Eleven Tips for Efficiency
By Dr. Azeen Sadeghian
After the pandemic, some may find themselves searching for the same sense of efficiency they had beforehand. Although slowing down isn’t a bad thing, sometimes we need help to get back to where we once were. Efficiency fosters many of its useful aspects from effective and productive time management.
Here are 11 tips to foster efficiency at home and in the workplace.
1.
Plan
a.
What tasks and completions are
important vs not important?
b.
Focus on important tasks first that
contribute to the most valuable use of your time or highest yield of your day.
c.
Do the necessary tasks that are urgent
and only you can do, delegate non urgent tasks anyone else can do.
d. Also know what the subtasks are for each major task. These all have their own time boundaries and requirements for energy. For example, a presentation may require subtasks of reading sources, drafting the presentation, creating a bibliography, and practicing the presentation.
2.
Foster time and space
a.
Foster time environments for deep to
intense work and focus with limited distractions.
b.
This may involve setting a timer,
shutting the door, and keeping your cell phone put away.
3.
Breaks
a.
It’s impossible to work all the time,
breaks are necessary to recharge.
b.
Consider scheduling breaks. And set
boundaries to what breaks are needed for your mental wellbeing, clarity, and
physical wellness. For example, lunch or exercise may actually improve your
productivity and wellness.
4.
Factor in unanticipated
work lapses
a.
Life happens daily, you’ll need to
account for buffer time in your day.
5.
Set time frames and
deadlines
a.
For example, give yourself a set
amount of time to do the dishes and laundry.
b.
Another example is to have completion
deadlines or deadlines for milestones of projects. Such as having all sources
pulled for your review article by a certain date. Set aside an hour for
creating work templates.
6.
Work with your natural
rhythms of efficiency
a.
Your energy and clarity may vary
throughout the day. Match tasks to this rhythm, such as completing the most
mentally stimulating tasks for when your brain is the most able to process it.
7.
Buddy system
a.
If you’re lacking in an area, it’s
always helpful to have an accountability buddy.
i.
For example, I want to have my notes
done by 6PM every evening. So I let my friend or colleague know.
8.
Progress, not
perfection
a.
Perfection can limit your time spent
on doing other high yield tasks.
9.
Know your obstacles
a.
What are the things that distract you?
Social media, cell phone, walk ins?
b.
Name them and set boundaries that
don’t spill over into your work sprints.
10.
Lists
a.
Don’t rely on your memory, write out
what you need to do.
b.
This is also helpful to keep your attention
focused when you’re working on something else. For example, while working on
notes you remember you need to book a flight. Write it down to do later.
11.
Don’t multitask
a. It distracts from the task on hand and ends up taking the same amount of time or longer, with additional drain of energy.
These are just a few tips. Not all of them may be relevant to each individual circumstance. But hopefully many of these high yield tips can help enhance efficiency in your day-to-day routine.
Sources:
https://www.activecampaign.com/blog/habits-of-highly-productive-people
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-be-efficient
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