Slow Makes Sense

Every Wedneday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits.

This is a guest post from Christopher Richards, author of www.SlowDownNow.org. If you enjoy this post, check out his site.

I am guilty of sometimes trying to cram every moment with activity. I’m working on slowing down. It’s a work in progress. But it’s not that easy. The problem is time greed. I’ll answer one more email before I head out. I’ve just go time to finish this paragraph before I…

Does this sound familiar?

Microsoft’s message is, “Do more faster.” I am not sure I want to. I want to do less. “Do more faster,” is a good enough message for a machine. You wouldn’t want to buy a new computer if it’s slower than the one you have. But this message does not speak to me. I am a human.

Doesn’t it seem like we are living in a culture of speed? In business we are supposed to have a sense of urgency about everything. But constant urgency is madness. It’s neurotic. Action and speed are built-in to our way of life and we, in America, think of them as good things. But some cultures spend a lot more time deliberating before acting.

If someone said to you that you are a fast thinker, would you be proud? Would you think that they were alluding to your intelligence? Don’t worry; you have proved your intelligence by reading this far.

We’ve been conditioned to come up with the right answer fast. This is just the sort of thing you want from your computer. But if someone called you a slow thinker, would you be offended?

We humans (I am assuming you are one) are more complex. If we stop at the first right answer we limit ourselves. Slowing down and looking at things from alternative perspectives is essential to creativity and innovation.

Noticing is not something we learn in school. Well, that’s not entirely true. I went to art school and learned to paint and draw. This helped me look beyond naming, or categorizing objects. I learned to see in a different way. There is a joy of looking. Constant activity is a way to fend off boredom, so slowing down is not for everyone. If you’re addicted to activity, then slowing down may have unforeseen side-effects. So if you try the following experiment, it is at your own risk:

Slow down for just one minute. If you are walking, slow down the pace. If you’re in the supermarket line, look at the people standing around. Be present. Notice what is going on in your body. Is your jaw tight or relaxed? What does your neck feel like? If you’re talking, slow down your rate of speech. Did you notice anything different?

Once you get into the habit of looking, looking at the person you are talking with, looking at the body language of others, you start to see more. But in order to do this, paradoxically, you need to focus less on yourself.

Have you ever been in a conversation and not really been listening? I have. You see it all the time, one person is impatiently waiting for the other person to stop talking so they can say what they want to say. They are practically hoping from one foot to the other. This is not really a conversation. It is? It’s a serial monologue. Really listening is great fun, but you need to slow down to be able to pull it off.

I was at a public-speaking seminar a few years ago, and heard this wonderful question from a young woman. She asked why no one listened to her in meetings. The advice she was given was to first think about what she wanted to say, and how she would say it. Then, she should ask the question as simply as possible and be quiet. Try it. It works.

When you use this technique you get known for saying something of value and you are listened to. It may take time.

Only by slowing down do we come to know ourselves (which may be a reason for some people to speed up). Each of us is unique. We are our own universe there to be discovered. Each of us is a singularity.

Carl Jung said psychological differentiation is the work of mid-life. I wonder if slow is less appealing to young people? However, even when I was young I may have always been slow.

Christopher Richards is author of www.SlowDownNow.org, the “almost” serious antidote to workaholism. Humorous stories ranging from the true to the blatantly absurd.

Slow Makes Sense

Every Wedneday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits.

This is a guest post from Christopher Richards, author of www.SlowDownNow.org. If you enjoy this post, check out his site.

Does this sound familiar?

We’ve been conditioned to come up with the right answer fast. This is just the sort of thing you want from your computer. But if someone called you a slow thinker, would you be offended?

Slow down for just one minute. If you are walking, slow down the pace. If you’re in the supermarket line, look at the people standing around. Be present. Notice what is going on in your body. Is your jaw tight or relaxed? What does your neck feel like? If you’re talking, slow down your rate of speech. Did you notice anything different?

When you use this technique you get known for saying something of value and you are listened to. It may take time.

Carl Jung said psychological differentiation is the work of mid-life. I wonder if slow is less appealing to young people? However, even when I was young I may have always been slow.

