Francis Bacon – On Hurry
Excessive hurry is the most dangerous thing for proper work. Such hurry is similar to what doctors call rapid digestion, which undoubtedly fills the body with acids and insidious disease-causing germs. Therefore, do not measure haste with breaks, but with progress in work. Just as speed in races is not achieved by the length or height of steps, speed in work is achieved by staying focused on what you are doing and not taking on too much at once. Some people only care about quickly finishing the job or superficially completing it, in order to leave the impression of energetic individuals. But there is a difference between shortening a task by condensing it and cutting corners. Work done in this way usually goes back and forth and does not develop steadily. I knew a wise man who, when he saw someone in a hurry, used to say, “Slow down a bit – so that we can reach the end faster.”
On the other hand, proper hurry is a valuable thing. Because time is the measure of work, just as money is the measure of goods; work is bought at a high price where there is no hurry. A lot of haste. Spartans and Spaniards were known as slow people: May death come to me from Spain (Let death come to me from Spain) because then it will surely take her a long time.
Listen carefully to the one who gives you initial instructions about a task and ask them at the beginning rather than interrupting them during their presentation; because when you disrupt someone’s order, their thoughts will move back and forth, and it will be more tiring for them to recall than if you let them go with the flow. But sometimes the listener with their interruptions is more annoying than the speaker.
. However, be careful not to be too direct when approaching something that people are not inclined towards; because preparation is needed to overcome prejudice, just like warm compresses are needed for the ointment to work better.
But more than anything else, hurry is, in essence, order, distribution, and allocation of parts when performing tasks, provided that there is no excessive distribution. Because one who does not divide will never enter the business properly, and one who divides too much will never exit it properly. Choosing the right time means saving time, and working in bad weather means futile effort. Every task should consist of three parts: preparation, discussion or examination, and improvement. Therefore, if you want the work to be done quickly, let only the middle part be the work of many, while the beginning and end should be the work of a few. Following something that is written down usually ensures faster completion of the task, and although it should be completely discarded, criticism indicates more direction than an indefinite stance, like a blank. Ash is more fertile than dust.