Comment by raldu

Before anything, the obsession with speed seems like a management fantasy that tries to squeeze more out of workers in less time. We shouldn't forget that we're all human, and there are myths and facts related to working fast.

Working "fast" is tricky. The ironic conclusion part of the article is an example to that. People will miss the point and screw up more while trying to be "faster". However if a task becomes more automatic, it will become faster, which means that actually doing something "fast" would consume less energy, since it is more or less automated and unconscious, while "trying" to be fast would consume more energy.

The key here seems to be that just do something "a lot", and it will become faster by itself through time by being more and more "automated". But take your time, and stop worrying about speed. Speed is just pressure which will bring more pressure as you do stuff faster. Don't create unrealistic pressure.

Another key is garbage collection. Just get stuff "done", and get rid of the old tasks, or treat your long to-do items as "later" lists. If something really matters, you will do it anyway. You won't even need a to-do list to keep track of your "important tasks".