The key to effortless efficiency is to set up systems which, once established, either do the job entirely or make it much easier to do the job thereafter. People make the mistake of assuming that the initial additional investment in time or money to set up the system makes it not worth the effort. I myself was guilty of this when I resisted paying my bills online, thinking it was just as easy and quick to write them out and post them by hand. Wrong! Once I set up online banking, which did take some time up front, I’ve been paying my bills online now for years and have never looked back as not only has it saved me time, but also money in postage. This isn’t the only way to increase efficiency though – you can also find creative ways of getting the same results in less time.
1. Set up automatic systems (banking online, grocery shopping online, irrigation for the lawn).
3. Delegate the job or task to someone else, thereby freeing your time up completely after the initial training sessions (cleaning, ironing, filing, administrative tasks, etc.)
4. Batch tasks (email, correspondence, calls, Facebook, Twitter, bill paying, etc.)
5. Do the job right the first time so that it doesn’t need redoing or fixing later.
6. Kill two birds with one stone. (Combine commuting to work with exercise – see example below — or ironing and meditating). Favorite Efficiencies: Discovering that instead of taking the subway to work in New York City (30- 40 minutes), I could walk there in one hour. I decided that it was worth the extra twenty minutes to gain an entire hour of exercise, not to mention avoiding the unpleasant feeling of being squashed on a subway like a sardine, or worse, getting stuck on a subway that breaks down and arriving late to work). Overall, a fabulous efficiency with superb health benefits.Swapping a traditional weight lifting workout routine for The Power of Ten or The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution workouts. Instead of three hours of weight lifting a week, I accomplished better results in twenty minutes a week. Took some getting used to initially, but now I’ll never go back to lifting weights the old way….way too inefficient, not to mention deadly dull!
One client does her meditation while she is ironing. Another listens to personal development audio programs or meditation audios while doing housework or any manual work.
Take public transportation so you can read, check Facebook, emails, etc. instead of driving.
Listen to motivational or other audio books while driving to and from work.
Hiring a house cleaner is everyone’s top favorite!
Shopping for groceries online and getting them delivered at no extra charge.
Homework:
Review the list and pick one or two things to make your own life more efficient and fun this week.
Ten Minute Option:
Review the list and use your online journal to jot down a couple of ways you’d like to improve your personal efficiency.
Enjoy!
Talane
