[dropcap]H[/dropcap]ave you ever watched someone walking down the hallway and thought to yourself, WOW, they're in no rush? I'm sure you have and I'm a witness to this as well. Walking speed can tell us a lot about someone.
I recently watched an individual pass by my office and thought to myself, he walks like he has nothing to accomplish. There was no sense of urgency. It was like watching him walk around his house. I then immediately began wondering, does he have enough to do or are the assigned projects getting done? After this moment, I began to watch him more closely and he was rather slow at many tasks delegated to him. I came to the conclusion that he needed to increase productivity as soon as possible. This all came from noticing his walking speed.
Below are 3 reasons you should acknowledge walking speed and what it can tell you about productivity:
1) Sense of Urgency
Walking speed can tell you how urgent someone is to get to their destination. If they're walking slow, their's no priority and if they're running, well they're probably late for something. Our walking speed is a HUGE clue in what our current situation is and how we engage with our productivity.
It's the first thing your boss, or if you're a boss, you, can tell how motivated someone is to complete a task, get to a meeting, or if someone is busy. If they're walking slow, they aren't being productive.
One of my colleagues pointed this out to me a couple weeks ago when she said, "He's 10 minutes late and he walks in like he has no where to be." She immediately picked up on his attitude. It showed he really didn't care that he was late.
Pointer: If you tend to walk slow, people are noticing. Make sure you're moving like you have something to get done, or somewhere to be. Leave the "dragging your feet" at home.
2) Increase Productivity
How does your walking speed increase productivity? To me that's a silly question to ask considering the faster you move the more you can get done. According to Health Guidance they recommend speeding things up. By walking, talking and eating faster your mind will become more alert.
Pointer: Focus on how you're moving from one task to the next. If you feel your lollygagging around, try increasing your walking speed and see if there is an increase in your productivity.
3) Staying One Step Ahead
By walking faster we can increase productivity and stay one step ahead during whatever tasks we may be consumed by.
One recruiting tip used for candidates is having them walk down a long hallway to the interview room. During their walk they can be evaluated on their sense of urgency.
Do you think management walks faster than regular employees? Although there is no research that can answer this question, my answer would be yes. Matt Hopkins post, "A Sense of Urgency" advised to walk 10% faster than the people around you.
Pointer: In order to increase productivity, stay one step ahead by walking 10% faster than everyone else.
You see, walking speed has a direct effect on how productive we can be. This doesn't mean you have to be speed walking at every moment. Just focus on the places that matter, such as work and if you have specific projects and tasks to complete by a certain deadline.
People are watching you! It's up to you to show them that you have something to accomplish.
What are your thoughts about walking speed and productivity? Comment below.
