Brian Johnson is an amazing resource for those who want to learn about self improvement. I discovered him years ago because he produced what he called Philosopher’s Notes on the many books he read. Today he runs a company called Heroic that is focused on helping people and the world flourish. I highly recommend his book and other digital resources.

This quote hits hard for me. As a high school teacher, I am all about being efficient with my time due to the challenges of teaching (interfacing with 150 teenagers every day, email, planning, grading, hiking across campus just to make copies, dealing with all the other teacher admin we need to deal with–you get the idea). However, I find that I always feel rushed when talking to people individually outside of class and often give both students and colleagues less than my full attention. I know that is not ideal. After such an interaction, I can usually feel that I was not fully present and it leaves me disappointed. I saved this quote while reading Arete’ because it is a solid reminder that I need to reframe how I interact with people one-on-one at work. I’m still learning, and some days are harder than others, but I am getting better. I have come to realize that what’s true of productivity is also true of people: sometimes you’ve got to slow down in order to speed up.