The Secret to Getting More Done

Last week I spent a day getting ready to go out of town for a week. As I was going through my to-do list, I noticed a familiar feeling creeping in: too much to do, not enough time to do it in.

I wear many hats at Energy Matters, and I live with 2 dogs, 2 cats, 5 hens, 1 California Desert Tortoise, 1 Betta fish, and 10 Japanese trapdoor snails (yes, Dr Dolittle was one of my favorite movies growing up) so there is a lot to when going away.

But the pattern of pre-trip stress is just that, a pattern - a very old pattern.

Years ago when I began exploring the nature of time, I discovered a secret to getting more done in less time.

When that old pattern started creeping in last week, I reminded myself: Go Slower.

That’s the trick to getting more done. Go slower.

For some of you reading this, your response will be “Of course.”

For others, like me when I was first introduced to this idea, your brain will resist with “How can that be? I have so much to do! If I go slower, I’ll get less done!”

Next time you feel you have too much to do and not enough time, try going slower.

It works. You will get more done.

And you will feel better – more relaxed and in flow – as you check things off that to-do list.

Why does going slower allow you to get more done?

When you go faster and faster, you are sending a message to your nervous system that danger is afoot. You move your stress needle up toward fight or flight.

Adrenaline kicks in giving you the feeling that you are getting tons done, but you are in a rigid, either/or frame of mind. Your decision-making and your problem-solving abilities decrease.

You’ve been there before: you just spent a frantic afternoon working like mad, but at the end of the day, you are amazed at how little you accomplished.

Going slower sends the opposite message to your nervous system: everything’s OK. You move through your tasks with greater ease and fluidity, with access to more creativity and flexible thinking.

Next time your deadlines and to-do lists are ratcheting up your stress levels, take a lesson from Milton the California Desert Tortoise: slow and steady does indeed win the race.

Go slower, get more done,
Kirstin Lindquist