Efficiency is out, inclusivity is in
I think we’re entering a new era.
Fast is out.
Kind is in.
The world shows the cracks.
Old systems cut corners.
They cut people too.
They carved out steps, needs, time, whole voices.
No wonder it hurts.
I felt it in my own body.
Layoff.
Then self-employment.
But the motor inside me kept revving, like I still had a boss pinging me at 9:01.
I didn’t know how to slow down.
I’m still learning.
This is me choosing slow on purpose.
I love an efficient system. I do.
Color-coded tabs make me weirdly happy.
But I can’t start there.
I have to start with who I am and what I need.
That changes day to day.
So my systems must bend, not break.
Pop culture told us speed wins.
“Move fast and break things.”
Cool tagline. Bad life plan.
I want “move slow and mend things.”
Think Ted Lasso energy, not Succession panic.
More Great British Bake Off than Shark Tank.
Less Severance, more Parks and Rec.
The goal is not to be the slickest machine.
The goal is to be the warmest room.
I’m building that room with paper.
Yes, paper.
I printed stuff for the first time in a decade.
I keep folders. I scribble in the margins.
It feels like waking up old roads in my brain.
Click less. Think more. Touch the page.
It’s not retro.
It’s human.
I believe the “efficiency era” is ending.
The next era builds with doors.
Doors for different brains.
Different bodies.
Different needs.
Different timelines.
Systems that include, or at least make it easy to include.
This is the work I do.
Small first. Ground level.
One person. One team. One messy desk.
I listen to the whole person.
What helps you think?
What makes you shut down?
We design for that.
Not for me. Not for a trend.
For you.
I don’t want The Mandalorian’s “this is the way.”
I want “this is one way.”
And if life changes, the way can change too.
That’s not failure. That’s design.
the principles (short, simple, human)
People over speed. If the pace breaks a person, it’s the wrong pace.
Doors over walls. If a step blocks someone, add a handle, a ramp, a pause.
Context over control. Ask what’s true today. Build from there.
Paper is allowed. Tools serve brains. Not the other way around.
Progress over polish. Ship the honest version, then improve.
Listening is a feature. Real needs beat assumed needs.
Start tiny. If it doesn’t work on a Tuesday, it won’t scale on a roadmap.
Mend, don’t burn. Fix what can be fixed. Compost what can’t.
Joy counts. If a system steals joy, it will fail.
Leave doors open. For new people, new ideas, new timing.
how this looks in real life
A meeting with fewer slides and more space to think out loud.
A workflow that includes “buffer time” as a real step, not a guilty secret.
A shared doc with plain-language notes, not a maze of acronyms.
A checklist that fits your brain: three steps today, six tomorrow.
Paper packets for heavy thinking. Digital for handoff. Use both.
Metrics that ask, “Who did we include?” not just “How fast did we ship?”
the story I’m choosing
I took the red pill from The Matrix, but not to escape.
To see what we cut out in the name of speed.
Now I choose to put people back in.
It’s not flashy.
It’s not a montage with a pump-up song.
It’s more like Schitt’s Creek: small town, small steps, big heart.
By the finale, everything is softer.
And somehow stronger.
If this calls to you, come sit at the table.
Bring your brain, your quirks, your constraints, your goals.
We’ll build a system that fits you.
One page at a time. One habit at a time.
Slow is not lazy.
Slow is precise.
Slow is kind.
Slow includes.
This is my efficiency rebellion.
You in?
