By slowing down at the right moments, people find that they do everything better: They eat better; they make love better; they exercise better; they work better; they live better.

Carl Honoré is closely associated with the “Slow” movement and the critique of modern speed culture, themes he popularized in his writing and public talks in the early 2000s. This quotation reflects his argument that constant haste degrades everyday experience and performance, and that deliberately easing the tempo at selected times can improve outcomes across domains—from meals and intimacy to exercise and work. The line is typically used in the context of advocating “slow” as a strategic choice rather than a blanket rejection of efficiency: slowing down is presented as a way to recover attention, pleasure, and quality in activities that suffer when rushed.

The line argues for strategic slowness: not constant idleness, but choosing to reduce pace at “the right moments” so attention, pleasure, and competence can return. The repeated “better” functions like a refrain, suggesting that speed is the hidden variable degrading many domains of life—nutrition becomes careless, sex becomes rushed, exercise becomes mechanical, work becomes error-prone, and living becomes thin. Honoré’s broader point is that quality often depends on presence: slowing down restores sensory awareness, emotional connection, and thoughtful judgment, producing outcomes that feel richer and are often more effective.