I Was Moving Too Fast and Calling It Productivity.

Before

I used to think speed was one of my biggest strengths.

Give me instructions, and I wanted to finish quickly.

That mindset caused problems in AI-training work.

I would overlook small requirements, assume I understood what a task wanted, and sometimes submit before checking whether my reasoning actually matched the rubric.

The Turning Point

When I started coaching, one of the first things we worked on was slowing the process down.

At first, it felt inefficient.

Then I started noticing mistakes I previously never would have caught.

The coaches taught me to separate understanding the instructions, doing the actual task, and reviewing the result.

What They Worked On

• Separating instruction-reading from the actual task
• Building in a review step before submitting
• Checking reasoning against the rubric instead of assuming understanding

What Changed

Those sound like simple steps.

For me, they changed everything.

I stopped measuring progress by how quickly I could click Submit.

I started measuring it by whether I could explain why my answer met the requirements.