"Efficiency vs Effectiveness"

My life has changed recently in that I now have a little dog staying with me for a month.Any of you with pets know that you are no longer in control of your time when this happens.

One of the keys to my success is the fact that I am very disciplined, as a solopreneur, when it comes to the way I manage my time and energy.That has changed a bit over the past few weeks – and in a good way, in that my time was not totally my own. We all get caught up in habits and routines in our lives, both personally and professionally, and it is good practice, in my opinion, to regularly review those habits.

Does the way you spend your time serve you well, when it comes to work and to your personal life?There is no time like the present – that’s why it is called a gift.

The intention of this article is to focus on how you can increase productivity, rather than focus on how you spend your time.My goal is to always decrease the amount of work I am doing and, rather, increase my revenues. Here are 2 key points I learned when reading “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss:

1. Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.
   
   
2. Requiring a lot of time does not make it important.
   
   

From this moment forward, he says in the book, remember that WHAT you do is infinitely more important than HOW you do it. Efficiency is still important, but it is useless unless applied to the right things.

He goes on to talk about inputs vs outputs. Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness? Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?”

I have examined these questions, and my own responses, seriously over the past three weeks.As suggested in the book, I applied these questions to every aspect of my life – from my friends, to clients and marketing to relaxation activities. The goal is to find your inefficiencies in order to eliminate them and to find your strengths so you can multiply them. As I mentioned in my workshop earlier this month, most entrepreneurs have 5 productive hours each day – the question is: How Are You Using Those 5 Hours?

Keeping the two key points (noted above) in front of my face, on my computer, over the past 3 weeks has helped me to focus my time and energy on productivity – and I made some major decisions, as a result.When I reviewed certain business activities, I very much focused on the 80/20 rule. I know that having spent the time on this exercise will significantly, and positively, impact my work (and my client’s results) over the next year.

The end result?Using the 80/20 rule to the max – limit tasks to the most important to shorten work time (and review WHAT it is you are doing – and ensure that you outsource and delegate all that which is NOT your talent!); and, shorten work time to limit tasks to the important. (I actually do use an egg-timer to stay focused on time.)

Remember to always pay attention to the E.L.F. activities – easy, lucrative and fun. Identify the few, critical tasks that contribute most to your income and schedule them with very short and clear deadlines. Take the same approach when discussing tasks and projects with your team. Ensure they are functioning in the same, clear, effective way.

Angel, the dog, also enjoyed the benefits as my time spent with her ……..was…….priceless (for both of us!).My joy factor increased, I exercised more (walking her), I worked less and feel very satisfied with the end result.

So, if you had a heart attack and could only work 2 hours a day, what would you be working on?

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

1. No more multi-tasking.
2. Review your habits and routines – and examine how the 80/20 rule applies to your business and to your life.
3. Document the results, and celebrate.

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