We all have many tasks. We all want them done quickly, so we can move on to the next task, which is usually quite similar to the old one. I used to think that the most important measure of my productivity was how quickly I could turn over tasks. But at some point you realize that you have done very similar things before, and will probably need to do them again.
This is why I have had to discipline myself to go slower. Not so that the task itself will necessarily end up better, but so the next similar task is easier. The way to do this is to focus on how the task is done, or even (on another level), how you manage your tasks.
Take coding, for example. I’ve recently had to write a bunch of Python scripts that run relatively similar simulations. Now, these are all fairly easy to write and debug, so none takes that long. However, it turns out that I had to write quite a few more, to model slight changes, add in some more variables, and that kind of thing. Again, these were not difficult to write. Stepping back though, I saw how much time I wasted. I took the easy option of writing each with very low-level code. Had I taken the time when I realized I was going to have to do this over and over to write some modules that I could import to each case and used classes in Python properly, I would have saved myself many days of pointless coding. Yes, it would have taken a lot more time initially to write with greater generality, but eventually I would not have the mess I have now, and would very easily be able to handle any new requirements. As it is, I’m going to have to go back and rewrite it all in a way I’m not embarrassed of.
Going up a level, I am spending today working on getting to know Notion and Obsidian well, rather than actually working on my current project. Part of me is extremely uncomfortable with not making progress on the project today, but I know that this investment of time will help all my projects in future. I need better project and knowledge management, and these are the tools I have chosen for the job. But using them when you’re not good at them is terribly frustrating, and so I end up not using them at all (Notion more so; Obsidian is pretty easy, but there’s still a lot to learn).
One might ask whether it would not be better to just use these tools a little bit each day, to get good at them over time. Certain tasks are not amenable to this approach. Some things you just have to sit down for a few days with, and place everything else on hold. Slow, incremental improvement works for some things but not others, and besides, is boring as hell.
The Flow Diaries 