GTD Dictionary: Efficiency

October 29th 2008   GTD Dictionary   No comments

Efficiency:

• Producing effectively with a minimum of waste, expense, or effort.
• Ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time.

Efficiency and productivity (in its traditional sense) have a key similarity. They both involve doing work in the most economical way possible and as a result there are numerous tips, practices and suggestions you can follow to achieve that. Efficiency can be measured in any number of ways, from how well you use your time to how little energy and stress you exert in doing your work. Nobody wants their work to become a chore but by being efficient this can be minimized.

Consider for instance, working on a project when you are procrastinating. That’s not an efficient use of your time because what might take an hour to achieve, for instance, gets dragged out to an entire afternoon as you idly browse websites and play with your phone. Getting stressed out because you can’t find your notes is also inefficient as it trying to focus on your tasks when you are too tired. Ironically, it is often better to put off your work until you are in the right frame of mind. Trying to fight through it will invariably lead to burnout. The amount of time wasted when doing a project inefficiently usually ends up being more than if you were to simply put it off for a few hours/days so you can recharge.

It’s worth noting that being efficient and doing things quickly is not the same thing. By rushing what you do you will make mistakes, which in turn will actually slow you down. With efficiency the quality of the work you are doing is still important.

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