Slow down to quickly solve those challenges

Most people who know me well realize I am a tea snob. This means I only drink loose-leaf, high-quality tea. It tastes wonderful and is better for you. For those of you who consume the other popular caffeinated beverage, it’s like the difference between freshly ground coffee and packaged coffee that’s been on the shelf for a while.

To drink loose-leaf tea, you need a tea strainer. My favorite one looks like an itty-bitty metal bucket with miniscule holes. It has a chain with a tiny hook attached to it so you can put it safely into the boiling water in your cup.

Invariably, after I set the tea strainer in our sink, the tiny hook will snag on the metal rack we always keep in the bottom. I never realize this until I go to remove it, normally when I’m rushing around trying to clean up the kitchen. I’ll grab the strainer; it will get caught … I’ll try to move it again quickly and it will still catch on the rack.

I always laugh at myself … if I would simply take a moment and slowly remove the tea strainer, it won’t catch on the rack anymore, and I’ll be done quicker than when I’m rushing and trying to remove it two to three times.

How often do I – and so many of us – do this in other instances? In our fast-paced world, it’s challenging to slow down when we face a problem, investigate what’s really going on, and eventually solve the issue. But that’s precisely what we need to do.

Last week I was puzzled about how to add a team member named Victoria into our Google Workspace. I removed a former team member, so I figured it would be easy to add a new one. Nope. I kept getting an error message. We needed to add Victoria ASAP, so I panicked. I reached out to our IT person, who said this was not something she was familiar with.

Finally, I took a deep breath. I allowed myself 20 minutes to think about and solve the issue. I realized I needed to go through our third party, Square Space, to add Victoria (I know I just lost some readers here … but the story will still make sense). After Googling – naturally – the steps about how to accomplish this, I was able to add Victoria. All of this took me less than 10 minutes.

Both stories are a perfect reminder for me, once again, to slow down more in life. Maybe you need a reminder, too.

I want to challenge readers to think about your current “tea strainer” situation. Instead of panicking because you don’t have a lot of time, take a deep breath and step away for a moment. Nine times out of 10, if you allow yourself more time than you think you have, you’ll solve the issue – or get on the path to doing so.

Amy Shankland is an empty-nester, writer, and fundraising professional living in Noblesville with her husband John and two dogs. You can reach her via email at amys@greenavenue.info.