How to be faster?
We often hear that successful people do a lot of work, most of the work to be precise. The problem is that there is a cap on how much work we can do. The real difference between really successful people and those at the top is the speed at which they do that work.
People at the top do most of the work with extreme efficiency. They waste no time because they know that time is the only irreplaceable asset.
There are many tricks to achieving this efficiency, and most of them don’t require profound knowledge or energy.
1) Work like a machine
People use machines to maximize efficiency in certain tasks. Even though we created machines, there are some truths we can learn from them.
The difference between us and machines is that they don’t require rest or rejuvenation to work efficiently. Our efficiency, on the contrary, quickly falls off if we don’t rest or do any hobbies outside of work.
I suggest that you do some tasks as a machine would. I don’t recommend that you work endlessly and without rest, since it will not only make you miserable but also dramatically lower your productivity (and will to live).
However, I suggest that you do some meaningless everyday tasks without putting emotions into them. We often fall for the trap of emotional turmoil that some basic, lower-brain tasks invoke in us. This is a terrible mistake since these kinds of tasks can act as a powerful vacuum that drains us psychologically. Tasks like washing your car, paying the bills, and going to the grocery store need to be approached without any emotional involvement. They need to be done with a cold, emotionless approach.
This way, you will do these tasks while remaining psychologically energized for more important tasks. This machine-like thinking can be done even with something more important, like creating a presentation for your job or writing a blog post, if you don’t particularly like doing those things. So even on days when you don’t feel like doing a certain activity, you will turn your machine brain on and do it automatically without procrastinating and overthinking.
It’s important not to force this method since some duties require your undivided attention. Doing creative tasks requires the complete opposite of a cold-calculated approach. Another tip is not to compensate for missed work. If you don’t manage to write a page of a Word document in one day, never do two Word documents the next day. Keep it simple and continuous since consistency is far better than working in explosive blocks, at least for this type of machine-like approach.
2) Minimise distractions
To achieve speed in dealing with everyday stuff, you must avoid unnecessary distractions.
In my professional life, I noticed that I have a problem with long, unnecessary, and often boring talks with some of my colleagues. I found myself unable to focus on my work goals because my colleagues bored me with their personal lives or questions about my personal life. I needed to move away from their endless small talk sessions without being impolite.
I remember one nurse who came to work with me in a medical office. She was an older nurse who had a lot of experience in family medicine, and I didn’t want to get on her bad side, even though I was technically her boss and was responsible for her actions. She was a pretty positive person, but also a pretty positive pain in the ass. At first, we started talking about everything, and we got to know each other, but as time went by, I noticed that she didn’t stop talking, like ever. I knew that I had to put an end to this meaningless chit-chat, so I started observing how our conversation went. Then it suddenly hit me. For some reason, I faked interest in her personal life, how her two sons, who were older than me, left her alone, and how her ex-husband cheated on her, etc. Next time she tried to open up another boring conversation, I just ignored her and typed on my laptop instead. At first, she was persistent, but as time went by, she figured that she was annoying as hell, and she stopped talking. At first, I felt bad since she is a good person, but now I regret nothing since it's obvious that no one ever told this lady no, and I felt obliged to teach her that some people don’t want to talk all the time. They say that only children can be taught manners, but I disagree. For me, it was incredible how someone her age couldn’t read social cues, even if you shoved them in her face. Now that I think about it, I regret one thing: not telling her that at the beginning,
If you set boundaries both at work and at home, you will be much quicker in doing stuff that’s important to you.
3) Reduce friction, lower the barrier to action
In life, we have a lot of friction. Things that get in the way of our current goals. When you want to accomplish a certain goal, it would be best to minimize friction as much as you can. You can probably remember some days when you wanted to do something, but just couldn’t get yourself to start.
I realized that starting is actually half of the job. Once you start and get the ball rolling, you can much more easily keep going.
A useful comparison is that of a car. It requires far more power to start moving from a standstill than to continue accelerating. This is why first gear provides the most power, with each subsequent gear offering less
You can minimise friction in a lot of ways. Look around yourself and notice what objects or people bring you this sense of friction.
If you want to write more, for example, keep a tablet or a laptop next to your bed so when you’re really tired, you can easily write another 500 words before going to sleep. If you want to go to the gym more often, always pack your gym bag beforehand, so you minimize the effort of packing your bag before gym.
Just like these positive habits benefit when you minimize friction, you can reduce bad habits by increasing the friction.
If you want to eat healthier, for example, don’t stack up your fridge with unhealthy snacks. If you want to reduce the amount of cigarettes you smoke per day, don’t buy more than you need “just in case”.
Even though we are complex beings with (sometimes) obscure motives, we can easily implement these brain hacks to benefit from them.
If you want to succeed in almost any field, you need to be faster at doing the things that will get you to succeed in that field. It’s as simple as that. You need to have a clear goal, a clear plan, and clear steps you can take whenever you have the time. But remember that these tips are only somewhat useful if you’re not willing to pay the price (do the work).
"It is much more useful to do a lot of work in a dumb way than to do a little bit of work in a smart way."
Summary:
Success and speed go hand in hand. While doing more work helps, the key difference between high achievers and others is how efficiently and quickly they get things done. Speed comes from avoiding waste and maximizing focus.
Key strategies:
- Work like a machine (selectively)
- Perform routine or emotion-draining tasks (e.g., paying bills, cleaning) with a mechanical, emotionless mindset to conserve mental energy for important work.
- Don’t overextend or try to “make up” missed tasks; consistency matters more than bursts of effort.
- Minimize distractions
- Set clear boundaries, especially in social or work environments, to avoid small talk or interruptions.
- Be polite but firm in preserving your focus and time.
- Reduce friction
- Make it easier to start tasks by preparing in advance (e.g., pre-packed gym bag, laptop near bed).
- Conversely, increase friction to break bad habits (e.g., don’t keep junk food or extra cigarettes around).
- Starting is often the hardest part; lower the barrier to action.