Why Am I So Slow at Getting Things Done
I feel like the clock is too fast for me.
If I’m working alongside someone on the same task, they will finish much faster than I do. If we’re both cleaning our houses, their rooms will be clean and fragant while I’m still putting things in their proper place. If we’re writing a post, like this one, they’ll have theirs published while I’m still on my first draft.
It’s not simply a matter of having to start to ‘work smarter, not harder.’
Productivity techniques may have their place, but they won’t fix the root problem: I am slow. I feel like both my body and mind function at a slower pace than others. These techniques can only mask the problem or help me cope with my slowness.
And it’s not a matter of having to start to work hard, either.
Being slow already forces us to work harder, requiring extra time and effort just to keep up with others and possibly achieve the same results as them. Pushing ourselves even harder will only lead to losing our sanity, missing out on sleep, and never having a normal life. And this post isn’t about becoming more productive or faster than the average person—it’s just about not being too slow.
Not all the reasons for slowness that I discuss here may apply to you (some of them don’t apply to me either).
Your slower pace may not even be your fault, and it’s not necessarily a negative trait. In fact, there are often valid reasons behind why we operate at a different speed. In this post, I’m mostly just sharing my own habits and tendencies that indeed contribute to my slowness, which may help you understand why you also take longer to get things done.
I hope this post makes you feel better about yourself and also helps you reduce, or even completely eliminate (if it’s something within your control), this problem in your life.
Many People Have slow processing speed
Maybe knowing that you’re not the only one with this problem will help you at least feel a little better, since it suggests that maybe it’s not your fault.
I only recently came to know that many others suffer from being slow at everything. Looking back, I realize that I’ve struggled with this problem since childhood, and it has affected many areas of my life. Now that I’m aware of it, many of the problems I’ve faced over the years now make more sense, as they were caused by my slowness.
Since I was a child, people have often complained about how much time I took to finish the simplest things—even something as basic as taking a shower.
This often frustrated the people waiting for their turn to shower, which is understandable. As a result, I was always placed last in line to avoid making others wait too long. Even now, as an adult, I still prefer to go last, knowing I’ll take longer than most. I used to wonder, “How do others manage to shower so quickly? Are they really cleaning every part of their body? Are they even using soap?”
But now that I know others struggle with being slow, I understand why people can shower so quickly.
Even when it comes to eating, I take longer than most people.
People react differently to this. Some praise me for taking my time, assuming it’s because I chew my food properly. Others, however, accuse me of eating too much (though I actually eat less than most people). The misunderstanding happens when they finish their second large plate of food and leave the table, only to return later and still see me eating. They assume I’ve eaten multiple plates, but in reality, I’m just finishing my first and only plate. Thus, because of my slowness, people sometimes think that I eat too much.
This misunderstanding bothers me a lot, since gluttony is a sin.
Anyway, thank God my work routine allows me to eat at my own pace, because I spend around 1 hour—literally—to finish a meal.
In school, I often felt frustrated by how long it took me to understand things.
It took me longer to learn the concepts, and there were times I didn’t understand them at all. It was discouraging to see classmates who skipped lessons and studied only a few hours before tests scoring much better than I did. It’s not that I wasn’t putting in the effort—I was trying really hard. But in the end, it didn’t make any difference.
Then, feeling too dumb for college, I decided not to pursue it after high school.
To be clear, it wasn’t because I didn’t believe in the value of education itself; I just thought I was too dumb for college. The prospect of constantly failing at college, despite my efforts, was the real reason behind my decision. I was afraid of getting low grades and, as a result, missing out on job opportunities in the future. I didn’t want to waste a lot of time and energy trying to get good grades only to end up failing anyway.
Nowadays, my slowness also impacts my social life.
I used to think it was due to having too many things to do and constantly adding more to my list. Well, it is because of that as well, but I’ve come to realize that a secondary reason for this is that I’m extremely slow at everything. Often needing extra time to complete tasks, I struggle to find time to socialize. After all, how can I go out and have leisure time if I still haven’t finished my duties?
