There is a definition of personal effectiveness, which implies a person’s ability to most quickly and efficiently perform certain tasks and achieve their goals. This takes into account the time spent on execution and the amount of energy consumed. In essence, personal effectiveness is the correctness in choosing actions, managing one’s actions over a certain period of time, and most importantly, managing oneself. Despite the fact that the concept of time is static, and it is believed that it cannot be controlled, there is an option to correctly distribute your personal resources in order to spend as little time as possible on achieving a certain goal.
Personal effectiveness
The importance of personal effectiveness
Personal effectiveness affects many aspects of a person's life. Low performance will never produce a leader. A person who performs simple tasks for a long time will constantly be among those lagging behind. He will not be able to obtain higher positions, quickly process information, use acquired knowledge, or filter materials. In order to develop personal effectiveness skills, you need to invest 20% of your talents and 80% of your work. Talent will allow you to calculate the minimum expenditure of effort and time to achieve the desired result, and labor will allow you to perform the necessary work efficiently. This ability can be used not only to obtain material benefits, but also in everyday matters, freeing up time for relaxation and new experiences.
Improving quality of life
Setting deadlines
Although we noted above that the plan should not force us into strict limits, it is still useful to set deadlines. If you suddenly relax - and this can happen to anyone! – and you’ll be idle for a couple of days, no problem. Deadlines will prevent you from completely ruining your plan of action.
A few days before the critical date, you will come to your senses, tense up and successfully complete an important task. Many people have probably noticed their ability to achieve high productivity during a deadline. However, if you haven’t even thought about slowing down the pace of work, knowing the deadlines will allow you to distribute your energy and time more wisely.
Categories of people requiring increased efficiency
The Wheel of Life Balance - what it is and how to work with it
Increasing personal efficiency is recommended for people who have poor concentration and often switch to other tasks without completing the previous ones. In fact, increasing personal effectiveness occurs all the time. It is impossible to evaluate productivity based on one specific result. Very often, productivity suffers for freelancers who work with a large flow of news and information sources. From such a volume of new data and materials, it is quite difficult to select those that will be useful at the moment. Due to the lack of blocking of certain sites that are designed to distract and increase their number, these people spend 4 times more time on work. Therefore, it is very important for remote employees to constantly keep themselves under control and increase personal effectiveness.
The second category of people who need to optimize time and costs are businessmen. In addition to the fact that they must carry out the necessary actions that the work process requires, they also monitor its organization. That is, they need to monitor the hired employees who work to achieve the necessary goals, management accounting and quality business development. As a rule, managers train not only their own individual effectiveness, but also the productivity of each of their employees and colleagues.
The third category of people who need to constantly improve their own productivity are pupils and students. To obtain the maximum amount of necessary knowledge, they need to work with a large flow of information, wisely filtering out all unnecessary materials.
From the entire flow of information, you should choose useful
Getting ready for work
There is a direct relationship between order in the workplace and labor efficiency. Only people of creative professions can create in an environment of chaos, among a clutter of things, and even then not all of them.
It is difficult to explain, but the cleanliness and neatness of the “habitat” enlightens the mind and sets the thought process in motion. Therefore, always before work, take a look at your office or desk, remove everything unnecessary, wipe off the dust, ventilate the room and get down to business.
How to develop high efficiency in a person
Public speaking - what is it, preparation rules, basic mistakes
The concept of high personal effectiveness is not an objective factor. Its formation begins at school age, precisely when the child begins to set priorities. During the period from 19 to 25 years of age, a person is most capable of increasing personal effectiveness. This does not mean that after 25 years it is impossible to do anything with it, but during this period it is easiest to increase your productivity.
Work-rest ratio
Important! The highest productivity is shown by people who correctly distribute the load throughout the working day.
Science has long cast doubt on the 8-hour working day. Ideal productivity is achieved with 52 minutes of work, followed by 17 minutes of rest. That is, in the first 52 minutes of the working day, the highest concentration of attention on completing the task was shown, then the brain begins to require a break. 17 minutes is enough for a person to rest, relieve tension and begin to complete what he started with renewed vigor.
Make a list of productive, meaningful activities
To draw conclusions about effectiveness, it is important to monitor for at least a month. Then you need to group all the tasks and calculate the total time spent. Browsing social networks can take only 1.5-2 minutes. Sum up the costs for a day, a week, a month: it will come out to several hours! Similar unexpected conclusions can be drawn regarding how long smoking, coffee, and personal telephone conversations take.
To increase efficiency, classify tasks and get rid of the “unnecessary”. It is enough to ask: “What will happen when I refuse to do this at all?” Will refusal result in a real loss of money, social connections or other important things? Then this is an important task. The rest should be considered as “ballast”.
How to increase personal effectiveness
Cognitive development - what is it?
