As a freelance consultant, the speed at which I deliver work is an important metric for me to understand. It allows me to gauge how many projects I can take on at any given moment. I’ve been monitoring my size-of-work-to-delivery-velocity closely over the past few months to create better legibility for myself, and in examining this delivery speed, I’ve discovered something fundamental about the way I work, something that has long driven me crazy no matter what type of work I do —