Virtually everyone wants to spend their time more efficiently and effectively.
Consider this observation from Kevin Daum, writing for Inc.: “Most everyone would like to be more efficient. Just think, you would spend less time doing the things that you don’t enjoy and more on the things that bring satisfaction, happiness and profit. Some people are actually very adept at efficiency. They manage every manageable moment so they have more time for themselves to do the things they love.”
Click the image to read Daum’s eight techniques that efficient people use. The first one may surprise you! 🙂
Post suggested by KCJ
I think the article has some good points and some very obvious points. I like how it said to give yourself some down time. Because it’s true, you need it. If you want to perform all of your other tasks well, you cant be all beat up for them. If you give yourself some breaks, then those other tasks will be performed much better and stronger. In some situations, i think for our age group, it’s sort of difficult to delegate tasks in our lives to other people because at this age, no one wants to be demanded or bossed around by anyone. Although in the future i can see that being a successful way of saving some time.
Having enough time to complete tasks is always seems to be an issue for a large majority of the populations. Applying the eight pieces of advice given in the article seem as if they would really minimize this problem. Although some of the points are well known such as delegation, communication, structure, timing, placement and planning, the not so obvious points such as not multitasking and committing to downtime would probably make a huge difference in saving time as well. I always find myself wishing for more time between juggling my school work, my college dance team, my professional dance team, choreographing, community service, friends, ext. If I allowed some more downtime as suggested in this article my work would become more efficient since I would be less run down.
This article was semi interesting. Some of the points I thought were common sense and others were still pretty obvious. I feel like the problem is most people don’t actually think about things before they plan a task, most people just get assigned a task and perform it without thinking so much into the key details of how they are going to accomplish it. I still am not sure about multitasking though, because why is it such a big common thing, if it in the end is really hurting peoples free time.
I feel that this works in the ideal situation only. For example if its your typical day at the firm and you follow these eight steps you should be able to get through the day, have a great family dinner, and still have time for yourself. One alteration in the spectrum could throw this off. What if you get into a car accident or have a bad hair day? Whenever you think something isnt going to happen is when you should be the most aware of this. This can lead to some sort of cynicism and paranoia
Being efficient is essential to success. At my job in Hofstra’s Admission’s Office, I am always thinking of how to get the job done as quickly and effectively as possible. Before I begin a task, I think things through. This is a very important step in the workplace.
Number 2 on the list is “Delegate”. The ability to be able to delegate tasks without appearing too bossy or out of line is a vital tool to have. As a Fine Arts minor, I have been told that the design world is very group-oriented. In other words, you are NEVER working on a project alone. There are always other people who have a shared knowledge of what you are working on. This is all about delegation of tasks. When you portion out responsibilities, the job gets done quicker. It often is much less stressful, which is always a good thing!
I read a tip today and I think it is very useful and I would like to share it with everyone. The tip says if you are in the middle of something you are not interested in and dont want to do it, try to focus on it for 25 mins and take a 5 mins short break. And then focus on it for another 25 mins and another 5 mins short break. After 3 round, take a 20 mins big break. I havent tried it yet, but I personally feel this is a great idea and is definitely worth of trying.
This post was really fascinating especially because I’ve noticed my classes and internship seem to be overloading me with work. I really like the idea of timing my daily activities like talking on the phone or maybe cruising the internet. The idea that communication can apply to efficiency is really interesting also. I feel like I spend a lot of my time trying to communicate in a effective way especially when writing e-mails. Two of the things I know I do well are scheduling and creating downtime. I am very good at scheduling all of my daily activities and I’ve learned over the years exactly how much time I need for certain things like writing papers. I’ve also learned that if I don’t give myself time to relax at some point I’m not being productive anymore but instead wasting my time and energy. Overall I think this article had some really good tips that I’m definitely going to try out.
I really enjoyed this article because it is very relevant for the end of the semester. I know that I will be swamped with work, and this article was helpful in preparing for finals week. Besides being efficient for finals week, this article is helpful for creating healthy ways of working. Knowing before hand on what are the right ways to do things puts you ahead of a lot of other people. The funny thing is everyone I talk to multitasks and says sometimes its the only way to go, but the article disputes it. In the major I am in multitasking is a must (according to professionals I’ve talked to, or heard speak at events). But I’m definitely going to keep this article saved for the future.
I wasn’t to surprised to see multitasking as a negative thing towards being efficient. When you take on multiple tasks this prevents you from focusing your attention solely on one task so it wont get done as efficiently as it should and as quickly as it normally would if you had just put all your attention to doing once task.
This post is just what I needed going into finals! The first on the list really did surprise me! Typically I always have to multitask in order to fit everything in, but I can definitely understand how each of the tasks I complete could be stronger if I focus on them one at a time. Number five is really smart. Having all of your things in a place where you know exactly where to fine them is important. Too many people I know get lost in the clutter of their rooms and cannot find their textbook or even computer. It will save you a lot less time if you don’t have to go searching for your belongings. This extra time could go towards down time, which is essential! I am a firm believer that the mind needs to take a break every once in a while. I don’t mean binge watch an entire series on Netflix for two days straight, but instead maybe take a quick nap or a brisk walk to clear your head.
It’s a little scary how much this efficiency blog post ties into my end of the semester scrambling to get everything done. As a serial list maker and organizer, I identify with points 4, 5 and 8 especially. Organization and schedules are truly, as learned from experience, necessary for efficiency. The advice to stop multitasking, although surprising to hear at first, is good advice. I find that when I am trying to do many things at once I get scatterbrained and more time is wasted than utilized. By making lists and schedules as Kevin Daum advises and focusing on one task at a time, everything gets done in a more timely and efficient way. The reminder to take breaks and time for yourself is a good one because busy people often forget to let their hectic minds relax.
I thought that this was one of the most beneficial articles that I have read. As a college student, I’ve learned the hard way that being efficient is one of the most important factors in being a successful student. I will try to implement some of these tips into my daily life. I think the tip that could help me most would be to “give everything a proper place.” The reason why I believe this to be true is because I’m forever loosing things like keys and ID’s, and it really does consume a lot of my time in a day. I think that if I were able to become more organize my things and my life better, and make my life generally a lot easier.
The eight tips provided in this article seem pretty straightforward. The only one that really shocked me was the first one. I always thought that by working on several tasks at at time, I was accomplishing more, faster. I agree with Amanda in that this post is definitely what I needed going into finals. The tips I need the most work on are numbers 6 & 7, “time activities” and “commit to downtime,” respectively. Usually during finals week, I am so busy trying to accomplish everything in an efficient matter, that I forgo sleep for several days. These coming weeks I will most definitely try to plan everything out, in order to receive sufficient amount of sleep, but still get everything done in a timely manner.
These tips are very helpful at this time for me. I have been stressing over school work and now that I have read these tips it can relieve some of my stress so I can handle my work better and more efficiently. I think the most important tip is downtime. Most people try to do all there work in one sitting and then they lose focus. Downtime is important to keep the mind refreshed and functional.
A couple things definitely stuck out to me from this list. The first being the negatives of multitasking. After reading it, it actually appeared pretty obvious why multitasking could beneficial. By attempting to do many tasks at once you are probably not giving your best performance, whereas by focusing on one at a time, you can focus your efforts. Another point that I found to be very true was when it came to delegating. Many times I try to do everything myself to be sure it is done correctly and give myself too much work.