Productivity measures how much you do or produce within a given timeframe. Efficiency is about being productive with less effort. There’s a difference between being productive and being efficient, and efficiency wins every time. To be more productive in a way that won’t burn you out, you have to figure out how to be more efficient.
My Own Journey Toward Greater Efficiency
I wrote a Twitter post complaining about the studies that are released every so often saying things like “bloggers spend an average of three hours writing a blog post.”
- It never takes her more than a day to write a 3,000-word blog post.
- Is it possible to reduce the amount of time it takes you to do the same thing?
- Break down all of the tasks you complete when writing an article: coming up with ideas, researching those topics, writing the post, taking screenshots and finding images, editing the draft, entering the final draft into a CMS
To Become More Efficient, Ask the Right Questions
Automation Is a Mindset, Not Just a Tool
- When companies have more work than they’re capable of doing, they tend to ask the question, “Who will do this work?”
- How will this work get done?
- Ask yourself these questions: how should this get done, is this the best way to do this, is there a more efficient way?
Broad Strokes Efficiency
Consider how the general way you work impacts your efficiency
- If you’re working in a way that complements your chronotype (internal clock), you’ll be more efficient
- Take more and better breaks
- Increase your efficiency by procrastinating on purpose
- Improving your productivity simply means finding ways to do more
