In business today, where industrial sophistication is as advanced as humanity has ever seen, there is only one pace: fast. The rate at which we must ingest, analyze, and provide value for our employers and clients continues to climb. How do we hit these marks efficiently — achieving peak performance using the least amount of inputs to accomplish the highest amount of output?
1. Build scalable systems and processes. If your business or client base exploded from 10 clients to 10,000, would your current systems and processes be able to handle that growth, or would it cripple you? This is the most important question to ask when assessing the efficiency of your work process. If you believe your system is inefficient, you must first find where the process is getting bottlenecked and work to increase the bottleneck’s capacity.
2.Give your best energy to your best work. Your most valuable resource is not your time. It is your energy. Recognizing when you are most alert allows you to give your best self to your most important assignments. For example, if your best energy is from 7 am to 12 pm, vigilantly guard that time and schedule your most impactful work in that block. During impactful work blocks, put your phone on silent or in a drawer and turn off email alerts. Although most companies have open-door policies, you can inform your colleagues when you need to shut your door for an important project, knock if it’s urgent, and your door will be open again at a stated time.
3.Leverage and invest in technology. Hotkeys, shortcuts, and mobile access has made it easier than ever to efficiently produce quality work. If there is a process you perform repeatedly that is tedious or energy-draining, look for a technology solution that will make that process faster. It most likely exists. When a new technology becomes available to you or your business, invest the time to learn it and become proficient with it. It’s essential to not just work in your job but to make time to work on your job.
