How to be more efficient
What are you actually trying to achieve?
It might sound like an obvious question but it’s one that some of us would struggle to answer when it comes to what we do at work all day. Many of us spend our days firefighting, simply trying to get through as many of the tasks in front of us as we can, without considering why we’re doing them, how they help our business or whether they’re an effective use of our time. If you want to become more efficient, then, by definition, it’s important that you begin considering the value of everything that you do.
What’s in it for you?
The first step to evaluating whether your tasks are actually helping you to perform at your best and become more efficient is to work out exactly what you’re trying to achieve. Many businesses spend time measuring the day to day performance of their staff but struggle to align that effort and those metrics to the bigger picture.
The first step to achieving this clarity is to set a memorable and stretching goal that is meaningful to everybody in your team. Here at Will it Make The Boat Go Faster? we call that a Crazy goal. Nobody does it alone, so the goal must be a shared objective that your entire team is motivated to work towards. It needs to be an objective that engages everyone who is working towards it.
We’ve helped many businesses to set motivating Crazy goals that clarify exactly what they’re trying to achieve in a way that the people in the organisation can buy into. Setting a Crazy goal is an intensive process that requires reflection and a deep understanding of your team’s personal motivators. How often do your teams get the chance to ask themselves “What’s in it for me?” and more importantly, do they know the answer?
Focus on What’s Important
The right Crazy goal will prompt you to ask the right questions. In the run up to the Sydney Olympics, Ben and his team asked themselves ‘Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?‘ before every single action and decision they made around their training regime. You can take the same approach with your own Crazy goal. If the task you’re about to perform isn’t going to move you closer to that goal then you need to consider whether it’s worth doing at all. Postpone it, delegate it or even consider not doing it.
If you’re effective in your application of our first Performance Principle – Focus on what’s important – you’ll probably discover that you have a lot more free time in your day than you previously did. You’ll also likely feel under less stress as you move out of firefighting mode and begin to have the time to focus on the bigger projects that will actually take you closer to your goals and objectives.
We’ve helped businesses everywhere to set stretching, meaningful Crazy goals in our Crazy goal workshops. They are intensive sessions that will help your team to achieve complete clarity on what they’re goals are and the meaningful steps that they can take to achieve them. Register now and we’ll let you know when sessions are available.
