Slow and Steady Is in the Lead.

It’s a Friday afternoon as I’m writing this. I’m sitting on my sectional next to my living room window. The birds look like tiny gnats against a blue-grey sky. For a moment — or technically, an hour — everything’s quiet during my break, and I’ve stepped away from my workflow.

If it’s only for a short period of time, I’m not needed — and that’s awesome. I can stretch, nap, or get in a workout. But instead, I’ve decided to take a stab at my first entry.

To be honest, I’m grateful for the ability to pace myself. It means everything to me to have these moments, where I get to decide when I’ll step out of my home office to recharge. Today is a slow day too, which means I get to clock out early. I’ll never take this blessing for granted.

You know, “slow” is a word with mostly negative synonyms. It’s often bunched with stagnant, lazy, sluggish, even dull or unintelligent. Yet I see slowness as something positive. I find peace in moving slowly, as well as clarity that can’t be rushed. Meanwhile, “quick” is something that often ends in regret.

Rushing’s a Rush — a Tired One, Too.

Why do we always try to move so fast? We tend to rush through one thing, just to start the next. Someone’s breathing down our back, waiting for results, as we do our best to be quick and accurate. An irrational combo, by the way.

Meanwhile, we’ve ended up with a typo unseen. Numbers refusing to add up. Somewhere your manager’s not letting up, and that sort of pressure tends to cause mistakes. Suddenly, I’m backtracking because I worked too fast. It’s a lose-lose.

The worst part, though? Afterwards, I feel terrible because it could’ve been avoided had I not let the pressure get to me. I’d end up asking myself – what was all that for? Was the world going to end if I spent ten extra minutes reviewing my work? Even if I’d missed a ping from Slack, wouldn’t it have been better to do it right the first time?

Do You Want It Quickly, or Do You Want It Correctly?

People that I’ve worked with tell me I stay calm under pressure. They never understand how I do it. I never notice that I am doing it — keeping my composure comes naturally.

Now that I know, I’ve learned to build it into my daily workflow. If I can stay calm, I can remind myself to work slowly. If I work slowly, I can be accurate. Because speed means nothing if I’ll have to go back later to fix mistakes.

So yes, when someone pings me on Teams to ask “Is it done yet?”, I’ll just say “I’m still working on it and will send it over soon.” An underrated answer like that is better than nothing. Even though you’re not finished, it’s important to keep everyone in the loop.

Communication is key when working from home. If you have to, overcommunicate. I promise that no one is rolling their eyes if you’re giving them clarity.

I Am Only One Person.

Everyone wants things now, don’t they? Same-day answers, quick turnarounds, and low patience are the standard. We’ve become so used to immediatelys and ASAPs that we forget how to work with others. Behind every “You need to…” is a human being, and we all have multiple tabs open in life.

We forget, all because that presentation’s due by two o’clock.

But I remind myself that slowing down is not slacking off. Rather, it’s respecting your natural process. It’s knowing that doing something well the first time is always better than rushing three times on the same thing.

So please remember to take your time. I know it gets hard when everything is on fire but remember: you are not a machine.

It’s better to be accurate, above anything else. If someone has to wait another two minutes while you complete a quality check, so be it. They survive, you keep your peace, your detail, and your reputation.

All because you worked to deliver it right the first time. For that, you not only finish the task — you finish it well.

Have a cozy workday, dear.