Have you ever found yourself furiously checking off tasks, feeling incredibly busy, only to realize at the end of the day that you haven’t actually moved the needle on what truly matters? It’s a common trap, one I’ve fallen into more times than I can count. It’s like being a super-fast painter, meticulously covering every inch of a wall, only to discover you’ve painted it green when it was supposed to be blue. All that effort, all that speed, but the wrong outcome.
This highlights a crucial distinction in the world of productivity: efficiency versus effectiveness. While efficiency is about doing things quickly and with minimal wasted effort, effectiveness is about doing the right things. And as I’ve learned over the years, effectiveness is always the more important of the two. You can be incredibly efficient at the wrong task, but that just means you’re getting to the wrong destination faster. What we truly want is to be both effective and efficient: doing the right things, and doing them well.
In this article, we’ll explore three key steps to help you strike this balance, ensuring your efforts are always aligned with your most important goals.
1. Are You Climbing the Right Ladder? Prioritize Effectiveness First
Stephen Covey, in his classic “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” put it perfectly: you can climb a ladder faster, but if it’s leaning against the wrong wall, every step just gets you to the wrong place faster. This is the essence of effectiveness. Before you even think about how to do something, ask yourself: should I be doing this?
This might sound simple, but it’s a question many of us, especially those who love to execute and check things off, often overlook. We get a task, and our immediate instinct is to dive in. But taking a moment to pause and reflect on the “why” behind the task can save you immense time and energy down the line.
For me, as a CEO, this is a non-negotiable. Every Tuesday, I dedicate an hour and a half to what I call “backlog grooming.” This isn’t just about organizing tasks; it’s about ensuring that every single item we plan to work on for the next two weeks is directly aligned with our overarching goals. If we’re launching a new course, for example, and the team is spending time on unrelated blog posts, that’s two weeks of wasted payroll, effort, and potentially, team morale. It’s an expensive mistake.
Reflect: What are your current goals? Are the tasks on your to-do list truly moving you closer to them?
This principle applies just as much to your personal life. We often jump into our day, driving around town, only to realize we’ve ended up somewhere completely different from where we intended. Regularly checking in with your goals, perhaps as part of your morning routine, helps you ensure your daily actions are in alignment. If a task isn’t serving your goals, consider eliminating it. As one of our community members wisely put it, tasks need to “earn their way back on the list.” This “work elimination diet” can be incredibly liberating, freeing up time for what truly matters.
2. Sharpen Your Saw: Doing the Right Things Well
Once you’ve confirmed you’re climbing the right ladder, it’s time to get good at climbing it. This is where efficiency comes into play. For me, I never optimize something until I’ve done it a few times. Why? Because repetition reveals the friction points, the opportunities for improvement, and even the possibility of complete elimination.
Think about the repetitive tasks in your day, both at work and in your personal life. Even something as simple as brushing your teeth can be made more efficient. A manual toothbrush works, but an electric one automates the timing and motion, making the process more effective and efficient. It’s about finding those small tweaks that add up to significant time savings.
Consider: What tasks do you do repeatedly? Where can you introduce small efficiencies?
One powerful way to identify these opportunities is to document your processes. If you can teach someone else how to do what you do, you’ll quickly uncover inefficiencies you didn’t even realize existed. I once had a ridiculously complex system for assembling a newsletter. It worked for me, but when I tried to teach it to someone else, I realized how many unnecessary steps I was taking. The act of teaching forced me to simplify, making the process more efficient for everyone.
Another example is automating recurring tasks. I use a tool that automatically sorts files with “Asian Efficiency” in the name into a specific folder. This saves me countless clicks and mental energy. Similarly, for frequently typed phrases, like the user stories we write for our development sprints, I use text expanders. These small automations, applied to repetitive actions, create significant gains over time. The key is to look for those recurring annoyances and ask: how can I make this smoother, faster, or even automatic?
3. The Retrospective Advantage: Continuously Improve
Being effective and efficient isn’t a one-time achievement; it’s an ongoing process of assessment and improvement. Just as we reflect on our year-end goals, we should regularly review our daily and weekly actions. This is the purpose of a weekly review, a practice I highly recommend.
At Asian Efficiency, we have a “sprint review and retrospective” meeting every two weeks. This is where we look back at what worked, what didn’t, and what we can learn. It’s a safe space to discuss how we can improve, both individually and as a team. Sometimes, this means realizing a task is no longer necessary and cutting it entirely. Other times, it means finding a more efficient way to accomplish something.
Ask yourself: What worked well this week? What didn’t? What can I learn?
To guide this reflection, I often ask myself three simple questions:
- What should I start doing?
- What should I keep doing?
- What should I stop doing?
These questions provide invaluable feedback, helping to identify areas for improvement and reinforce successful habits. I also ask: “Am I making progress on my goals?” If the answer is no, it’s a clear sign of ineffectiveness, prompting me to adjust my approach for the upcoming week. Similarly, I ask: “Am I creating more free time and less stress?” If not, it indicates a lack of efficiency, highlighting opportunities for optimization.
Finally, I look for recurring annoyances or problems in my life. These often reveal patterns of inefficiency or ineffective habits that, once identified, can be systematically addressed. By consistently asking these questions and reflecting on your experiences, you can continuously refine your approach to productivity, ensuring you’re always doing the right things, and doing them well.
