How To Slow Down And Create More
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What you win when you dare to slow down while others keep hurrying
Slow down and you create more.
Sounds like a contradiction? Or like fake news?
Nowadays, slowness and patience have negative associations.
Taking time or being condemned to slowness by external circumstances is an unloved condition, perceived as “wasted time”.
However, more and more people, companies and researchers are recognizing that “slowing down” is a promising strategy, especially in times of acceleration.
Switching into slow mode
Whoever dares to go against the stream and has the guts to slow down ends up being a better listener, observer and thinker.
However, in times of permanent acceleration and the demand that everything should be faster, higher, short-term thinking.
We are constantly in a hurry and under pressure. This leads to mistakes and we spend time cleaning them up again. It is easy to lose sight of the essentials and the ability to focus in the rush.
Let’s stick with the cliché — less is more
When multitasking, nothing goes faster, in fact, it goes slower. The brain processes multiple tasks serially, jumping back and forth between tasks — and that reduces the speed of thinking and solving or finishing tasks.
Conscious control of a situation requires full attention. When we start moving too fast, we often don’t see what we need to see.
“Slowing down can spark richer thinking, creating, collaborating, innovating and problem solving,” according to Carl Honoré, who is a pioneer in the Slow Movement movement.
When we slow down, we notice details and potential consequences. We are then more able to ask more thoughtful questions and follow up, leading to better solutions. We learn to drop less important things and put more focus and attention on the things that move us forward.
Slow Art
On Slow Art Day, museum visitors around the world take deliberately long looks at works of art. Typically, the average time a museum visitor allows a work is 20 seconds.
