Editor's Letter: Slow Down

March 31, 2021
One end goal of efficiency is more time; it's time to get a life.

Have you ever been go-kart racing? Scratch that, I’m writing to a bunch of car enthusiasts—nearly all of you have probably done some sort of racing that’s more adrenaline-pumping than going 40 miles per hour around a small indoor track. Well, I’m not nearly as much of a thrill seeker, so it wasn’t until a few years ago that I went for the first time. As I got the lowdown on the rules, the operator fastened my helmet and said, “Just remember one thing: Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”
    
Now, I was not smooth or fast that day, but the phrase stuck with me. So often, be it at work or in our personal lives, we’re rushing from one thing to the next. Get the job done. Push the car to paint. Hit the target delivery date. 

I think we all face the temptation to move hyper-quickly. It’s the nature of not only the business world, but our world in general. It moves rapidly. There’s always something new and shiny to buy, to work on, to achieve.

But that doesn’t mean you need to move so fast. That phrase from the go-kart track is a reminder that the best way to move fast is to take your time, slow down, and do the job right. That last part is key; for an industry where efficiency is a top priority, let’s not forget that the very concept of efficiency is to prevent waste, not add to it.  

You’ll find more of that concept in this month’s feature, “Save Time” but also in other stories, like our no-excuse guide to OEM repair procedures and an urgent reminder about non-included operations.

Efficiency isn’t just about making more money or taking in more jobs; it’s also about freeing up your time. spending less time putting out fires. It’s about more time spent working on your goals, your business, or your future. It’s about making sound decisions that will also help you stay balanced emotionally, and keep you from burning out. There’s a Tony Robbins quote that I love that gets to the heart of this: “If you don’t have 10 minutes, you don’t have a life.”
    
Finding more time in the day is possible, but not by racing through everything else. Slow down, do it right—then see how fast you’ll go.

Anna Zeck
Editorial Director 

 

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