There aren't enough hours in the day. I tend to take things slowly; tasks get interrupted by distractions, or put off to tomorrow - and even when I am doing them, there's no rush. I don't like panics; there must be air between tasks, life is to be enjoyed not hurried, and those distractions will always pop up.
I prefer to take things easy. At my own pace. Eating - I'm usually the last to finish eating. I enjoy the process, especially when the food is good (and as I avoid bad food, this covers most of what I eat). Walking can be significantly speeded up with the aid of Nordic walking poles, an excellent accelerator - but I also like to dawdle, take photos, enjoy the view, contemplate nature. Ever since getting the Huawei health app on my phone, I can see that my 'moderate-to-high intensity' walking decreases markedly in summer, when the living is easy. The speed of life slows down for summer. And summer in the countryside is slower than winter in the city.
Procrastination is a huge problem for mankind, especially when you have no external deadlines hanging over you. An essential lesson for life is to impose your own meaningful deadlines. And to stick to them.
Being somewhat on the Asperger's spectrum, I find spreadsheets comforting, and for me tabling my daily exercise and dietary intake is an excellent deadline-maker. This has its downside. OK - so before going to bed, I need to finish my work, write a blog piece (or at least move it forward, process some photos if not actually publish), do my exercises. With things being put off towards 'later in the day', the last two or three hours are a rush to finish what needs finishing, while fighting off distractions. But then there is the immense satisfaction of closing my laptop with the day's spreadsheet filled in correctly; 11,000 paces, 20+ press-ups, 16+ pull-ups, 40 sit-ups, two sets of back extensions, three sets of exercises with 5kg weights, six minutes of holding the plank, and 40 squats.
Incidentally, the squats are done usually in the morning, while the kettle boils. This is for the water to heat my coffee cup. I do this so that my espresso stays hot for longer, as I don't want to be gulping the coffee down, but enjoying it properly, not drinking it lukewarm. Logging the squats in the spreadsheet sets me up for the day; I push myself to get as many sets of exercise in before 17:00. But during the working week, often there isn't the time, so it gets bunched up into the evening.
Work has its own deadlines - you don't want to let down clients or colleagues, so things get done by when they need to get done. Over the years, I've learned to be more efficient, no longer having to spend so much time on stuff like researching background that by now I know well. Routine tasks are executed properly because of repetition.
Much as I don't like to admit this - I am a slow learner. But - having learnt a lesson, having acquired a deep insight and thorough understanding through experience, reading or from another person - I tend to learn it well. Solid foundations for future learning. But it's taking me so long! Stuff I should have known when I was in my late 20s, only falls in place now, as I'm in my mid-60s. [The internet - in particular Wikipedia - has opened doors to vast quantities of knowledge once accessible only through public libraries. A curious youngster today can tap into it at any time.]
We slow down as we age. Things take longer to do. My father, in his last years, in his mid-90s, would take an hour and half to eat his main meal of the day; he had an electric plate-warming tray on the table under his dinner plate.
I see speedy people, in a rush. They are efficient. They get things done quickly at work. Their work rate is exemplary. They can get five tasks done in the time it takes me to do two (with dawdling and distractions along the way). They deserve higher pay for that reason alone.
But at the end of the day, here's my question - if 'live fast, die young' is a motto - is the corollary true?
This time last year:
Does it all come right in the end?
Heavenly Jeziorki
This time eight years ago:
Why are all the shops shut today?
This time nine years ago:
Jeziorki at its most beautiful
This time 11 years ago:
Useful and useless in my wallet
This time 12 years ago:
In search of the dream klimat - remote viewing made real
This time 13 years ago:
Zakopane to Kraków in 3hrs 45min
This time 14 years ago:
The year's most beautiful day?
Go wit the flow, and know the flow.
ReplyDelete@Anon
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent motto! "Know the flow..."
Speed is great for simple, linear tasks. Where things are complicated or complex, pausing to consider is better in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAlso being on the Asperger's spectrum I find it comforting to understand how systems work. And I can appreciate the pleasure in a complete and tidy spreadsheet. It's not that we learn slowly: we seek to know more, and more deeply, which takes more time.
@WHP
ReplyDelete"Speed is great for simple, linear tasks. Where things are complicated or complex, pausing to consider is better in the long run."
Very true. During the pandemic, businesses that focused on productivity (accountancy, etc) found that working from home really worked, as everyone just got on with it. But creativity suffers. Individual creativity is another matter; thoughts brew and come to fruition at their own pace.
Spreadsheets - I was lucky to have a good teacher, just as I was lucky to have a good maths teacher in my third year of junior school. Serendipity plays a part in speed of learning.