It would seem impossible, right? We are all constantly being convinced that in order to do more, we need to work harder. How to work less and do more? A ten-hour working day will bring you more fruits than colleagues working seven hours. However, this is not always the case. To achieve a result, you need quality, not quantity, so it is quite possible to work less and get a better result in the end.
It's not easy, and it requires a qualitative approach, not a quantitative one. You need to think creatively to find more effective ways to work, but first you need to be open to the fact that your methods of work are not effective. Only after you recognize this, you can start looking for ways to increase the efficiency of your work. Here are some recommendations to start the search.
20% of efforts give 80% of the result, and the remaining 80% of efforts are only 20% of the result. Try to minimize these 80% of unproductive time and effort. Here are some tips:
Parkinson's Law
Parkinson's Law states that «the work will fill all the time available for its completion ». This means that no matter how much time you allocate to yourself for the task, she will eat it all without a trace, whether it's a week or two days, and the result will be the same. You can say it in another way: if you do not set deadlines for yourself, then the task will be performed forever. Therefore, always set yourself tight deadlines, cultivate a desire to complete the project by the deadline. Here are some applications of Parkinson's law:
Rational use of energy, unlike time, makes you think about the results. By working more intensively for a short period of time, you can achieve more than working all day, getting tired and distracted.Here are some ideas:
Allocate zones of intense attention and complete rest for yourself. Alternate them.
Killing projects
This extreme method keeps energy focused and saves a lot of time. Its essence is not to stretch tasks that take several hours to implement, for several days with interruptions. Sit down and finish it in one sitting. Kill her.
Do not forget that you are not a slave, so give yourself a rest, but only when you really need it. Learn to honestly separate laziness from fatigue.
It's like that old parable about the two lumberjacks. They were both given tools at a lumberjack competition. The first one quickly grabbed his axe and ran to chop, thinking that the main thing was time. And the second one calmly sat down and began to sharpen his axe. When the time was coming to an end, the first one was sure that he would win, because he was chopping all the time. However, the second one got up at the end, and managed much better with his sharp axe in the remaining time. Morality? Do not use rusty tools. Use effective methods, programs, fast computers, in the end they will save you time and effort, and spend the freed up time on something else.
Assumptions are a major waste of time. Do not make assumptions about how much you have done, how much is left to do – always look at the real numbers. Break down the work into its components, and mark what is done as it is done. In this case, you will always know exactly how much you have done. The changing task completion slider is the best stimulator to do more. Before a long-term project, do tests, trial versions. By measuring the time spent on the test, you will be able to extrapolate its results, calculating the time it will actually take to complete the entire project.
How to estimate which project takes how much time? Which project should I pay more attention to? Try the following for yourself: try working with email for 30, 60 and 90 minutes a day. Compare the results. If you see that 50% of tasks will be ready in 30 minutes, 90% of tasks will be done in 60 minutes of work, and 95% in 90 minutes, choose the best time/quality ratio for yourself, and stick to it in the future. It is obvious to me that it is already unprofitable to spend more than 60 minutes.
Perhaps you have your own ideas – share!