If resting on the seventh day of the week wasn’t a commandment of God, I wouldn’t take a break.
I’d feel better if my lack of a social life only affected me, but it impacts others too.
When I struggle to make time for socializing, I miss opportunities to do good for others—chances to help them, listen to them, and know and meet their needs (just monetary aid is not enough). And I’ve unfortunately hurt many people, making them feel that I don’t care about them, which weighs heavily on my heart and makes me extremely sad.
Even replying to messages takes me absurdly longer than it should.
Something that can help is investing in a new cell phone, since my current one is EXTREMELY slow (you have no idea how slow). I had bought the cheapest option available because I only intended to use it for reading books and texting on messaging apps, but it struggles even with those tasks. Using this cell phone is really discouraging. In fact, it was right after I got this new cell phone that I started to take absurdly longer to reply.
I’ll buy another cell phone to avoid making my situation worse.
I’m already slow enough.
Can you have a high IQ but be slow?
I’ve never taken an IQ test, not even an online one, because I don’t want to feel sad about the result. HAHAHA
So, since I don’t know my IQ, I can’t really say much about how it relates to being slow. However, I’ve noticed that some people with average and above-average IQs have a slower processing speed, too. They take longer to understand concepts or finish tasks.
So, being slow doesn’t mean you have a low IQ.
i have 140 iq but im slow, why?
byu/ProfileTrick8099 inGifted
Above average IQ why am I so slow? Is the IQ test wrong?
byu/ultraboss101 inJordanPeterson
A smart 7 year old girl very slow at everything. Advice?
byu/Real-Area9487 inParenting
Gifted with slow processing speed?
byu/sunrisedreams inGifted
do people with high IQ ever find it difficult to understand or grasp some concepts?
byu/saymonguedin inmensa
I have a high IQ, so why am I a slow thinker?
What are the causes of slow thinking in intelligent people?
Many people with really high IQ are very slow.
Comment
byu/sunrisedreams from discussion
inGifted
Why Does It Take Longer for Me to Understand Things?
It’s faster to simply memorize certain information than to understand it, and it’s easier to accept certain knowledge than to seek the truth behind it.
“If a person is a knowledgeable person, then ones mind may work quickly with such knowledge. However, if a person wishes to understand, then one must piece together many units of knowledge to produce a single unit of understanding. This requires time. If ones has a gullible mind, then that mind will accept knowledge without question. This will allow such a mind to suck up knowledge like the desert would suck up water. Society will then regard such a person as being an intelligent person despite that being the complete opposite of the truth. On the other hand, those who understand, unless lucky, will be regarded as stupid.” (https://qr.ae/p2MYny)
This may be the reason why you take longer to understand things (or one of them).
Or, it could simply be that you have a different learning style:
How Does Sleep Affect Efficiency?
A poor night’s sleep certainly affects our physical and mental performance.
In fact, I personally struggle with sleep—something I’ve been working to improve. I think you might be facing the same problem. Even now, I’m trying to overcome it. I often wake up around 3:00 AM and can’t fall back asleep, which slows me down physically and mentally for my daily activities. I notice my reactions and reflexes becoming sluggish, and my memory and intellectual abilities suffer as well.
How can I expect to function at a normal pace in this situation?
I’ve noticed that when I can sleep a bit more, I can complete tasks a bit faster.
This lack of sleep certainly correlates with my difficulty in getting things done quickly.
Recently, I saw that sleep deprivation directly affects our language and communication skills. Having these areas affected is particularly bad for me, since a considerable part of my activities have these skills at their core. A good night’s sleep would allow me to perform at a normal pace, instead of the lethargic, time-consuming pace I usually have.
So, make sure to get a good night’s sleep, both in quality and quantity.
It will leave you much more energized, with quicker thinking, more strength, and better reflexes for work and study.
