I have recently been experimenting with a few different ideas. I have been reviewing going fast, and going slow. There are two very big different schools of thoughts for both of these. This involves both the self help books, and general productivity tips. I have read a lot of material on both different schools of thought, and my opinion is to do a little bit of both. You can't actively go quickly all the time in everything you do. You get burnt out, you can't have as much fun doing it, and you get yourself warn out and stressed. Likewise, you can't go slow and take your time all of the time either. You get lazy, start procrastinating, and take forever to do the simplest of things. When I say go slow, I mean when you deliberately get laid back and take your time while doing things.

Instead, what needs to be found is a balance. I have started splitting my mind up into two separate modes. These two modes govern everything that I do. I am generally in my default mode, but when certain times of actions or events are required, I jump into the secondary mode. These two modes allow me to regulate my life and decide what course of action needs to be taken in what situations.

So let me explain my default mode. My default mode is the first school of thought. It is the most widely accepted. A lot of self-help guru's tell you to go slow in everything you do. They tell you to go slow, take your time, and try to enjoy everything you do and soak up every little detail. I have provided just a few blog posts below that are self-help related and have to do exactly with what I just described.:

• Managing Time Effectively
• Go Slow To Go Fast
• Sustainable Living - Take your time

That is just a few. If you went through Google, and had a lot of self-help blogs hooked into your google reader. So it's obvious, there are a lot of people who think you should go slow. Apparently there are a lot of benefits to going slow, including getting more done in a short period of time. So generally, I am with this school of thought. 90% of the time, I try to go slow. I try to take my time, enjoy what I am doing, and generally have fun. This works really well. Even when I am working on websites/programming. It makes me get stuff done faster, helps me plan better, and keeps my mind clear to allow me to work a little longer.

Now, for going fast. There are times when you can go fast, and get stuff done a lot faster. The going slow parts, help you identify where you need to go fast. I have set this up in my mind with two modes. The first and primary mode (mostly in affect) is the laid back mode. I try to remain laid back, go with the flow (while continuing to maintain control of the flow), and just generally enjoying the ride. I use this mode to determine when the secondary mode needs to kick in. So once the primary mode detects a situation where secondary mode would be more beneficial, it switches over. I try to make it so that as soon as that given task is done, I switch immediately back to my primary mode. There are quite a few situations where I allow my secondary mode to take over.

One good example, is when your doing something that is going to take the same amount of time regardless. So if I am washing dishes. If I do it slowly, it takes me longer. If I do it quickly, I get it done and out of the way so I can move onto something else. So washing dishes, and certain other types of standard work allow me to go into secondary mode for the point of being able to get it done and out of the way, and focus my attention back on what I want to do.

Another area of life you want to speed up in is walking. Most of the time you want to walk a brisk pace. This keeps your heart rate up, as well as gives you instant cardio. It also allows you to regulate your blood flow so your generally awake. I didn't say run, or sprint...just a steady, even stride while walking. This helps you stay focused, make sure you get to where you are trying to go. I do not mean walk fast all of the time, but anytime you are going from one location to another with a set and important goal in mind, a brisk pace (while still maintain slowness) can help you get from location to location faster. You can walk a brisk pace, without going fast. Picking up the pace also looks good on the job. Anytime you go for a job interview, the first thing they look at is how you walk. If you walk briskly that shows you walk with purpose, knowing where you are wanting to go. This shows them an instant sign that makes them think you will be a good worker.

There are other areas you can maintain speed in. Speed should be used in any situation where you can get something "Unpleasant" out of the way faster, and move onto things that are more pleasant. Washing dishes, doing laundry, anything else considered work. yes, you can make those things fun, yes you can detain yourself while doing then and make yourself entertained, yes you can make a game out of it..but to be honest the best, and easy way to get through that stuff is to buckle down, do it, and move on. IN the long run you can be focusing on things you really do consider fun.