To operate at high speed, you need slack. It’s true for highways, projects and people. There are no exceptions. If there are too many cars on the highway or too many items on your plate, things are going to slow down. That is how it works. However most don’t seem to get it. It’s obvious for the highway, but somehow when it comes to projects or personal ability, we fool ourselves into thinking that we can pull it off – all together. We can pull it off of course, but not together. We cannot do everything at same time.
The notion that things will happen just because we started is fundamentally wrong. It’s not what you started, but what you can finish that matters. Starting many items simply leads to high WIP. High WIP in suicidal. It puts us in that vicious cycle where things slow down more and more and situation deteriorates. The only way to come out (or stay out) of such a cycle is to process fewer things at a time (WIP Limits). This creates slack and the ability to think, focus and improve the throughput. There is a much higher chance to get things done that way.