Listen up, all you self-proclaimed ‘busy’ souls, perpetually running on the hamster wheel of life! Have you ever wondered if all that hustle translates into real progress? Enter the era of self-driven efficiency, where we drop the charade of being ‘busy’ and get down to actual, results-driven business.
When I started as a senior leader at Texas Instruments, Microsoft, and T-Mobile, my days were filled with so many irrelevant meetings, inboxes filled with irrelevant emails I was cc’d on. Talk about exhausting. In each company, I hired a very strong assistant who would protect my schedule with her very being. I asked them to ask the requestor consistently every time:
- What’s the meeting purpose or mission?
- If it did not drive the business forward in any way – DECLINE
- What’s the desired outcome?
- What business results or KPIs will this impact?
I religiously block 40% of my days out to GSD – Get S*&^ Done. Real work. Not busy work, I block 2 hours of my day to write. This allows me additional flexibility when that priority interrupt comes through, I can manage it with relative ease.
Let’s get this straight: efficiency isn’t just about cramming more tasks into your day. That’s amateur league. Actual self-driven efficiency is an audacious act of rebellion. It’s the art of declaring war on time-wasters, trivialities, and everything that doesn’t light your fire. It’s about carving out time for what truly matters by ruthlessly eliminating what doesn’t.
Why be a slave to the clock when you can master it? It’s time to question every routine and habit and ask: “Is this serving me, or am I just ticking off boxes?” That hour-long meeting that could’ve been an email? Axe it. That tedious task that adds zero value? Delegate or ditch. Take control, or be controlled. The choice is yours.
But remember: self-driven efficiency isn’t for the faint-hearted. It demands unflinching honesty and the audacity to shatter norms. It means setting boundaries, sometimes ruffling feathers, and being labeled a maverick. And, oh, it requires courage to say ‘no’ – a word so simple yet profoundly powerful.
So, to all the brave souls ready to embark on this transformative journey, remember this: Efficiency isn’t a skill; it’s an attitude. Wear it with pride, and watch as you conquer your to-do list and dominate life itself.
To seal our pact of efficiency, let’s soak in the words of the legendary Peter Drucker: “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” Aim not just to do more but to do more of what truly counts.