While recently scrolling through Instagram, we came across a question that made us immediately stop our aimless swiping. Best-selling author James Clear asked his 750,000 plus followers “Are you being effective or just busy?” His simple yet thought-provoking question sparked an engrossing discussion in the comment section, with some people saying they’re always effective with their time, while the majority of the commenters said they fill their days with endless tasks under the impression that they’re being productive, which often leaves them feeling overwhelmed rather than fulfilled.
In our modern ‘always-on’ world, it feels like we are busier than ever and there’s a constant urge to get as much done as we possibly can while also responding to everything – whether that’s an email, text message, phone call, DM, or comment – immediately. And while constantly crossing tasks off of your to-do list might make you feel like you’re working hard and being productive, you might actually be too busy to realize that you’re not being effective with your time or energy – ultimately, hurting you in the long run.
The truth is, there are key differences between being busy and being effective and knowing what they are can help you determine which category you fall under and what steps you need to take in order to improve.
When you’re busy, you have a lot on your plate and you fill your day with varying tasks to work hard, rather than prioritizing better results. For example, this might mean that you work without a system that tracks your progress; you take on random tasks and assignments without designating what’s important or the most urgent; spend a lot of time on things that don’t actually matter, and equate doing things with accomplishing. It can be a stressful and overwhelming time, and can even cause you to be unintentionally careless.
According to Clear, being effective is simply about focusing on getting the right things done – rather than getting the wrong things done. An effective person knows how to spend less time on getting more of the correct tasks done; they use systems to track their goals and progress; and they work on the most important tasks first and are selective with how they use their time and resources, while also choosing the most direct path to achieve results – without actually doing a lot.
The bottom line here is being effective means working smarter – not harder.
Regardless of what you do or where you work, you need to be productive in order to succeed. If you find that you identify as someone who is busy rather than effective, all is not lost.
Here are some simple yet effective tips that can improve how effective you are:
● Eliminate tasks that don’t matter during the workday: When you have a never-ending list of things to do, you need to eliminate the tasks and projects that are unnecessary, redundant, or waste time as they have a nominal effect on your overall productivity. It’s been proven that we can complete our most challenging and important work when our brains are fresh, so by organizing your schedule in order of importance, you’ll be much more productive when it comes to managing your time.
● Stop multitasking: To be your most effective self, you need to stop multitasking and taking on more things than you have the capacity for. Place your focus on doing the tasks that matter the most so you can complete them as effectively and efficiently as you can.
● Set specific goals – and the actions needed to get you there: When you think about your life – from a career, relationship, and wellbeing – what are your overall goals? What do you want to accomplish? By having goals in place, you know exactly what you want to achieve which helps keep you motivated and focused until you get there. You also need to determine the specific actions that need to be taken in order to reach your goals. To achieve any goal, you need to regularly monitor your actions and progress because if you don’t know how well you’re doing, you can’t adjust your behaviour or strategies in order to improve.
● Have a positive mindset: When thinking about your goals, you must think positively about how you are going to achieve them. Believing in your ability to succeed is extremely helpful for staying motivated. But keep in mind that while being positive is essential, you also need to remain realistic and refrain from underestimating how difficult some goals can be and that they may take more time and effort to achieve – but more often than not, most goals worth achieving don’t happen overnight.
As James once asked, “You get one, precious life. How do you decide the best way to spend your time?” The next time you prepare for your day, ask yourself that question, then plan your day by focusing on the right things and eliminating the wrong things, and strive for effectiveness.