We don’t need to know how you got here. We do need to decide where to go from here.
Sometimes people will spend two hours explaining how they got into a mess or a situation. Usually, what would be more helpful is spending that two hours devising a plan to move forward.
Focus on building a brilliant future. Then get on with it.
It’s fun to watch people from different places or with different mindsets as they move through their day. Some are speeding through, making rapid progress. Others are sauntering along like they’ll live to 200 with no ageing. Choose your pace but it dictates your race. Are you in the race to win? Move with pace.
Sometimes speed is the only thing that matters. When you need to get things done, moving fast is key. Rest at your leisure.
Try to sprint through your work day and personal admin. Get through it as quickly as you can. If you linger, you are just wasting precious moments of your life in limbo.
One of the best tricks to use is to imagine you are going on holiday tomorrow. Since you will be leaving at 6am, there will be no time to complete anything in the morning. Therefore, you will need to get those things done today and tonight. Along with packing, of course.
Adding this pressure is good. Firstly, you trick your mind into assuming you need to get things done. Secondly, your priority list will shift around. Many things you don’t need to do will fall by the wayside. Those critical items will be squeezed in. You will type faster, have shorter phone calls and keep on point in all communication.
Think of each 15 minutes as a sprint. Set yourself a milestone to reach in that 15 minutes. Set the timer on your clock, phone or computer. Then, dash for the Done ✅.
Surprise yourself with how much you can do. Oh, and it will feel great having completed so much. All those lingering items just gone from the list.
Moving fast is key.
If you want to improve a frustrating situation, sometimes you need to try a different tactic. Rather than get debating, simply shrug and move on.
There have been some times in my life where I would engage in deep debates or discussions on topics. These were usually hot topics of the day, but most had a common ever-present theme.
So I know it can be very easy to get caught up in a misunderstanding or a disagreement. And you really should understand which it is at first. You should also figure out what your intent is and what the intent of the other party is.
If your intent is to convince the other party that you are ‘right’, then you are probably in for a long, frustrating discussion. Same thing if that is their intent. However, if you are both sitting down to calmly understand the data the other person has, that can be different. Especially if you are both working toward reasonable steps to improve the situation.
Otherwise, why give it energy? If their opinion, or what you assume is their opinion, is not to your liking, ignore it. Save yourself some time and mild anxiety and continue with your day.
You may wish to try to understand why you object to their viewpoint. But also try looking at it from their perspective and why they may have that position. You can’t mind read but you can try to consider what situations might have lead them to this perspective. Try to think of 10 to 15 because the ones that come ready to you are often your own biased stereotypes.
For peace of mind, build up or shrug and move on.
A comfortable pace is exactly that – comfortable. Consider moving a little quicker. Become a little obsessive. Move swiftly like it’s the day before you are going on holiday for two weeks.
Add a little bit more pace to your step when you are walking. Speak a fraction of a speed more quickly. Come to the point of your comment a little quicker.
This means you might just get more done in your day. Or you might be on time for more events and appointments. It will also mean that you take up less time of others.
If you do not value your time, you are unlikely to value the time of others. Wasting your own time is one thing but wasting someone else’s time is not ideal.
I practice moving quicker by setting an alarm to ring when I should be done a piece of work. If I have some smaller admin items to complete, I set the timer and begin my ‘sprints’. I see if I can work quickly to get the item done in that time. Sometimes I can do it. Sometimes I can’t. But I keep trying and with that I build a habit of hustling through items.
Come on. Move swiftly.
Sometimes you feel sluggish. Or perhaps its the people around you. Maybe you are a bit directionless. That’s ok. Move at pace though once you have a clear vision and are committed.
If you know where you want to go, you may as well get there quickly. It is amazing how much quicker people will decide, move and complete once they are clear on their direction.
Which makes sense. There may not be a lot of value in racing around if you have no focused destination. So rest, reflect and consider your situation and where you might like to go in those circumstances. And as you get a stronger vision, you will start to move more quickly.
You will gain momentum. That will build up and press you forward even faster. This is demonstrated well the three days before you go on holiday. Work items get delegated, delivered or deleted at great speed.
In addition, you do start to copy the speed of those around you. So, once again, be selective with who are in your flock. It’s ok to shuffle and sway when you are on a beach holiday. But when it is time to get the work done, you will want to be around people who move at pace!
