Why doing the right things is more important than doing things right
Sometimes, it can feel as if you are constantly fighting the current and not moving forwards. Despite having clear goals and small milestones that I check regularly, I sometimes feel as if I am making little or no progress towards my goals.
This week was one of those instances, at least, until the very end. I had spent the first half of the week reaching out to potential partners, organising meetings and promoting my upcoming workshop, all to little avail. Then, on the last two days of the week, everything started to come together and I felt more productive, despite checking fewer things off of my list.
When I was doing my weekly reflection exercise, two things sprang to the forefront of my mind; The first was a quote by Tim Ferriss from The Four Hour Work Week:
“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things” ~Tim Ferriss
I realised how much more important the later is, over the former. I had known this for a while, but seeing it in your own work is much harder than seeing it in other peoples. I realised that although I had probably spent 60% of the week being unproductive, I had chosen one or two things that took a small percentage of my time, but had a huge impact. This is a concept Ferriss often refers to as “the lead domino” and is further explained in the book The one thing by Gary Keller.
The second concept that floated to the surface, was the power of resetting. I recently bought the book “Tribe of Mentors” which is Tim Ferriss’s latest book (yes I’m a bit of a fan boy incase you haven't already worked that out). I was reading an excerpt from an interview with Adam Robinson where he is discussing his tactics for dealing with overwhelm and a lack of focus. Robinson says that he first asks himself if he is rehearsing his best self. i.e. Is he putting his best foot forward? If the answer is no, he asks how he can reset. This is my favourite quote from the interview:
“Each day presents us with 86,400 seconds, which means each day presents us with virtually countless opportunities to reset, recover our balance, and continue rehearsing our best selves.”
The reason this resonated with me, is because I was listening to a similar concept from Tony Robbins early in the week. The opportunity we have to catch ourselves being unproductive or in a negative state and the power we have to change it, are incredible. This is much easier to say than do, but there are techniques which, with practice, allow you to switch and reset on command. How we feel is a choice, and just because we have had a shitty morning, doesn't mean we have to have a shitty afternoon. You get to decide what emotional and mental state you want to be in, so why not decide to be productive, even if you don’t feel like it.
In conclusion
This week, I have learnt that we should aim for efficiency but prioritise effectiveness. Sometimes the things you did at the beginning of the month will produce results at the end of the month, and that’s ok. When you are feeling unproductive or unresourcesful, just remember; you have the power to choose what state you live in. If you aren’t feeling the best version of yourself, take time to check in and reset.
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