. You can’t take back errors once you send them, so force yourself to check your writing first.
Rush less. Focus more.
Rushing generally leads to regret. The key is to move quickly without rushing. Center yourself at the beginning of your day. Be a unitasker, not a multi-tasker. Give yourself a chance to unwind at regular intervals. Like the spinning skater, you can move quickly without rushing–and get more done in the process.