“The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.” – Bruce Lee
You can always do things faster.
If you can master doing things faster, you can improve your productivity and get more out of work and life.
The trick is to identify which things are worth doing faster, and then find the strategies and tactics that help you actually do them faster.
In the book, The Daily Edge: Simple Strategies to Increase Efficiency and Make an Impact Every Day, David Horsager shares why it’s important to do things faster and ways to master being faster.
Do Things Faster
One of the easiest ways to get more out of your day is to do things faster.
Via The Daily Edge:
“In business and life, there is a tendency to overlook the obvious. This might not apply anywhere else as strongly as it does to productivity.
Lost in the collections of tips and techniques is one of the most straightforward ways to get more out of your day — do things faster.”
The Value of Doing Things Faster
Doing things faster can help you accomplish more in less time. This can help you make space for other things you’d like to explore, experiment, or execute.
Doing things faster can also help you build momentum. Rather than get bogged down or overwhelmed, you can outpace your To-Do list.
Via The Daily Edge:
“Creating a clear workspace change my productivity dramatically, but it wasn’t until I understood the value of doing things faster, than I gained a significant increase in productivity.
I have also learned to communicate with my team about the delicate balance between work quality and efficiency. It has change my thought process when hiring for certain positions as well.”
…
“By learning to do something twice as fast, you make it possible to do twice as much. So keep sharpening your skills and you will find you’re giving yourself the gift of several extra hours each week.”
You’re Working as Fast as You Know How
Some people think they are working as fast as they can. But many times they are only working as fast as they know how.
You can almost always find somebody who knows how to do what you are trying to do, much faster, and you can learn from them.
Via The Daily Edge:
“Many may groan and think, ‘We’re working as hard and as fast as we can.’ But the truth is that they’re working as hard and as fast as they know how.
Executives may feel as though members of their team are not working efficiently. Let’s look at this issue from an individual perspective as well as from a team perspective. You might find room for improvement in both!”
Learn to Do Your Common Tasks Faster
A great place to start doing things faster is to review your common tasks or routines and look for ways to do them faster.
For example, if you read a lot, then learn how to read faster. If you type a lot, then learn how to type faster.
Via The Daily Edge:
“There are methods and techniques for everyday tasks that would save precious time. Perhaps someone on your staff needs a speed reading class or advanced typing practice. The average employee could save several hours a week by learning to do their common tasks faster.”
Scope Out Topics
Identify some skills or topics that would be worth learning how to do faster. There is always room for improvement, but find the topics that would pay off the most. If you need ideas, ask a colleague that seems to speed through things with skill.
Via The Daily Edge:
“Scope out topics. Speed reading, typing, computer shortcuts, systemizing techniques and research skills are a few areas any businessperson could benefit from studying. There are probably dozens of others in your industry. To find them, research topics online or better yet, find a successful colleague who excels in this area and ask him or her for ideas.”
Hire it Done
Outsource the lower value tasks in your day, where you can, to spend more time in higher-value tasks. You can hire help and outsource much easier in today’s world with simple apps that give you access to people that will do short-burst work for you.
Via The Daily Edge:
“Hire it done. You might get things done faster if you hire part of it out. Maybe you need to know more about a new technology but don’t have time to do the research. Hire someone from a website like guru.com or elance.com to do the research for your review.”
Find a Mentor
One of the best ways to learn how to do things faster and to make profound progress in your productivity is to find the right mentor. The right mentor can give you strategies, tactics, and feedback to help you improve.
Via The Daily Edge:
“Find a mentor. Maybe you have a friend who has found a successful morning routine at the office, or maybe you have a colleague who has streamlined the same task that you need to do on a regular basis. Ask for help. I have found that people are honored, not offended by such questions.”
On a personal note, one of the things that’s helped me write blog posts for years is that I set a goal of writing posts in 20 minutes or less.
This simple little rule of thumb has helped me learn how to write blog posts faster and not get bogged down, and to learn what’s truly valued versus what is not.
What would you learn how to do faster that will instantly give you hours back this week?
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