How to work more efficiently

[Tomcat]

Salute, today we have an article for those who want to work more efficiently.

1. Organize repetitive tasks.​

Entrepreneurship is by definition the art of creating systems that create more value with less effort. Startups are realizing that the cost of getting into a routine is growing rapidly, and it gets in the way of the high-performance work they are built for.

While this is primarily about mental attitudes, there are tons of technology products you can use to automate repetitive tasks right now. Sanebox will hide emails you don't need to read during the day. LastPass and Dashlane will save your passwords so you don't have to remember more than one username. One of my favorite applications is IFTTT, which allows you to program almost anything on the "If ... then ..." him), and all attachments in Gmail are automatically saved in Dropbox so that I don't look for files in my mail when I need them.

If your time is worth $ 25, $ 50, or $ 500 an hour, then set aside $ 15 to have someone else do your laundry for you, so you can work on something for those two hours. If you need to enter tedious data for a report every week, create a table that will collect data for you from other sources. This is the philosophy of an entrepreneur, and it will make you more productive.

2. Learn to tell stories.​

"Those who tell stories rule the world."

This American Indian proverb is written on the wall in my office. It reminds everyone in the company that narratives - and the way you present them - matter.

Entrepreneurs constantly feed and push something. Ideas, products, investment opportunities. The most important element of a successful pitch is story. And really cool startups are great at painting a big, ambitious picture that gets people excited. If there is a skill that will allow you to be noticed and remembered, it is the ability to perform well, make impressive presentations, and write convincingly. Entrepreneurs spend more time preparing and honing these details than lazy PowerPoint fans. Because in a startup, everything depends on it.

3. Set aside a time when you will not be distracted.​

The average worker loses a tremendous amount of time due to distractions. Successful startups have a knack for finding ways to protect their employees from unnecessary distraction. And smart managers set aside large blocks of time on their calendars to be productive.

4. Separate testing and iterative process.​

The Lean Startup ideology requires entrepreneurs to constantly collide two or more different approaches and make decisions based on the results. What should be said on the order page? Test two different formulations and choose the one that gives you the most clicks. How do you get people to respond to your emails more often? Try different subject lines, different letter lengths, and different end phrases like "Thanks in advance" and "Best wishes." Which suit do you look more professional in? Try two different styles and track down compliments.

We are not as good at making intuitive decisions as we think. But a properly conducted split test doesn't lie. And entrepreneurs are constantly comparing previously winning ideas with new ones.

5. Look for an 80/20 ratio.​

There is a strange phenomenon in our work that almost always repeats itself. If you study your life, in many cases you will see that only 20% of what you do gives you 80% of the result. Being productive and being busy are very different things. Want to quadruple your productivity? Focus on 20% and give up the 80% that just makes you look busy.

6. Do not plan.​

Too often we have meetings about meetings, and these meetings end with a list of those conversations that need to be held later. But startups who care about every second tend to take action right away. Instead of promising to introduce you to someone by mail, the startup will take out the phone while talking to you and write this letter. Then this question will not occupy his brain and his time afterwards.

7. Quit meetings - but network.​

Most meetings are useless. There are usually too many people sitting on them who feel obligated to say something simply because they are there. And meetings are often too long.

“Meetings are usually arranged like a TV show. You allocate 30 minutes or an hour because this is how the calendar program works, write Jason Fried and David Hanson in their book Rework. "If it takes only 7 minutes to reach the goal of the meeting, then there is no need to spend more time."

Startups often hold stand-up meetings so that the urge to chat about the unnecessary outweighs the urge to bring the meeting to a close. And often, startups simply refuse meetings in favor of email correspondence.

However, entrepreneurs also understand the importance of unexpected ideas and insights. Therefore, they try to do as much networking as possible. I solve the networking versus real work dilemma by dividing the week into days when I'm totally immersed in work and days when I'm communicating and exploring new things.

8. Ask the "why" question like a five-year-old.​

The entrepreneur is not satisfied with the existing state of affairs. They ask "why" over and over again until they get to the bottom, instead of placing artificial blame on people or - worst of all - accepting the explanation "It's just the way it works."

This relentless curiosity helps entrepreneurs find and fix the 20% of mistakes that create 80% of their problems.

9. Treat every “impossibility” as a chance.​

It is from this approach that innovation flows. For an entrepreneur, agreeing with the familiar means being average, and when something is "impossible" it is the potential for profit. People who see the possible in the impossible - and take advantage of these opportunities - achieve positive change, career growth and are more happy about their work.