To increase personal effectiveness, the 7 most popular methods are used:
- Goal setting;
- Proper use of resources;
- Priorities;
- Planning;
- Concentration;
- Ability to distribute responsibilities;
- Socialization.
Competent goal setting
Proper goal setting allows you to correctly set movement guidelines at the very first stage of achieving the goal. Orientation requires qualities such as introspection and filtering of imposed proposals. A person must clearly understand what he needs and work only in this direction.
Rational use of resources
Rational use of resources will help to complete the work efficiently and quickly, without wasting all potential. Having in your mind several options for the development of an event, you should choose the one that requires the least amount of energy and will clearly lead to your goal. The time management course has a separate lecture on the topic of rational use of resources.
Correct prioritization
Correct prioritization can help you quickly achieve your goals using your strongest sides and qualities. It is not always necessary to follow imposed ideals, even based on the examples of successful people. The same problem can be solved in several ways; you should choose the solution option that will involve the strongest abilities. For example, a top-notch tennis player will be absolutely weak as a goalkeeper in a football game. Therefore, in order to receive rewards, it is better for him to realize himself in the path in which he is strong.
Clear and step-by-step planning
To get the job done correctly, consistency is important. A person needs to immediately decide what action and at what stage of time should be performed. This applies to absolutely every aspect of a person’s life. It is also recommended to consider options for replacing actions if the situation gets out of control.
Focus and concentration
The attention span of an adult is 7 times longer than that of a child. Even with the strongest motivation, the brain is not able to work longer than a certain time. Therefore, it is very important to be as focused as possible on completing the task in the first 50 minutes, after brain activity begins to decline, give it a rest, otherwise it will take many times longer to achieve the result.
We need to work on improving our concentration
Ability to delegate responsibilities
A very important point in increasing personal effectiveness is the ability to correctly distribute responsibilities between employees. There is an interesting rule: “if part of the work can be transferred to another person, and at the same time achieve greater results, this should be done.”
Socialization skill
A person lives and works in society. The skill of socialization helps to find employees who can perform some part of the job efficiently. Communication also allows you to build long-term business relationships.
We improve our qualifications
You need to be aware of everything that happens in your field of activity. But for this you don’t need to spend the whole weekend in the library or not leaving your home computer.
Experts have proven that if you set yourself the task of reading one book in your specialty in a month, then in a year you will accumulate 12 such books! And this is enough to be, as they say, in the know: to know in which direction the industry is developing, what new developments are emerging, what problems are being solved.
Personal effectiveness using the Brian Tracy method
Particularly popular in increasing personal effectiveness is Brian Tracy’s method, described in his book “Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. Change your life". It describes methods that will help increase productivity and properly distribute time between work and rest. Here are some of them:
- Clear goal setting.
- Planning.
- 20% talent, 80% work.
- Creativity.
- Priority of tasks.
- Performance indicators.
- Initial preparation.
- Training.
- Using knowledge to the maximum.
- Self-development.
- Identification of weak points.
- Mobilization.
- Incentives.
- Rational use of time.
Brian Tracy's book Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. Change your life"
Don't get distracted by little things
So, the mobile phone was turned off, they decided to look at the email after twelve... But there were still distractions. For example, smoking or talking with employees. So, it’s generally better to part with cigarettes, and headphones with quiet music will save you from unnecessary conversations.
If you have a separate office at your disposal, lock yourself for a couple of hours and thus save yourself from uninvited guests who want to drink coffee and chat with you. But if you work remotely and your office is a corner in the living room or bedroom, warn your household not to disturb you.
Barriers to increasing personal effectiveness
Established habits, laziness, and fear of leaving your comfort zone can prevent you from increasing your personal effectiveness. When increasing productivity, it is recommended to evaluate your actions objectively and not be afraid to change something in the systematization of the process.
For your information. Most often, it is laziness and fear of change that can become the main obstacles to achieving your goal. If you set a goal and have additional motivation, you can achieve the desired result quickly and with minimal energy consumption.
We work in stages
It is much easier to complete a task by breaking it down into separate steps. This way, in addition to one big goal, you will have many mini-goals. For each, it is also necessary to set clear time frames. You can even turn on a timer.
Psychologists recommend doing the most difficult and perhaps not the most pleasant work first. Then move on to what you like most, which will allow you to quickly finish what you have planned for the day. Although some experts, on the contrary, advise starting with something more pleasant, thanks to which you will easily get into the working rhythm and successfully cope with the entire volume of planned tasks.
Constant self-development
Even the same action can always be performed in different ways. Advertising agencies come up with new ideas for promoting the same product over and over again.
Pepsi or Coca-Cola keep coming up with new methods to sell their product.
Top companies annually introduce new strategies to improve the personal effectiveness of employees. All processes continue to develop and accelerate . We need to accelerate even faster. Don't miss the opportunity to develop.
From a small push-button telephone to advanced touchscreen smartphones. From huge computers to ultra-thin MacBooks.
