How to Boost Your Productivity

Moving a Little Slowly Are You?

What has come to us through the ages are fables about how slow and steady does it. Remember the story of the Tortoise and the Hare? Like that.

The Tortoise and the Hare is a fable originally written by Aesop. Back in the day, folks generally didn’t have last names. There weren’t enough of us. It wasn’t until the later Middle Ages in the 11th century that last names started being used. When the Black Plague descended on the land, so many people died that we started using last names.

Those names were likely to be place names.

The baker, butcher, and candlestick makers were called upon to go ply their wares in different cities because each little town and village no longer had those folks at hand. So, if you picture the king sitting there wondering whom he was going to get to come help finish building his castle, saying, “Which Ralph are you talking about? Ralph from Shropshire or Ralph from London? Oh, okay, the Ralph London.” So, Ralph Londonman was born.

By the 1600s, last names were in common use. Back when Aesop lived 2,220 years earlier than that, nobody probably had a last name other than kings or queens. They would be named King Croesus, the king who was alive during Aesop’s lifetime.

This is why the tortoise and the hare do not have last names. Aesop lived in Greece. He was born in 620 BC and died in 564 BC. Yes, that’s right. Negative numbers run that way. He lived a long time. According to my calculator, he lived to be 56 years old, which for those days might have been a long time.

Aesop likely was short too.

Have you ever seen a bed from the Middle Ages? Folks in Norway would have been about four feet tall. He also would not have worn pants. Prevailing wardrobe choices were likely your bedsheet. You took it with you everywhere and wore it as a toga. If you needed pants, you would cleverly knot up your toga or bed sheet. Ropes were probably necessary in those days too. Ladies mostly wore ropes in their hair to come down and serve other functions like making pants if need be. People were resourceful in those days.

Aesop was a slave in Greece. It is thought he was deformed and might have been a dwarf. His fables generally centered around animals and common sense. He might not have written all that was attributed to him, but the consensus was that he was a very wise man, though the priests in Delphi would not agree. Aesop took a trip there and never returned. It is thought they killed him.

Aesop was so wise that he earned his freedom and became an advisor to King Croesus, who was the King of Lydia. Lydia was located where modern-day Turkey is now. I can remember my parents talking about wealthy people and comparing them to King Croesus.

“He’s as rich as Croesus!” my father would say.

What Aesop has done is make a mark on us. You and me. The Tortoise and the Hare.

Cleverness is common but also not quite enough.

Slow and steady gets the job done.

So, after you’ve read this article, take a moment to reflect on that old fable. You don’t need to be the sharpest tool in the box. You just need to get up every day and write.

In my case, I need to read. My own book. Which takes some extra enthusiasm. Because now it is boring. Writing is a joy. Editing is a chore. I believe an attitude adjustment is in order.