I’ve always held efficiency up as the holy grail. If I could just be more efficient at EVERYTHING, I could get so much more done. I could fit 10 things on my To Do list every day instead of 5. I would be more profitable, better looking, and happier if I could just figure out how to be more efficient.
But it turns out that there is this thing called the 80/20 Principle. And it says that only about 20% of the things we do for our businesses every day contribute to 80% of our success. That means that out of all of the things you and I spend our time on each day, there are only a few mission critical tasks that contribute the most to helping us reach our goals. MOST of our time as business owners is spent on stuff that isn’t making us more money or pushing our businesses forward. And the hard reality of those mission critical tasks? They are often the most difficult and uncomfortable tasks on our lists. We know we should do them, but we don’t get around to them because something else is always more urgent or more convenient.
I’ve come to realize that instead of always striving for higher efficiency, I need to learn to be more EFFECTIVE. Rather than just being busy, I need to make sure I’m working on THE MOST IMPORTANT THING -- the thing that will contribute the most toward pushing my business forward or increasing my profit.
This is sometimes easier said than done – especially for someone like me who is a doer and thrives on being productive. Sometimes it’s easier to do the small piddly stuff on the fringes because I can check it off quicker and FEEL accomplished. So for me, what has worked is to get my To Do list out from under the influence of my feelings and become more intentional about how I spend my time.
This is the 5-step recipe I have adopted for being more effective:
1 – Define your ultimate goal. What is the one thing you could do that would make the most impact on the growth of your business? Write it down. If you’re not sure, write down all of your ideas and seek wise counsel from someone (hire them if need be) who is further along on their business journey to help you evaluate and prioritize them.
2 – Write out the action steps it will take to reach your ultimate goal. Breaking a large goal into smaller action steps will help it to seem less intimidating and more attainable. Be specific. These are your mission-critical tasks.
3 – Limit your To Do list to contain 1-2 mission-critical tasks each day. No more.
4 – Get the most difficult and mission-critical task done each day before 11am. Don’t check email until it’s done.
5 – Wash, Rinse, Repeat. At least once per quarter revisit your ultimate goal and your action list of mission-critical tasks. Put a repeating reminder on your calendar if necessary to review your goals. Make sure you are correctly defining what is most important for your business success. You can be the most efficient person in the world, but if your efforts are not aimed in a strategic direction, you will make very little progress.
Here’s to being less efficient (but more effective) and GETTING. THINGS. DONE!
----------------------------------------
Note: My thoughts in this post were highly influenced by Tim Ferriss’s book The 4-Hour Work Week. It’s a great read if you haven’t yet picked it up!
Did you find this post helpful? Click here to receive special email access to my most helpful content!
But it turns out that there is this thing called the 80/20 Principle. And it says that only about 20% of the things we do for our businesses every day contribute to 80% of our success. That means that out of all of the things you and I spend our time on each day, there are only a few mission critical tasks that contribute the most to helping us reach our goals. MOST of our time as business owners is spent on stuff that isn’t making us more money or pushing our businesses forward. And the hard reality of those mission critical tasks? They are often the most difficult and uncomfortable tasks on our lists. We know we should do them, but we don’t get around to them because something else is always more urgent or more convenient.
I’ve come to realize that instead of always striving for higher efficiency, I need to learn to be more EFFECTIVE. Rather than just being busy, I need to make sure I’m working on THE MOST IMPORTANT THING -- the thing that will contribute the most toward pushing my business forward or increasing my profit.
This is sometimes easier said than done – especially for someone like me who is a doer and thrives on being productive. Sometimes it’s easier to do the small piddly stuff on the fringes because I can check it off quicker and FEEL accomplished. So for me, what has worked is to get my To Do list out from under the influence of my feelings and become more intentional about how I spend my time.
This is the 5-step recipe I have adopted for being more effective:
1 – Define your ultimate goal. What is the one thing you could do that would make the most impact on the growth of your business? Write it down. If you’re not sure, write down all of your ideas and seek wise counsel from someone (hire them if need be) who is further along on their business journey to help you evaluate and prioritize them.
2 – Write out the action steps it will take to reach your ultimate goal. Breaking a large goal into smaller action steps will help it to seem less intimidating and more attainable. Be specific. These are your mission-critical tasks.
3 – Limit your To Do list to contain 1-2 mission-critical tasks each day. No more.
4 – Get the most difficult and mission-critical task done each day before 11am. Don’t check email until it’s done.
5 – Wash, Rinse, Repeat. At least once per quarter revisit your ultimate goal and your action list of mission-critical tasks. Put a repeating reminder on your calendar if necessary to review your goals. Make sure you are correctly defining what is most important for your business success. You can be the most efficient person in the world, but if your efforts are not aimed in a strategic direction, you will make very little progress.
Here’s to being less efficient (but more effective) and GETTING. THINGS. DONE!
----------------------------------------
Note: My thoughts in this post were highly influenced by Tim Ferriss’s book The 4-Hour Work Week. It’s a great read if you haven’t yet picked it up!
Did you find this post helpful? Click here to receive special email access to my most helpful content!
Comments
