Are you efficient or effective?

This was an interesting debate I was having last week in a training seminar. So what does each one mean?

Efficient = doing things faster, whereas effective = the right things at the right time.

Which do you want to be? I think the answer is effective!

An effective person should:

• Do the right job rather than doing the job right (this is not to say that you will not do the job right).

• Ask themselves, “Is this the best use of my time and energy?” before tackling any job.

• Invest time and effort in projects whose rewards are sometimes in the distant future rather than always investing in the “now” projects.

• Understand that effectiveness is more of an art than a science which requires constant practice to refine your skills.

• Realise that the number and severity of problems they have aren’t as important as they way in which they are handled.

• Distinguish between the urgent problems and the important problems (remember, urgent things are seldom important and important things are seldom urgent).

• Eliminate unproductive habits.

• Never schedule more than 50% of their day, so they can cope with the unexpected.

• Be able to say “no” promptly and politely to avoid raising unnecessary expectations.

• Feel good about themselves.

If you can say, “That is me, I have those qualities”, then you know how to work smarter rather than harder – congratulations.

If not, then ask yourself the question in the second point before doing the next job.