There are only two ways to do anything: right the first time, or again.
This isn't motivational nonsense. It's just math. If you do something wrong, you have to do it again. So the question isn't "should I rush?" but "do I want to do this once or twice?"
Most of us choose twice. We tell ourselves we're saving time by rushing. But we're not. We're just moving the work to later when it's more expensive to fix.
The cost of corners
Cutting corners always feels good in the moment. You move faster. You feel productive. You're getting things done.
Then you have to do it again. And this time, it's worse. Because now you have to undo the wrong thing before you can do the right thing.
You save 30 minutes of careful work and spend 2 hours fixing it. The math is simple. But we don't think about it in the moment because we're focused on the immediate gain.
Right the first time
Doing it right the first time doesn't mean perfection. It means doing it with the care and attention it deserves. It means understanding what you're doing. It means checking your work.
It's slower in the moment. But it's faster overall.
You write the code carefully. You test it. You don't move on until it works. Then it works. Forever. You don't have to come back. You don't have to fix it.
The compounding effect
Here's what's insidious: the rework compounds. You do something halfway. Then you do it again halfway. Then you have to spend real time fixing it. By then the codebase is a mess, the relationship is damaged, the system is fragile.
But if you do things right the first time, they compound in the other direction. You build on solid ground. The next thing is easier because the foundation is good.
When speed matters
There are times when you genuinely need to move fast. You're experimenting. You're exploring. You're prototyping. In those cases, you explicitly choose "again" mode. You know you're going to throw it away or rebuild it. You move fast because you're not trying to do it right.
But then when it comes time to do it right, you start over. You don't iterate your way to quality. You rebuild with care.
Be clear about which mode you're in. Fast and rough, or slow and careful. Don't try to be both at once.
The discipline of once
There's a discipline to deciding you're only going to do something once. It forces you to slow down. To ask questions. To understand what you're doing.
It's harder in the moment. But it's so much easier in the end.
Start today
Pick something you're about to do today. And decide: am I going to do this right the first time, or twice?
Then do what you decided.
Once is always faster than twice.