Take your time, it will go faster

By Ryan Chowansky

Contributor

Dads are full of good jokes and great quotes. Life is full of paradoxes. Recently, my father dropped a great quote and paradox. One that I never really thought about until he said it. “Take your time, it will go faster.” At first, it sounds like a contradiction, but think about it. How often do we sabotage progress by rushing?

This applies to everything, business, fitness, relationships, you name it. When you’re in a hurry, you make mistakes. In the remodeling and construction world, if you rush, you mess up a cut, you break a cabinet door, you forget a key detail. That costs us money to go backward. I just packed for a business trip to Greenville, where I am actually currently writing this article. I rushed my packing and forgot the sneakers. I did not double check. Guess who worked out in the hotel gym in his work boots this morning?

The result is often spending twice the time or money fixing problems that could’ve been avoided by slowing down, being just a little more thorough and thinking it through. In the gym, rushing your reps doesn’t get you stronger, it gets you injured. True progress comes from focused, controlled movements. In relationships, rushing trust or intimacy backfires. Connection takes time, and there’s no shortcut to depth.

Taking your time allows you to operate with clarity, and clarity leads to better decisions. Better decisions turn into faster progress. Focus on the process instead of the outcome. Most people fail because they’re obsessed with results, chasing quick wins while ignoring the fundamentals. The irony is, when you focus on the process, the results often come faster. If you choose to do something because you love the process, the more you enjoy what you’re doing before you get the results.

Slowing down builds momentum instead of chaos. Momentum isn’t about speed, it’s about control. It’s about process and progress that compounds over time. Slowing down also prevents burnout. Going full throttle might feel productive, but it’s not sustainable. Unless you’re Rick Ross, you should not be hustling every day. Take your time, create space to recharge, and when you’re recharged, you show up sharper and more focused. You’re more powerful in the moments you need to be and more present.

Most urgency is self-imposed. Challenge deadlines, and ask yourself if taking extra time to do something right would make a difference. Just communicate it to those that are affected by it. More often than not, it won’t change much. Prioritize the tasks that truly matter and let go of the rest. Understand that patience isn’t passive. It’s the discipline to wait until the timing is right, knowing when to strike, when to apply the right pressure, knowing you’ll be better prepared when the moment comes.

“Take your time, it will go faster” isn’t just a clever phrase, it’s a strategy for success. Rushing often feels productive but rarely is. Slowing down forces you to focus on what truly matters, which leads to better, faster results in the long run. The next time you feel tempted to rush, remember that speed kills but clarity wins. I am actively practicing being better at this as part of being Built with Integrity every day, and I hope this can help you in some way as well.

Ryan Chowansky is the owner of Bluffton Builders, LLC, www.bluffton.builders.