Welcome to reThinkable: a weekly newsletter where I share actionable ideas to uplevel your money and life.

Today, we’ll cover:

• How The Paradox of Speed impacts our wealth and success

• 3 ways we can use this to our advantage

Estimated read time: 3 minutes and 30 seconds

Last week, I gave a keynote speech at FinCon in Atlanta. Chatting with other personal finance creators was great, but the week before was rough—I was scrambling to prepare for the presentation, trip and get ahead on work.

In classic overwhelmed-brain fashion, I locked my keys in my car right before heading to the airport.

When I called my girlfriend for help, she said, "What do you expect? You've been all over the place this week." 

She was right—I was so caught up in being "productive" that I was messing up.

Most of us think constant busyness is the path to success, but it’s actually preventing it. The Paradox of Speed reminds us of why slowing down allow us to achieve success faster.

The Paradox of Speed, Explained

The Paradox of Speed states that the more we push to go faster, the more we slow ourselves down.

Imagine someone desperate to build wealth quickly: They jump from one "get-rich-quick" scheme to another, investing in risky stocks and falling for scams.

Maybe they make money at first, but soon enough, they lose it all. By trying to “fast track” wealth, they actually end up further behind.

Compare that to someone who takes a steady, low-risk approach: investing in a tried-and-true option like a low-cost index fund.

They do their research, know building wealth takes time, and let their investments grow.  Ironically, by going slow, they end up building wealth faster.

When we're obsessed with speed and instant results, we rush and cut corners—leading to mistakes that take even longer to fix. Real progress happens when we slow down and give our work the time it needs.

Slowing Down to Speed Up

Now that we know the Paradox of Speed, here are 3 ways we can intentionally slow down to obtain better results.

One Thing at a Time

Only 2.5% of people can multitask. For the other 97.5%, our brains just switch rapidly between tasks which drains our energy.

Think about it: if you’re in a Zoom meeting and checking emails simultaneously, you lose the thread of both. By the time someone asks you a question, you’re desperately trying to hide the fact you have no idea what’s going on. You’re so embarrassed you don’t check your emails anymore.

Monotasking means focusing on one thing at a time until it's done. You can help yourself do this by limiting distractions - like putting your phone away and pausing notifications.

Implementing work intervals also help. Instead of staring down an endless stretch of time, just focus for 30 minutes, take a quick breather, then focus for another 30 minutes. Breaking your work into timed chunks makes it feel more attainable.

Catch a Break

If you’re like me, you’re not at peace until a job is 100% finished. But we’re not machines; we run on limited mental and physical energy. When we’re tired, our work quality falls and we’re more likely to get distracted and make mistakes. 

Taking breaks doesn't just boost your memory and mood—it can actually help solve tough problems, which is why "sleeping on it" really works.

But not all breaks are created equal: scrolling on your phone won't refresh you like moving your body, chatting with friends, taking a real rest, or doing something creative.

Trust the Process

Many people grew up believing spending more hours on something = better results. But at a certain point, extra work leads to burnout, not progress. 

For instance, if you’re driven to be the top salesperson at your company, it’s easy to assume that reading 20 sales books in a month is productive, but without time to practice each strategy, you’ll likely feel overwhelmed and discouraged.

Consistency matters more than intense sprints. Reading and applying 1 book a month can be far more valuable than trying to power through 20 books without taking time to implement your key learnings.

Slowing down helps us be present and do things right. It also helps us avoid silly mistakes like locking ourselves out of our car.

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