July 15, 2026

I have a client navigating some health challenges and so one of the things we’re working on is doing fewer things better. We’re creating more lead time so she has room to maneuver around flairs, low energy days, and other surprises. And generally building in more buffer and proactive rest days.

In some ways this looks like working slower. But what it really means is working more deliberately.

Working deliberately carries its own kind of speed.

This is one of the most counterintuitive things that I keep needing to relearn in new ways.

Staying within my capacity expands my capacity faster than pushing outside of it. Deliberately slowing down each step speeds up the whole process.

It’s frustrating.

And it’s one of those things that requires repetition after repetition after repetition to learn.

But it works. As counterintuitive as that is.

I suspect the magic comes down to smoothness and getting things right the first time.

Rushing and pushing almost inevitably leads to mistakes. In the rare instances it doesn’t, success comes down to luck, not skill.

Troubleshooting and back tracking and fixing and getting back to where you were are time consuming. And no one knows exactly how time consuming and frustrating it’ll be until it’s done.

Going slowly, staying within your capacity, and doing the very next right thing means you can focus enough to do this step right and plan the next one. You aren’t jumping from the past to the future to the present. You aren’t zooming between the granular details and the big picture and the in between all within the next five minutes.

Slowing each step down means you can stay in one time at one level of detail until your task is completed or road blocked.

I see this happening in…

Movement – slowing down a lift to make the same weight more challenging, a controlled approach the edges of your flexibility expanding your flexibility.

Making – late night knitting makes for early morning ripping, rushed sewing means more time with the seam ripper, hasty measurements means your cutting is probably going to be wrong.

Business – doing the very next most obvious step is typically better for growth than flailing around, deliberately laying the groundwork means growth is typically easier to manage, and taking the time to build a coherent strategy means you’re less likely to get distracted by something new and shiny.

Style – hasty shopping makes a mess of a closet while deciding on your style cues ahead of time gives your shopping a personalized filter, and taking the time to practice your style makes iterating clear.

Recovery – recovering before you’re depleted means you’re not trying to fill an empty cup because the cup was never empty in the first place. (Leave some energy in there, it’s like seeding the tip jar of your energy banks.)

I know deliberate action is difficult in the short term, while overworking seems easier. Taking steps slowly seems slow, while speeding up seems fast.

It helps to remember that the tortoise won the race against the hare.

Of course this does require belief that the race you’re running is one worth winning.

But that’s a topic for another time.

That’s all for now.

As always, if you’d like to work together on your business, your style, or your creative life, schedule a call and we’ll get the process started.

This post was originally emailed as part of July’s newsletter. Sign up to receive next month’s email.