Tag: professional development

I’ve Organized Others, Now It’s My Turn

My brain is busy this week.  I have spent time these last few weeks getting everyone else squared away and prepared for their next steps.  And now… I think it’s my turn!

August / Back-To-School time is my personal New Year celebration, instead of January.  So, what am I doing this week to celebrate my New Year?

(And, What Can YOU Do for YOU this week?!!)

Clearing Out:

  • The daily in-box is getting a little unruly again, so I will Unsubscribe daily from 5 retailers or mailing lists until I see some improvement.
  • Last weekend, I reviewed my kitchen and medicine cabinet contents and purged a few things.  I also committed to using up (really, using DOWN) our stock of food, toiletries and paper goods over the next few weeks without purchasing more.  This activity saves money and frees up space by clearing out extra inventory.
  • I also have a couple of bags of donations to drop off later in the week when I drive near my favorite charitable organization.

Personal Development and Self-Care:

  • 5 weeks ago, I set a handful of 6-week goals, so I will see some of those goals completed next week, just in time to set more! I use this form from Spark People for setting SMART goals.
  • I made appointments!  We parents always take care of our students, and now its my turn. I made an appointment for my annual physical.  The date isn’t for a month, but I feel relieved having made the call!
  • I tweaked my closet.  I know, it’s still August, but there were a few items to purge or put away, and a few others to pull forward for usage in the next few weeks!!

Take Care of Maintenance:

  • After I cleaned out the kitchen cabinets, I made my grocery list and stocked up on essentials.  I know, the goal stated above is to clear out some inventory, but we still needed a few things!
  • I made the Project list for Fall, and I’ll work those small projects into my weekly tasks for the next month or so.
  • I made even more appointments:  My minivan goes in for scheduled maintenance on Saturday, the carpet cleaners and HVAC fella come next Monday, and our EWaste Home Collection is scheduled for September.

WHAT CAN YOU DO THIS WEEK to get organized, pare down, clear clutter and build yourself up?!

The Subtle Difference Between Efficient and Effective

I taught a Time Management Workshop last week.  I asked the participants “Why do you think your company chose Time Management as your professional development topic for today?”  A gentleman answered “So that my coworkers and I could be more efficient with our time”.

This was a very good answer.  I responded, “‘Efficient’ is great, and I’m sure your company indeed wants you to be efficient, because of course, who wouldn’t?”   But I went on to explain that “Effective” would be an even better way to manage our time.

Those two words, Efficient and Effective, sound very similar, and may even be used interchangeably in regular conversation, but I learned long ago in a senior management seminar that they have different meanings.  I explained:

  • “Efficient” is used to describe the least use of our resources.  If we do a job efficiently, we will spend the least amount of time, money, resources, man power to get the desired result.  That indeed may be what a company is looking for.
  • “Effective”, my preferred choice, describes the BEST use of resources.  We might spend a little more time, more effort or a little more money on something, but the outcomes will be much improved and we will deliver a better service or product.  Spending a little more time helps ensure the job is done well, and won’t need repeating, which saves $$ and time in the long run.

To illustrate, I used the example of a Trip to Costco.  For a small amount of money, I can purchase a ridiculously large bag each of rice and beans (like 25 or 50 lbs), and a couple of 12-packs of canned veggies. Spending just a little time, I can make enough rice, beans and veggies to eat every meal for weeks.  Cheap, quick to purchase and assemble, and relatively nutritious.

Sure, I could eat this for weeks, but why would I want to? This efficient use of my time and money would be unappetizing and, after weeks, my health would probably suffer.  We can see how efficient isn’t always best.

If, however, I spend a little more time and $$ in my planning, shopping and prep, I could still shop and eat efficiently, but I could also eat more effectively, enjoy my food and better health.  By adding some variety to my shopping list and to my menu and spending a little more money, I could eat and live better, which makes that little extra outlay a more effective use of my resources.

We had a visitor last week from Germany, and we went shopping on Michigan Avenue for some gifts for her family.  She was amazed at how pleasant and helpful the store employees were. She mentioned that she was used to efficient and competent customer service at home, but the helpful and chatty people made the shopping experience enjoyable.  So, the associates we worked with managed to be efficient, but, more importantly, also effective and improved their customer outcomes by being friendly and helpful.  And we probably spent more $$ at the stores because of this, which improves the company bottom line.

So, sometimes our work calls for us to be efficient, to work quickly and cheaply and get the job done. There is nothing wrong with Efficient.  But for a little extra effort and resources, we could do our work well and improve our results or outcomes.  We can be efficient and Effective, which would be even better.  And Effective brings us closer to Excellence, which would be better yet.