The Efficient Worker Gets the Job Done Right…

The efficient worker gets the job done right. The EFFECTIVE worker gets the right job done. In Earl Nightingale’s book, “How to Completely Change Your Life in 30 Seconds”, Nightingale recommends that we each take an hour in the morning and enumerate twenty things that can improve our lives and help achieve success. Shortly afterward, Nightingale recounts a story about a corporate president who asked how he could become more efficient at work and improve his business. What Earl Nightingale wrote was something that reinforces what I already knew and have practiced for years. Make a list of the six highest priority items to do every morning. Start with the most important item at the top of the list. After creating the list, work on these items one at a time through to completion. Nightingale implies that multitasking does not work because too many things remain undone or never get started when someone is pulled in too many different directions. So, follow the list from top to bottom and you will improve your productivity appreciably. The KEY to this is making sure that you understand your priorities and don’t let distractions get in your way. The efficient worker can get a lot done, but, if the tasks completed are not as important as things that are left undone, there is a problem. The effective worker; however, is the one who knows what must be done first and makes sure that it gets completed. Finish the Job… Once a job is started, the worst thing that can happen is changing direction and beginning another project. In his book, "Good to Great, Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t", Jim Collins refers to the building of momentum in an over-all business strategy as the “Flywheel Effect”. In short, once the flywheel is in motion, changing directions kills the inertia and wastes a lot of energy as the wheel has to slowdown, stop, start turning the other direction. Then, if you decide to go the other way again, the process is repeated losing even more productivity. The flywheel effect can apply to a priority list as well as a business strategy. Every task you take toward the completion of ONE goal builds momentum. When the ball is rolling, the goal is to keep it rolling until you meet your goal. Score! I wrote in two different books that multitasking does not work. The flywheel analogy is a very clear depiction of how changing directions stifles productivity. That is why it is so important to understand your priorities and learn to delegate responsibilities. Try making your own list of priorities and see if it enhances your productivity. I’ll bet it does.