Does being healthy increase productivity?
Actually, take care of your health as a whole, not just sleep.
The core solution in this post revolves around taking care of your overall health. With body and mind restaured, you will end up more energized and able to get things done faster. Your reflexes and agility will improve with a good night’s sleep, regular exercise, proper hydration, etc.
I know, this will make you spend more time.
But it is worth it.
It’s not worth sacrificing your health to find more time to make up for your slowness; it will only have the opposite effect. By prioritizing your overall health, you’ll not only feel better and avoid or recover from illnesses, but you’ll also become more energized and efficient.
Here’s what you can do to enjoy better health:
- Sleep 7 to 8 hours
- Exercise regularly
- Eat a proper diet
- Drink enough water
- Breathe fresh air
- Get sunlight
Let’s take a closer look:
Sleep 7 to 8 hours: I do all the other things, but without enough sleep, I still suffer from being slow at everything. But if I didn’t follow the other points, my situation would be worse, for sure!
Exercise regularly: It doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive. Running or doing calisthenics is enough.
Eat a proper diet: Cut out processed foods, junk food, and refined sugar. Focus on simple, whole foods. For example, today I had a small portion of cooked peas, cooked oats, and some walnuts for lunch. It’s simple, unprocessed, and healthy meal.
Stay hydrated: Plenty of filtered, soft water.
Breathe fresh air: Maybe you can’t move to a place with cleaner air right now, but what I want to emphasize here is the necessity of keeping windows wide open. Allow your lungs to breathe in renovated air, rather than re-breathing the air that contains the things they’ve already expelled from your body.
Get sunlight: “Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that vitamin D deficiency in patients who work long hours in indoor spaces (office, factory, warehouse, etc) or those who spend all their time indoors because of illness should be excluded, as vitamin D deficiency can be a contributing factor to other causes of fatigue.” (1. Maisel P, Baum E, Donner-Banzhoff N. Fatigue as the chief complaint—epidemiology, causes, diagnosis, and treatment. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2021;118:566–576.)
Can a bad diet make you feel sluggish?
Can Low B12 Cause Extreme Tiredness?
Vitamin B12 is essential for proper brain function.
A lack of B12 can lead to problems such as difficulty concentrating, mental confusion, memory loss, fatigue, muscle weakness, and other problems. In short, not getting enough B12 contributes to everything that can slow you down at work and in your daily tasks. So, if you find it challenging to get things done at a normal pace, it might be worth considering whether you have a B12 deficiency.
As a strict vegetarian who lives in a certain context, I’ve been supplementing vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin) since adopting this diet.
However, B12 deficiency isn’t something impossible to find in non-vegan individuals. It can also affect non-vegans due to issues with absorbing B12 from food, genetic factors, or prolonged use of certain medications (National Institutes of Health). “In the United States and the United Kingdom, approximately 6% of adults younger than 60 years have vitamin B12 deficiency, but the rate is closer to 20% in those older than 60. […] Approximately 24% of men and 29% of women reported using a dietary supplement containing vitamin B12 in NHANES 2017–2018.” (National Institutes of Health).
Actually, poor nutrition overall can impact productivity, so ensure your body receives the vitamins and macronutrients it needs to function optimally.
Visit a nutritionist to check for any nutrient deficiencies.
Don’t Split Your Attention
People always advised me, “Wake up! Get your head out of the clouds!!”
In fact, when we pause or nearly stop the task at hand to let our minds wander, we inevitably take longer to finish that task. This also happens when we have multiple interests, projects, and activities, as we end up splitting our attention. This might be why you feel like you’re slow at getting things done, too.
To illustrate, let me share an example from another post of mine, How to Live Rent-Free as a Farm Caretaker (But Not Working as One).
