The Importance of Pace

Recently, I’ve learnt a few things. I’ve learnt that working in lock-down is hard. I’ve learnt that after staring at a computer monitor for many hours in a day makes sitting down to write my thriller novels, hard. I’ve also learnt that running 10km, is, you guessed it, hard. (Well, it was for me, probably not for you fit type people).

But just because something is hard, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. Let’s face it. The world is continuing to turn. Organisational cogs need to keep turning also. Which means we need to fight through the hard stuff so we can come out the other side.

But have you ever wondered why some people are more productive or efficient than others? Why some can smash out task after task, while someone else is still drinking their morning coffee and reading the news? It’s got nothing to do with skill or motivation (well, I’m sure this plays a part on some level, but I’m trying to prove a point here).

It’s Pace. It’s the ability to get into a rhythm and shift gear up and down as necessary. This really became apparent when I ran 10km this afternoon. Usually when i go running, i run 5km, and run to meet this goal. I would smash out the first two km’s as fast as I could, and then struggle over the finish line. It’s a strategy, but not always the best strategy. But it beats walking the first kilometre and then trying to make up time in the back-end. That would be a lot harder.

I liken these two strategies to how some people work. Some people dash out of the gates as quickly as possible in order to complete the task in the quickest amount of time. Others will spend an inordinate amount of time planning every last detail before they begin. Once again, these are strategies, but are they effective?

I hear what you’re saying: Everyone’s different, Ken. I get it. It’s a strategy. I just want you to consider whether there’s a different way of looking at things.

This evening, during my run, I did something different. I set out at a comfortable pace. I consciously held myself back, knowing it was a bit of a journey. I ended completing the first 5km in a time that wasn’t too dissimilar to my normal 5km times. And my second 5km? I’ve run quicker. I’ve also run slower. That pace allowed me to speed up hills when I needed to, and glide down hills when I needed to, and actually made the entire run quite enjoyable (said no one ever).

Now, I share this because of the situation we are all in. We’re isolated. Most of us are working from home. Uncertainty and ambiguity reigns. If we rush out of the gates, we are going to miss the opportunities, and we won’t have the energy to change course when we need to. If we spend all of our time thinking, you might as well pack up and go home. (Yes, I understand this doesn’t make sense in the current environment, but the metaphor holds true).

Ask yourself: What’s my pace? Do I need to conserve my energy, or do I need to sprint up the hill?

As always, if you're sick of watching Netflix, you can check me out on Amazon here.

Until next time

Ken