7 Strategies for Maximum Efficiency

Being Efficient is of one of the most sought-after skills in the marketplace.

When we are efficient it means that we finish things in time and with high quality. It means that we are diligent, accurate and precise in how execute any task.

When we develop that skill we definitely stand out in the marketplace. It is something that we all MUST develop to succeed in our careers.

Here are 7 Strategies to Achieve Maximum Efficiency:

1. NO-MULTITASKING

Multitasking is one of the biggest killers of performance in the workplace. Doing a lot of things at the same time is just something counter-intuitive and against any logical analysis. It is completely against the nature of how the human brain functions.

If you are focusing on many things at the same time, you are diminishing your energy and assigning a little bit of energy to each task. You only have ONE MENTAL CAPACITY. By doing Multi-tasking you are dividing in little portions that one mental capacity.

This will result in a low-quality work.

Instead, planning properly and focusing on one thing at a time is the only way that will guarantee a high-quality work.

2. SMALL CHUNKS FOR BIG PROBLEMS

It doesn't matter how big or how difficult a task might look, when you divide it into doable, practical and small tasks, you will keep making progress.

Develop the habit of dividing any big ''impossible to do'' task into things practical. For example, let's say you are writing a book that will have 250 pages.

That looks like such a big task to accomplish. However, your goal for each week will be to just write 20 pages, which equals 5 pages a day. In 3 months, you will have it done.

On the other hand, if you had focused only on those 250 pages, you could have fallen in the trap of Paralysis-Analysis and Procrastication which might stop you for 6-12 months in deciding whether or not to do it.

3. DEADLINES

Without deadlines there's no urgency, there's no deep motivation or drive to focus on something diligently.

It is incredible the state of lazyness, dullness and leisure that the mind can get stuck in towards a project when there's no deadline. The mind will always find a way to put things off and delay.

Deadlines are the drivers and shakers leading the projects to completion.

Of course, deadlines have to be established in a rational way. When we set them, it is a must that we do our research with our team, associates, contractors or just by ourselves depending on the magnitude of the task.

Once the proper information has been captured, it's time to choose a final date and make it public, Yes, you heard me right (or read me right, haha), share that with at least 5 people and let them know that by that date you are supposed to finish that.

If it is a big project congregating a number of people, it is crucial that you share that date with them.

There's something I am 100% sure about deadlines and it is that, while you may or may not achieve that goal on that exact date, it is guaranteed that something is going to happen around that day.

Yes, maybe some unexpected things might happen and you don't achieve it on the set date, but you can be certain that the day of completion will be a couple of days later and not 6 months or a year later.

4. LESS (OR NO) MEETINGS

One of the biggest poisons in the workplace these days is the enormous number of meetings held day after day. I am pretty sure for some people meetings are a escape to not do or execute what they're supposed to.

On the great book ''Clockwork System'' by Mike Michalowicz, there's an amazing study that shows that a company of excellence (which can be translated to a person of excellence also) invests its time this way:

80%= DOING

10%= DESIGNING

8%= DELEGATING

2%= DECIDING

Meetings would fall into the ''Deciding'' category. So, just 2% of your time should be spent on meetings. Now if you want to combine ''Deciding'' with ''Delegation'' as situations applicable to meetings, still that would be only 10%.

So, if you have a workweek of 40 hours, only 4 hours of that week, max, should be spent on meetings. That means less than an hour a day.

Yes, sometimes meetings are necessary and indipensable to get something done. But overall, the exageration of them is just a mere demostration of fear, lack of decision-making and lack of leadership.

80% of the things that we think should go into a meeting, can be solved by a simple call, a simple text, a simple email. Think it over.

Remember, the less time you spend on meetings, the more productive and the more efficient you are going to be.

I also recommend you the book ''Meetings suck'' by Cameron Herold , to learn deeper on how meetings can kill us.

5. DELEGATE

I always say that, when you delegate, that's the point when you go against the laws of physics and you can occupy many places at the same time.

This is a way in which you multiply yourself in different places while the original You, focus on the most result-oriented stuff.

But there's something to understand about Delegation. The best way to put it is this:

''Never ask a fish to climb a mountain. A fish can swim''.

Delegation is not abdication. It is a process that requires good communication and above all, choosing the right person, for the right task and in the right portion.

You have to delegate as much as you possibly can. As an executive your goal is to get out of you plate all of the routine, operational tasks so you can focus on the designing, decision- making and growth part.

Don't see Delegation only as giving instructions for one single project or activity. The best delegation is the long-term focused one, where you train somebody to take care of something forever. That way you definitely take something out of list.

So, I invite you to think about all those constant tasks that you can get out of your way forever.

6. ELIMINATE

Productivity is not only about knowing what you're doing, it is also about knowing what you are NOT doing. Being able to eliminate things is very key to be an efficient person.

Eliminating stuff has two categories:

1-Eliminating things forever: which means it is something that you will not do anymore. A club you belong to, a certaing meeting you usually do in the afternoon, etc.

2- Eliminating things for the moment: there might be things you know that, eventually, will have to be done but you put it off until some other date.

Something I recommend for the things you put off is to have a database of those tasks that later you will have to take care of, and of course you take a look at that database when you are preparing your weekly or quaterly planning.

7. TAKE BREAKS

The human body is not designed to stay at something for hours and hours without a stop. In order to be able to get efficiency, taking constant breaks will be key.

Depending on who you are and your level of concentration these are the cycles recommended:

• 25 minutes work, 5 minutes break.
• 45 minutes work, 10 minutes break.
• 1 hour work, 15 minutes break.
• 1 hour and half work, 20 minutes work.
• 2 hours work, 20-25 minutes work.

Everything depends on you being a person with higher or lower levels of concentration. with that clear you choose the cycle that fits you.

This is what I call The Power of the Pause. Taking those breaks will be essential for you to stay at your highest levels possible.

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About the author:

Sam Rosario is a Time Management Expert. He was named by his clients as The Time Doctor. With more than 8 years of experience, he has mastered all the principles and methods to make executives and CEOs masters of their time and become High Performers.

Sam is the Founder and Owner of Time Booster Academy where he's helped hundreds of leaders become highly productive.

To inquire about Sam and his services you can email him at samuelrosario2123@gmail.com or you can send him a direct message here through Linkedin.