Friday, March 30, 2001

What’s the rush?

A sense of urgency is useful, valuable, to be desired and encouraged. Yet there’s a big difference between working with urgency and rushing through your work.

Yes, you want to get it done as quickly as possible. You also want to get it done right. Because getting it wrong and having to start over will cause an even bigger delay than taking the time to do it right.

Focus on what you’re doing. Put the worries or excitement about what’s coming next out of your mind. Give your full attention to the task at hand. Take the time to do it right, so you won’t have to do it again.

If you’ve tried speeding up and it doesn’t seem to get you anywhere, consider slowing down. Speed is not the only thing that matters. Quality matters. Effectiveness matters. Paying attention matters. If you were having surgery, would you want the surgeon to rush through the operation?

Respect what you’re doing enough to give it the time and attention it deserves, and see how much more you can accomplish.

— Ralph Marston

Turn it around       Perspective

Copyright ©2001 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.