When you have a busy life, filled with oncoming tasks, and unexpected deadlines and you also possess a strong determination to do everything you can, even though this might lead to tiredness, you might need some help maximizing efficiency. I’ve been having a hard time at work observing what I had to do, but not being able to take each task, idea, or project at a time. Instead, I was jumping from one thing to another. This led me to question whether I’m able to do everything or if I’m after too many tasks. First, I’ve said ‘aha’, I am a multitasking person, proudly in my 26’s, while moving imaginary mountains. Soon enough, I realized that I needed help regarding my organizing issues.
Thanks to this struggle, and with the help of some conversations with fellows that work in the digital field, articles, and even docuseries, I’ve found some resources of ideas, tools, and techniques and I decided to try them. That is why in this article we are going to discuss ways to improve our effectiveness and I’m going to share the tools that helped me with you.
Defining effectiveness for all
Effectiveness refers to the ability to accomplish a desired outcome or result. Being effective means using the most efficient and appropriate methods to achieve your goals. When it comes to being effective, there are a lot of different things that you can do. However, not all of them are created equal.
To be truly effective, you need to focus on the things that will make the biggest impact. There are a lot of different factors that go into being effective. some of the most important ones include time management, goal setting, and prioritization.
Desiring growth
How often have you wished you were more effective? If you’re like most people, the answer is probably all the time. Whether you’re trying to advance your career, achieve personal goals, or simply get more done every day, being effective is the key to success. Unfortunately, being effective is easier said than done. There are so many competing demands on our time and attention that it’s easy to get derailed. And, even when we do manage to stay on track, it can be hard to know if we’re being effective or just busy.
The good news is that there are a few key habits that can make a big difference. If you can learn to incorporate these habits into your life, you’ll be well on your way to being more effective.
This blog post will explore the different ways in which effectiveness can be met. It will also provide some tips on how to improve the effectiveness of your organization or assigned tasks. Read on to learn more!
The State of flow
The state of flow, also known as “being in the zone,” is a mental state in which a person is fully immersed in an activity. The person is completely focused,, and engaged in the task at hand. It is a state of heightened concentration and enjoyment, where time seems to fly by, and one feels a sense of effortless control over their actions. The concept of flow was first introduced by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the 1970s. Since then, it become an important area of study in the field of positive psychology.
It’s an important factor in achieving a sense of balance and well-being in one’s professional and personal life.
The Workflow
A workflow is a sequence of tasks and processes that are required to complete a specific work or project. It includes a set of instructions or steps that need to be followed in a specific order to achieve a desired outcome. A workflow can be represented by flowcharts, diagrams, or software programs that manage the process. In a workflow, the tasks are connected by arrows that indicate the sequence of steps. The tasks are also labeled with the name of the person responsible for completing the task, the time required to complete the task, and any other relevant information.
One of the main benefits of workflows is that they can be automated. Automated workflows can be set up to run automatically, without any human intervention. For example, a workflow for approving a purchase order can be set up to automatically send an email to the appropriate person for approval as soon as the purchase order is received. This can save a significant amount of time and increase efficiency.
Time management
There are days when we find out and decide that to fulfill our tasks, have a good workflow, develop ourselves in certain areas, and finish a day of work with the feeling of fulfillment, we have to become more disciplined, which will allow us to be effective. but what happens when sometimes work schedules and tasks allow us to have some spare time? Sometimes, we just enjoy the time saying that we have an easy work life, without seeing the opportunity for growth inside.
Time management is the process of planning, organizing, and controlling how you spend your time. It includes setting goals, making a schedule, and sticking to it.
Why is time management important?
Time management is important because it can help you:
- get more done in less time
- reduce stress
- improve your work-life balance
- achieve your goals
Tools and techniques to help you maximize efficiency
Time management tools can help us better utilize our time, and task management tools can help us better prioritize and organize our tasks. There are also many productivity tools available, such as project management software, that can help us better manage our projects.
Using the right tools can make a big difference in our effectiveness. By taking the time to find the right tools for the job, we can increase our productivity and get more done.
The priority axe
To become more effective and disciplined, you need to start by writing all the tasks you presume you have to do before you start the new week. To this, there will be more unexpectedly added, quick demands, and so on. Before you receive that item, you can create an axe that has 4 squares. The line orienting up has the word importance written and the horizontal line has urgent writing. In the first square, you write, in the second, the third, and the forths. then, you take your tasks and start to categorize them in the newly created lists based on your thoughts and levels. Once you’ve finished, every task’s importance will make more sense and you’ve learned how to prioritize things, and helped your effectiveness process.
I recommend this technique to be used for professional and personal life as well, as it is a great friend when you feel you want to be more productive, active, and involved during the free from the work environment.
The Pomodoro technique for maximizing efficiency
I heard about the Pomodoro technique while hosting one of my dearest friends, Joe, a graphic designer with who I’d had the luck to work together within the organization I’m part. While having some discussion upon work habits that we have, or might need to become more disciplined and effective, she told me about a technique that can train you to focus only on one important thing, task, or action at a time, for exactly 25 minutes.
The nice part is that you can have this technique all around the internet, as apps, with cool-designed chronometers, are easily accessible, to make the process fun and agreeable. When you start a new project that needs a big amount of planning, management, and implementation, this technique can help you to achieve daily results which makes the process progress, Make a list of the steps, and for each step, you think 25 minutes to start would be enough, start using the Pomodoro technique for maximizing efficiency.
The bowl of ideas for personal purposes
The technique Called the bowl of ideas is helping you not lose the memory of your ideas while enforcing you to always keep them written on little pieces of paper that get folded and put together with the rest in a bowl. You can always put your ideas somewhere safe, for when you will benefit from free time, little breaks, and motivation, to finally start introducing something new to the routine.
So, after gathering all your ideas, whenever you have free space in your schedule and want to start practicing the technique, you extract one surprise paper from the bowl, and you can use the free time to finally start working on it.
I advise you to introduce an activity throughout your 9 to 5 that focuses on personal purpose tasks, or bettering your skills, and whatever brings you contentment. TIP: try to introduce this activity before lunchtime, after you had completed any other urgent matters for maximizing efficiency in your personal purposes.
The complete focus – Use airphones
Especially for those who are part of the creative field, writing field, or any other that implies delivering a task, service, or product that takes some time to be completed, the focus is one of the major necessities to deliver the best results. If you are working in an office surrounded by colleagues or any other individuals that are part of your daily schedule, you will need to find an effective way to not get distracted from your workflow.
One great way to be effective and focus on only the task you’ve got would be to cancel any distractions that might arise until you had finished the task or decide to take a break. In offices, the best way to work effectively is to use earplugs or earphones. The earphones work best to cancel disturbing noises or overhearing any discussions that might take you out of focus.
Automate some tasks for maximizing efficiency
Automation has been on the rise in recent years, with more and more workers looking to adopt automated systems to improve efficiency and productivity in their tasks. Several benefits come with automating your activities, including the ability to pre-plan actions as well as schedule them. By focusing on this for a clear amount of time, you can take out some hours from your schedule next week and use them for other tasks related to another subject.
Wrapping up on Maximizing Efficiency
It is important to continuously review and evaluate current methods to identify areas for improvement. Maximizing efficiency requires a combination of strategic planning, continuous review and evaluation, and a willingness to embrace new methods and technologies.
I hope that the advice and tools I’ve shared here will represent help in your day-to-day routine, both in your personal and professional life. Good luck!
