There are two kinds of people in the world: those who finish tasks on time and with relative ease and those who labor over everything they need to get done and struggle to maintain healthy levels of productivity day in and day out.
If you are the latter, you may wonder how others manage to complete everything in their task lists within the same number of hours in the day.
The answer is that productive people follow very specific strategies to get things done. One is called the “average speed” strategy, which involves finding your own “goldilocks” pace—not too fast or too slow, but just right.
To understand this strategy, let’s first look at two examples of speed in everyday life.
Average Speed vs. High Speed
What is speed in life and work terms?
If given a reading assignment, some people will try to cram the task in a very short period. Others prefer to pace themselves, reading only a few pages a day. A third group of people would procrastinate right up to the deadline and then find themselves trying to read hundreds of pages in one evening.
While it may seem like the first kind of person would get through the book the fastest, this isn’t always necessarily the case. It’s, in fact, the second kind of person who is most likely to complete the task on time.
The reason is that this person has found their average speed. If you read just ten pages a day, you can get through a 1,000-page book in just three months. While going through 30 or 50 pages daily may seem faster, this pace is unsustainable. The reader may burn out by day four and end up not completing the task at all.
The third group of people will try to work at warp speed—they may or may not finish reading the book, but there’s no denying they have wasted a lot of time.
Instead of focusing on how quickly you can get something done, consider other elements that will affect your productivity: your level of motivation and the speed you can sustain.
Remember, one- or two-day bursts of high-speed working mean nothing in the long run. Sustained “average-speed” working schedules are key.
How To Find Your Average Speed
Now that you are familiar with the concept, it’s time to find your average speed. You must first know your habits—after all, you are your habits, and they dictate your level of productivity.
Not everyone works at the same pace, and that’s okay. With trial and error and close consideration, you will find the speed at which you are most productive.
When you know yourself, you can then transform your habits.
How To Improve Your Average Speed
Now, you can build on your average speed to become even more productive.
For example, your new year’s resolution is to improve your physical health. Your chosen form of exercise is jogging. This doesn’t mean you should do full-on sprints every single day.
Start small—take a brisk walk around the neighborhood four or five times a week. Once your body settles into this new level of activity, you can turn up your speed. Break up your walk with bursts of light jogging.
Increase your speed week by week, and within a few months, you’ll be able to jog several miles without running out of breath.
Benefits of Average Speed
Once you’ve taken the step to transform your habits, you’ll start noticing a change. You’ll complete tasks more quickly, and your mood and motivation will remain consistent.
Embrace the thought that even a small change can go a long way, and you’ll continue to improve.