In that post, I shared a short story in which I was, once again, taking much longer than I expected to finish a certain task. From the text, we can see two main reasons that contributed to the delay:
- Too many things to do
- My head was in the clouds
Too many things to do: By also working as a temporary farm caretaker, I ended up adding farm chores to my already long list of usual responsibilities. “‘Why not?’ I had thought before arriving there. ‘It’s a very nice place to spend the summer, and I’ll even make some money by being there. I can balance my usual activities with the farm chores.’ However, days went by, and mowing the lawn began to seem like a never-ending task.”
Once again, I found myself taking longer to get things done.
One of the reasons? Too many things to do.
My head was in the clouds: To make things worse, instead of focusing on the task at hand, I’d find myself thinking thoughts, wandering in the clouds, immersed in the world of ideas: “[…], while the mower blades continued their work and my arms were pushing the lawnmower without traction through the great sea of grass, my mind went to the clouds, where I stumbled upon the following thought: […]”
Splitting my attention between mowing the lawn on the ground and collecting ideas in the clouds caused me to take much longer to complete the task at hand, impacting my other responsibilities as well. “This fact worried me because my usual work still beckoned me, and I was equally concerned because the other tasks of the farm clamored for my attention.”
These factors explain why it took me longer to mow the lawn than the normal.
The same applies to other tasks.
In short, it’s crucial not to split your attention.
How to cope with being slow?
I feel your struggle, and I really hope this post can help you.
In the best-case scenario, improving your overall health can completely resolve this problem, while bringing along many other benefits for you. But even in the worst-case scenario—if the root cause is something beyond your control—focusing on your overall health will at least help reduce your slowness and provide you many other benefits. You may not eliminate the problem entirely, but you will reduce its impact. It will certainly put you in a better position than you are now.
The thing is, not making your situation worse helps a lot.
Think about it: who do you think would be slower? The person who’s inherently slow but takes care of their overall health, or someone who’s not only inherently slow but also malnourished, sleep-deprived, sedentary, and consuming harmful things? The person who takes care of their health will have more energy, mental clarity, and resilience. The key is to not make things worse.
Yes, you may have this disadvantage compared to others. However, if you make the effort to do everything that is within your control to overcome your weak points, you can still catch up to those who have a normal pace and are ahead of you in this race.
- Exercise regularly
- Eat a proper diet
- Drink enough water
- Sleep 7 to 8 hours
- Breathe fresh air
- Get sunlight
90% of people don’t do these things (I just made up this percentage), and because of this they dwarf the potential of their bodies and minds. Doing these things will be a significant contribution for you to be able to reach them, even if you don’t have genetic advantages or whatever makes them much faster than you. Just avoid making things worse.
You can workout wherever you are, like where you are right now.
If you have a floor, you can do push-ups, sit-ups, and squats (add some weights, if you prefer). If you don’t have something to hang from to do pull-ups, invest in a pull-up bar and easily install it in your doorframe. You don’t need to commute to a gym to workout, and you don’t have to pay a gym membership to exercise regularly.
Do this, and you’ll start getting closer to others in this race.
If you don’t have time to prepare healthy meals, I’ve written a post on how to prepare healthy meals faster. And if eating healthy is expensive where you live, remember: you don’t need fancy, industrialized, Instagram “healthy” foods to eat well. Simple, wholesome foods, cutting out refined sugar and other harmful extras, along with the money-saving tips I’ve shared on this blog so far—like in Saving on Groceries: How to Cut Out the Middleman—can make eating healthy much more affordable.
Do this, and you’ll get even closer to them.
Remember, taking care of your health is more than just about becoming faster. It brings you all the other benefits that you already know, improving your entire life. (By the way, I’m writing a post about healthy living, presenting that subject in a radically different perspective. Subscribe so you don’t miss it.). So, don’t get discouraged because you have to do all these things, putting in more effort than others to reach their level. There’s so much more to gain by taking care of yourself than just becoming faster.
Let’s do our part, and may God help us overcome this problem.
Thanks for reading! 🙂
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Until next time, God willing.
Take care!
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