The Dance Between Fast and Slow
The Diary of Mad Learning & Development Specialist Volume 3, Issue 2
While reading my manager’s comments, the word “pacing” made me pause. It repeated in my mind like a blinking sign in front of a dive bar at night.
Finding this word in the comments, I realized I had a word to name something I didn’t know I was searching for.
I sat back in my chair and took a moment to digest.
It wasn’t just the word, but also the war that raged inside me, pushing beyond my natural instinct.
Part of me has always worked to solve problems as soon as possible if they seem important. So if I don’t enter “solve it now” mode, that side starts to hurl insults like “lazy” and “do better.”
While another part of me quietly, patiently reminds me, remember what happened last time you worked on things over time?
You got better results, you didn’t burn out, you were able to fix things along the way.
Shifting in my chair, leaning my elbows on my desk, I realized both sides have a point.
I’ve been unbalanced in my approach to work for years. Some things need to be worked on slower, with more care, and some may need to speed up.
Do we really need to slow down?
Progress over perfection. Pacing. Planning out steps. These all have names, but it’s really about finding ways to enjoy the small wins along the way.
While attempting to make this shift, reading Slow Productivity by Cal Newport has been a great help (probably time for a reread at this point).
When putting this into practice, I keep thinking about a runner and how they control their speed in a race, using certain points as evaluation moments to speed up or slow down.
Life happens in small wins
During my journey in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) over the last 4.5 years, pacing has been one of the most important things I keep in mind. In a physically demanding sport, you’re probably not going to get a black belt quickly.
Balancing that with normal life, work, relationships, etc., you have to find moments where you push harder, solve problems, and other times where you work piece by piece, one step at a time.
Even with all that, I’m still only a blue belt, so I have a while to go (belt 2 out of 5).
This can feel slow. It can feel like falling behind. But BJJ has been the ultimate test in stacking small wins and learning along the way.
What can we do now?
When thinking about this in our work lives, this can be hard. With AI and everything moving fast today, and the demand to go faster, you sometimes feel like you’re wasting time.
We all know the tips like project planning and breaking up work over time, but what about the emotional side?
The part where we feel like we aren’t doing enough or we’re doing too much. That’s where pacing goes out the window and we just take on whatever is in front of us.
All wins are celebrated: Celebrating small wins as much as big wins, even if everything didn’t go the way I wanted. It’s easy to say something could have gone better, but if everyone is telling you it went well, take the win.
One win every day: Asking myself what the one thing is that I can do today that will make the biggest impact, making sure I’m taking full advantage of the day.
There can only be one most important thing. Many things may be important, but only one can be the most important. — Ross Barber
Be ruthless with priorities: I’m the type of person who constantly asks my manager, when given something new, what the priority is compared to everything else. This helps with the constant feeling that you have to do everything at once.
The pull between doing more and doing less isn’t going away, but it can be controlled. We can shape it into what we need it to be. We can choose to pace ourselves and still make progress. We can use the wins along the way to build toward bigger results.
My advice: find something every day to complete, find something to celebrate, and keep focus on 2–3 important things.
It’s going to feel like a dance, where there’s always a little give and take, but you only give when you choose to, instead of being at the mercy of your environment and others.
Take your time. You get one life, enjoy the moments as they come.
What’s something you’re working on, in life or work, that you need to pace out more or feel like you’re moving too fast on?