Getting Your Effort’s Worth
I’ve always been a perfectionist. I’m the type of person that‘ll ’have a paper due and say something like, “Whatever, it’s not worth much…” And then when I finally sleep at 5 AM after working all night I’ll be worried I might not get perfect. I’m the kind of person that will complain about having too much to do, but when I get asked to work on something more, I’ll say, “Yes, of course I’ll do that.” And then when I do take on more than I can handle, I’ll be worried about whether I’ll meet my expectations.
It’s been instilled in me that hard work and effort are admirable traits. This, along with my other traits, drives me to put in a lot of effort into everything I do — menial or major. Things I want to do and things I don’t want to do. Things that are productive and things that aren’t. Things that matter and things that don’t. It’s all the same. There is no such thing as “half way” — so I just spend all my time on everything. Recently I’ve realized the flaw in this.
Putting in a lot of effort is important in life. Where you’re putting it and why you’re putting it there are more important. People will always appreciate you for hard work, but working towards the right things for you will bring you satisfaction like nothing else.
Figure out what’s important to you and what you value
Before you commit your efforts towards a hundred different things, think about what actually means a lot to you. And I don’t mean little things, I mean what’s important to you in life. Ever seen that triangle about college life that says choose two: good grades, social life, enough sleep?
Ever seen that many-sided shape with friends, class, work, family, love life, sleep, hobbies, and more stuff, all with a comment about trying to do everything but having serious struggles in balancing it all?
I think it’s safe to say for most people the second is more accurate… That being said, the first thing to think about is knowing which of those dozen plus things are actually important to you. Is being the pinnacle of success in the business world more important to you than coming home at 5:30 PM every night to your family? Maybe you can do both… if you’re willing to catch up on work at night and sleep for 4 hours. Are you?
As I’ve learned through my own decisions (and countless business school classes), opportunity cost is always a consideration. Something always has to give and it’s usually time you could be putting elsewhere, so make sure whatever you do give up time for is something you’re passionate about. I’m quick to commit my time to a bunch of random things, but very seldom am I spending time on something just because it’s important to me — something that’s a passion. Starting a club and bringing people together for a cause you believe in is passion. Training for your sport every night, regardless of your other commitments, is passion.
Time you spend on something you’re passionate about is never wasted.
So before you decide to give 110% effort, discover what you really want to give your time up for. I guarantee you, the 110% effort towards those things will bring you more satisfaction than if you’re just doing a lot… of everything.
Learn to make calculated decisions
So what about things outside of your passions? I’m talking about those “other opportunities” that seem to crop up occasionally. Well here’s where some good old fashioned thinking and decision making comes in.
Growing up, my dad would always walk through scenarios whenever I’d ask for advice on a decision. Undoubtedly, I’d always be frustrated when we’d spend an hour discussing a simple yes or no question, but the point of his methods was lost on me until recently. The point was that before making a decision to commit to, I need to consider what can come of it. What are the pros and cons, and more importantly, what are the chances of each scenario actually happening. It’s a tiresome, tedious process. And it works.
When you have to decide whether something is worth your time, stop and think what will come of it. What will be the return? And I don’t mean financial return. I mean total return. Will you be learning something valuable? Will you be gaining experience? Will you be getting to know people you’d like to? Is it a stepping stone to greater things? Whatever question is important to you, think about if the answer is yes. If you don’t think it’s worth it, think twice about diving in. And most importantly, once you’re done analyzing it and weighing the pros and cons, just do it! I’m the worst with this. I suffer from a condition known as analysis paralysis — I overthink some things. Most things… Don’t fall into that trap. At worst, you’ll make a mistake, spend some time, and inevitably learn a lot. So make a decision, and then just do it.
Embrace the 80/20 rule
If you know me, you may know I’ve quoted this rule in one way or another for a lot of random stuff. And I do it because I think it’s applicable just about everywhere. First, for a little bit of context, the 80/20 rule (as quoted from the most accurate source… Wikipedia) states that, “for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.” The leap to how this applies to effort is pretty clear: a well-placed 20% of your efforts can often get you 80% of the way towards something. Is that enough? Yes and no. The trick is knowing where 80% of the way is sufficient and what 20% of efforts will get you there. Let’s take an example.
Doing well in school is tough. You have assignments, quizzes, projects, tests, finals, and all of that times five sometimes. You’re going to end up in positions where there is physically not enough time in the day to complete everything to a gold standard. So what do you do? You could stay up all night, every night (trust me this is a bad idea… I could write a book on the cons of sleep deprivation from experience). Well there’s this concept called the 80/20 rule… First, map out what’s most important. In this case, what assignments, projects, etc. are urgent and worth the most. These are your focuses, and should get attention (100%, not 20%). Then for the rest, don’t just glaze over it. Identify what’s necessary to do well — that is where you can put in 20% effort and still manage to attain 80% success.
Believe it or not, this isn’t a cop out. It’s a very quantifiable way to do very well, particularly since it isn’t always possible to be perfect everywhere. In fact, it’s relatable to other areas of life. Great managers and leaders very seldom deliver 100% on everything nor are always perfect. What they are good at is managing expectations and needs. They prioritize and place their teams’ efforts in the right places. They strike a balance, as you should.
Long Story Short
Don’t just work hard in life. Work hard for the things that matter to you, and learn to balance the other things. Make good decisions and know when you shouldn’t be losing sleep (literally) over something.
Your time is precious, so make the most of it. Thanks for reading!
