Efficiency: Frame Your Work
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If anyone gives you two days to do something, will you do your best to finish it at the earliest, or will you take it for granted that you have two days, even a little more, to complete the task?
Studies have shown that we are more efficient if we are given a shorter timeslot to finish something. For example, if you are a blogger, you can decide to give yourself half a day to write a post. Chances are, you will take that long to write your blog post. Now, if you decide that you have 2 hours to write two blog posts, you’ll most certainly be done after 2 hours.
Frame your work consciously to make the best of your time
The most challenging thing is to frame your work as tight as possible but not too tight. How can you do that? There are two ways, the slow approach and the fast approach. The slow approach needs you to increase the number of tasks you do in a certain timeslot or reduce the timeslot you give yourself to finish a task until you reach your optimum.
For example, if you decide that you want to dedicate 2 hours to writing for your blog, you start by trying to write two posts instead of one. Then, if you managed to finish in time, try three the next day, etc. Or you decide to reduce your time to 1 hour instead of 2 to write a post. If it’s a success, then go down to 45 or even 30 minutes.
The fast approach is as simple, but you start with a highly unrealistic goal: dedicate 2 hours to write six blog posts. Do your best, and then see how many you were able to write.
What do you do with the time you just freed?
Of course, if you improve your efficiency by spending the rest of the day scrolling social media, the effort is useless. You could try to boost your side hustle or business in new ways. You can use the available time to be more present (in a professional way) on chosen social media or build a strategy to gain in audience and visibility. You can use this time to learn new skills, read more or spend more quality time with your loved ones. You can also use some of this time to care of yourself, have some time on your own to rest and review your goals, have a bath infused with essential oils or simply listen to some good music.
Your takeaway
If you have some time during the day when you are highly productive, you must balance it with some time to rest and relax. Productivity is important. However, lack of rest will lead to burnout, not success!
Have a great day 🤍