Look around you, change is everywhere. Therefore, this inevitably concerns you personally. Evolution affects both living and non-living objects. Everything develops, and humans are no exception. You need to develop both your physical skills and abilities, as well as your internal qualities, and master new knowledge.
As you age each year, some vital changes occur on a mental level. You learn new knowledge, you find new ways to communicate effectively with people, you learn new facts, you experience new problems.
To a certain extent, you develop naturally, and after that you must make a conscious effort to improve your old, practiced skills and abilities.
Travel, read, indulge in new hobbies. Be active and strive for change .
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Remove toxic, unproductive individuals from your environment
Even just hanging out with one positive, motivated friend can be inspirational. Lazy people who constantly complain, “depend on the situation,” are demotivating. It is recommended to analyze personal relationships and keep only those who energize and inspire you. Avoiding visiting non-productive close relatives entirely is a bad idea. Just expand your circle of acquaintances. Soon, “helpful” friends will take first place. Communicating with those who show high efficiency and inspire is always more pleasant.
Spiritual improvement
Your inner world is what determines your self-improvement, since it is much broader than the outer one. Inner harmony, calmness, self-confidence are qualities necessary for an effective personality.
Your inner core is what will allow you not to lose heart in any situation, so it is very important to strengthen it.
Various techniques, such as yoga, meditation, singing, and breathing exercises, help to achieve peace. Try to analyze your thoughts and emotions to understand the reasons for your actions.
To know yourself better, you must become one with your own energy. Having understood your essence, you will become stronger and more confident, and any difficulties will only be an obstacle on the way to your goal.
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Physical health
Physical health is the basis of energy that gives you the strength to achieve any heights . When you feel lethargic, skip workouts, and don’t watch your diet, then you are unlikely to be able to give your best in business and activities.
For all your actions to be effective, you need to maintain proper health. A healthy body will also strengthen your spirit, your mental health and your emotional well-being.
It's worth restoring your body's natural energy, which will only happen when you start moving enough. Dancing, gymnastics, yoga, exercises - all this will make your body stronger and energize you.
Watch your diet . It should be moderate and healthy. Drink more water, eat fruits and vegetables.
When you begin to maintain your health level, you will immediately notice changes in the rhythm of your life. The body will feel light, stress resistance and interest in activities and activities will increase.
Push yourself to take action when you feel lazy, because every minute is an investment in organizing your physical and mental health.
You will be able to increase your focus to stay fit. This will give strength for future projects, activities and endeavors.
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Where to get strength and energy for life
Personal effectiveness presupposes high motivation for results, but where to get the strength for this? The answer is simpler than it seems: achievements motivate you to get even more results. If there are no achievements now, you need to rethink your life and understand: water does not flow under a lying stone. Without looking back at anyone, you need to start moving forward, creating your own successful story. And one more thing - it’s better to start from scratch earlier than to be left with nothing later.
Proper rest
On a note! Many recommendations for improving personal effectiveness involve taking action. But not many people understand that properly organized rest plays an equally important role. Your activities on weekends or free days also affect your personal productivity.
A five-year survey of nearly 300 of the world's most successful people found that they all have similar leisure habits .
- Get enough sleep . Our physiological effectiveness as people and individuals is directly dependent on the amount of sleep we get. This has been proven by numerous studies and does not need additional confirmation. Therefore, to always be in shape, do not forget about sleep.
- Spend time with loved ones . For super-busy people, being surrounded by your loved ones is not an easy task. However, this is so necessary for both you and them. Joint leisure brings people together and has a healing effect: it heals the wounds of failure and anxiety. When you feel the support of your family, any mountains become surmountable.
- Do what you love . This can be not only a hobby, but simply a pleasant activity. For example, someone likes to wash dishes, play chess, or water flowers in the garden. More often than not, busy people choose quiet activities. But not all. Some people prefer active recreation. Everything is individual. The main thing is that it brings pleasure and is a reward for hard work.
- Do household chores . As a rule, there is no time for them during the week. They seem like an additional burden of worry. However, not everything is so critical. No one has canceled household responsibilities and they must be done. The main thing here is to set priorities. Do some of it on weekdays, taking just 15 minutes, and the rest may require more time. Then move it to the weekend. For example, purchasing groceries, cleaning, and planning a family budget will take more than 15 minutes. In addition to the need to do household chores, one advantage can be highlighted - it allows you to temporarily escape from thoughts about work.
- Plan for next week . For successful people, a forward strategy is always important. In order not to waste their energy and time, which are limited, business people think through the events of the week in advance. It helps to be fully prepared.
- Reflect . A very useful action. In the hustle and bustle of work and life, there is rarely a moment for reflection. Being alone and thinking about what’s important, thinking about problems, looking for solutions, understanding what is needed for improvement and finding new ways is a meaningful approach to your activities. Analysis and development of weak points are important for achieving peaks.