Christopher Richards is author of www.SlowDownNow.org, the “almost” serious antidote to workaholism. Humorous stories ranging from the true to the blatantly absurd.

Posted on 17 May 2007 in Simplicity |
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Comments (9)

ZHereford Says:

May 17th, 2007, 10:38 am

Wow what a timely article for me!
Lately I’ve been torn between stepping things up, which would mean rushing, and slowing down and enjoying the process. Now I know which I’m going to do.

Most of us have a tendency to be in a hurry all the time - for what I’m not sure. I think if we took more time to savor the moment we’d be much better off.

Christopher Says:

May 17th, 2007, 12:57 pm

I am glad it makes sense to others. I am interested in waiting. I am not trying to get a job being a waiter in a restaurant ( I tried that and failed). I’m talking about the art of waiting. One philosopher, whose name escapes me (as much does, thankfully) said that most of the worlds ills come from man’s inability to sit in a chair and do nothing.

I think the reference to man, here was probably before women were invented. But you get the point.

For me there is a terror of having nothing to do. I need a book. But what about leaving early with the intention of getting to where you want to go early? And then just wait. What a concept! I am trying it out. I have to say I am actually starting to enjoy waiting, but it doesn’t come naturally.

I want to drive slowly. I have to where I live because I need to be super alert to avoid all those other people who are asleep at the wheel, or talking on the phone, baking a cake, doing the laundry or whatever else they are doing while driving. All I can do is just drive. I’m practicing just doing the one thing. Of course it’s impossible, but at least I have a goal.

Yours in slowness,

Christopher

Manny Says:

May 17th, 2007, 14:32 pm

I’ve been studying Sandra Anne Taylor’s “Quantum Success” and she makes a point of “releasing desperation”…the urgency that, in some of us, is so strong, that it actually drives away the things we wish to bring toward us. She recommends patience and persistence. Now that scientific research has revealed that the time to master a discipline is about 7 years, I think we should go for mastry instead of speed.

Onno Says:

May 17th, 2007, 14:52 pm

And you know what is the strangest of all? You get more productive and happy. At first slowing down seems unnatural and a waste of time, but when you realize you don’t become less productive, you start to wonder why you were always running before. That’s where I’m now :)

Love the post.

Leo Says:

May 17th, 2007, 16:23 pm

I’m so glad Christopher wrote this guest post. I love it, plus I’ve been a fan of his for awhile. Sorry I was so slow in getting him on Zen Habits. ;)

garg Says:

May 18th, 2007, 1:42 am

I perform best when I am working carefully and slowly. Unfortunately, the exact opposite is expected of me at the place where I am employed. Some fellow employees try to go faster and faster and expect others to be just as fast or faster. This creates a horrifically tense and uncomfortable situation.

However, when I am working alone or with people who don’t try to compete at speed, my performance and productivity goes much higher than almost everyone else.

Haste is waste. More people need to follow your advice. :D

Shane Says:

May 18th, 2007, 2:29 am

I’ve worked with a lot of tradespeople (electricians, etc) when I was running a manufacturing plant …

The bad ones jump right in and apply a bandaid solution. The problem always comes back because they only fixed a symptom of the real problem.

The good ones mull the problem over. Observe. Kick the tires. Take their time. And then they fix the real problem. For good.

WaterLearner Says:

May 18th, 2007, 3:40 am

I do agree that we are living in a mad world of speed. Everything and everyone demands us to be fast. The deadline of projects are set right at the top for us to know before we even get to know what projects have landed on our lap!
I agree totally! We should slow down. I sometimes am so stressed out completing one task after another, sending one emails after another that I realised that I am not even breathing! Serious!
If any of you guys out there can have more tips on Slowing Down, you bet I would need that!

Wallet Rehab - Ways to save money Says:

May 20th, 2007, 2:12 am

Slowing down is really important in not just business but our personal lives too. I think my own personal relationship with a special someone is rocketing out of control, though I’m not sure how to slow it down. A big part of me doesn’t want to slow down, but there’’s a little part which says, “in the long run, this might be something to regret.”