This post is duplicated from the original.
Original post: http://lesswrong.com/r/discussion/lw/ndw/purposeful_antirush/
Why do we rush?
Things happen; Life gets in the way, and suddenly we find ourselves trying to get to somewhere with less time than it’s possible to actually get there in. So in the intention to get there sooner; to somehow compensate ourselves for not being on time; we rush. We run; we get clumsy, we drop things; we forget things; we make mistakes; we scribble instead of writing, we scramble and we slip up.
I am today telling you to stop that. Don’t do that. It’s literally the opposite of what you want to do. This is a bug I have.
Rushing has a tendency to do the opposite of what I want it to do. I rush with the key in the lock; I rush on slippery surfaces and I fall over, I rush with coins and I drop them. NO! BAD! Stop that. This is one of my bugs.
What you (or I) really want when we are rushing is to get there sooner, to get things done faster.
Instrumental experiment: Next time you are rushing I want you to experiment and pay attention; try to figure out what you end up doing that takes longer than it otherwise would if you weren’t rushing.
The time after that when you are rushing; instead try slowing down, and this time observe to see if you get there faster.
Run as many experiments as you like.
Experimenter’s note: Maybe you are really good at rushing and really bad at slowing down. Maybe you don’t need to try this. Maybe slowing down and being nervous about being late together are entirely unhelpful for you. Report back.
When you are rushing, purposefully slow down. (or at least try it)
Meta: Time to write 20mins
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