Loading…
26
Had a chat with a retired electrician at Home Depot yesterday
I was grabbing some paint thinner and this older guy started telling me about his 40 years in electrical work. He said the biggest mistake he saw was people rushing jobs to get to the next one. That hit me because I have been guilty of that lately, trying to squeeze in one more room before the weekend. Made me think about whether I am actually doing good work or just fast work. Any of you ever had a random stranger say something that stuck with you for days?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
sam_cooper2mo ago
Man, does that ever hit close to home? I think we all get caught up trying to beat the clock, especially when you've got a whole list of stuff waiting. That retired electrician had a point though - fast work usually means you're gonna be back there fixing something later anyway. My dad used to say "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" and I never really got it until I started rushing and messing up simple stuff. It's like your brain just skips over the little details when you're in a hurry, and those are the things that come back to bite you. I've started telling myself that if I can't do it right the first time, I'm just gonna have to do it twice, and that usually slows me down enough to get it right.
1
colegarcia2mo ago
Is it weird that I used to roll my eyes at that whole "slow is smooth" thing? @sam_cooper, your dad's saying actually makes sense now after reading this. I always thought rushing was just getting it over with, but you're totally right about the double work part.
5
the_cameron2mo ago
There's another side to this nobody's touching on. When you slow down and really focus on what you're doing, you start noticing things you wouldn't catch otherwise. Like that retired electrician probably spotted a dozen small issues while he was fixing one thing, stuff that could have turned into bigger problems later. Rushing through a job blinds you to the warning signs that are right in front of your face. My neighbor is a mechanic and he says the guys who crash cars are always the ones trying to beat the clock on repairs. They miss the loose bolt or the cracked hose because they're already thinking about the next job instead of being in the moment with the current one.
5