How To Work More Effectively? [Tips & Meaning]

Do you want to work smarter and not harder? You do that by being more effective! In this article you will find the definition of (personal) effectiveness and the best tips to increase your effectiveness.

Effectiveness meaning: put your ladder against the right wall

What is effectiveness? Let’s look at the definitions:

• The dictionary meaning of effectiveness is: Achieving the intended goal.
• The meaning of Stephen Covey is: Put your ladder against the right wall.
• You could call a synonym of effectiveness ‘purposefulness’.

Let’s continue with Covey’s analogy. The wall symbolizes your purpose . If you are effective, then everything you do applies to climbing the correct wall . Even if you go very slowly, spend a lot of money on the ladder or make all kinds of mistakes, it still involves climbing the right wall.

Would you rather be a busy or effective person?

Efficiency meaning: climb the ladder properly

On the other hand, there is a completely different concept: efficiency. That is about how quickly, cheaply and / or flawlessly you climb a ladder. It could just be that your efficiency is top, but that you are (in an excellent way) climbing the wrong wall. Then you are not effective, but you are working efficiently.

Efficiency means doing the things you do as smartly as possible. But think carefully whether the things you do should do (effectiveness)!

Effectiveness is more important than efficiency. As Covey says: put your ladder against the right wall, otherwise you will end up in the wrong place faster.

Do you already see the difference between efficiency and effectiveness?

• Leadership is choosing the right wall: doing the right things.
• Management is de ladder: doing the things right.

Efficient management without effective leadership is: dusting the tables and chairs on the Titanic.

How do you increase your personal effectiveness?

Let’s go to the tips to increase your effectiveness and work smarter.

Tip 1 – Doing less is not laziness: Ditch activities (ladders) and be  strategically ‘lazy’

Is it possible for you to do half of the activities you do now? This question may sound a bit overwhelming, but you will soon think otherwise …

As you now know: effectiveness means that you do the right things and that you stop doing a lot of other things. Don’t put your ladder against walls that you don’t actually have to climb at all.

Doing less is not laziness. Be effective.
– Tim Ferris

Say no to all unsuccessful activities. Only keep the ladders upright that will take you on top of the walls wherever you want / need to be. Why would you do this? All activities that you can cancel immediately save you time and / or money for your truly important goals. This can lead to an abundant lifestyle and you will earn more money from it.

You can also call your effectiveness ‘strategic laziness’. You prefer not to do unnecessary things. This allows you to spend more time on relaxation, relationships, healthy cooking, reading and working towards your goals.

So delete: more success with less effort! By doing half of what you are doing now , you can:

• Earn twice as much.
• Enjoying the output: freedom.

Effectiveness goes very well with Pareto ‘s Law : remember the 80/20 rule for everything you do in your life! ‘Should I do this now? What should I actually do? ‘ And in fact: “Can’t I do anything now?”

Just put a lot of effort into those few pages on your website that make money: create an irresistible offer and product.
– Eelco de Boer

Don’t major in minor things.
– Jim Rohn

Tip 2 – Do lifestyle design, don’t get rich in terms of money on the bank

This is an important aspect when it comes to personal effectiveness …

Always ask yourself, ‘What is my relative income and what is my absolute income ? Is a calorie always a calorie? Or should you also look at how many calories you actually burn?

Which of the following persons has a higher relative income?

• Piet earns 100,000 euros a week by working 50 hours a week.
• Marie earns 40,000 euros a week by working 10 hours a week.

How much is that per hour? Piet earns 2,000 per hour. Marie earns 4,000 per hour.

Now a new question arises: who has a richer lifestyle, Piet or Marie? Piet is richer than Marie, but Marie has designed a richer lifestyle.

And now there is another new question: how can you ensure that, like Marie, you earn more in less time? The answer is effectiveness: only do the things that bring you the most. In other words: just keep a few ladders and put them against the walls that yield the most.

The above example comes straight from the book ‘The 4 Hour Workweek’. If you want to know everything about ‘lifestyle design’, read this book.

Tip 3 – In addition to effectiveness, efficiency is still useful: Use Parkinson’s Law

Following on from the tip on effectiveness, let’s introduce Parkinson’s Law: an employee is more valuable if he works less and is extremely productive in doing so. He can achieve twice the results of people who work 40 hours a week in 10 hours a week. It is then more painful for the company to fire you.

In a miraculous way, we fill the given time that we have. That’s Parkinson’s Law. This is the magic of the deadline. A short deadline is always better. So limit working time and set deadlines.

Tip 4 – The importance of effectiveness … Look at your pension differently: keep mini pensions

Work when you are most effective. Why is that important? For that we have to look at our pension …

Retirement should be the absolute worst case scenario according to Tim Ferris. ‘It is based on the assumption that you do not like what you are doing 2/3 of your life during the most physically capable part of your life, only to have a reservoir of capital to survive when you are physically dead. can and are incapable. ‘

Inflation weakens your purchasing power so why wait to enjoy that retirement money? Even a million will be used up in your 30 years of retirement. Don’t make the mistake of seeing retirement as a goal. Work when you are most effective and keep mini-pensions in which you enjoy your lifestyle!

And now get started (or not!) With working smarter. To your success!