[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Lets talk about effectiveness. Being as efficient as you possibly can in your studies or a career is something everyone wants to achieve. Each year they promise themselves that this will be the year they work as hard as they can. I’m one of them and you’re one of them. But when it comes down to it, procrastination becomes a real set back.
Efficient was a buzzword a few years ago. Then it became effective. Call it what you will, but to me it comes down to one thing: Are you really working?
There is just one thing you need to understand when it comes to efficiency:
If you are not reading, writing or actively engaging with a problem, then you are not working. Plain and simple.
Everyone tells me how hard they work. Employees tell me that they ‘have been working’, that my ‘expectations are too high’, that ‘it’s actually a lot of work!’ Well that’s all fantastic, but how hard are they really working?
People kid themselves that they are working. How often is effectiveness being heroed? When putting together a presentation, a spreadsheet or a meeting agenda, how much of that time is spent researching, quickly responding to a Facebook message or email, having a sip of coffee, making a quick call, drifting onto other pressing matters? How many bathroom breaks or ‘I need some air’ breaks or even just a quick lean back in your chair to rest your back for a second? If you’re not convinced, the next time you are working on something, be aware of how much time you spend actually, actively engaging with whatever you’re doing.
Effectiveness: Measure it Properly
In an 8 or 10 hour workday, my guess is very few people do the real work more than half that time, if that. To get something done, you have to have something tangible at the end of it – a product, a document, letter, an email in your sent box. Research, thinking and talking are, granted, not dispensable, but when was the last time they actually got you where you needed to be? Never!
Every ‘good day’ I can remember when I climbed into bed feeling like I got a lot done that day, was because I had something to show for my work that day. You can’t show research or thought or phone calls. When you feel good about something, you’ll probably have an outcome from a meeting that required your active engagement, or a finished document sent to the inboxes of the relevant people, or perhaps several completed past exams you did in your study preparation.
Focus is key to efficiency. To be able to get in to something, and stick it out until it is finished with no distractions… that’s when you’re efficient. Don’t kid yourself that you’ve worked a long day, don’t get frustrated that little is getting done. If you worked a dedicated period of time a day, you’d get everything you wanted done and more, and you’ll feel like a champ.
So remember this: If you are not reading, writing or actively engaging with a problem, then you are not working.
FundiConnect 2Cents
Learning to become optimally efficient is something everyone can benefit from. Effectiveness should be the name of the game; from young high school students right through to working people. The younger you learn how to focus and ignore the distractions, the better you’ll become at being efficient and performing well. At the end of the day, you need to make the decision for yourself. It an only benefit you in the long run and lead to a more successful and fulfilling life for YOU.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
