Boost efficiency by getting better at what you do

Many years ago, when I first started writing for publications, I’d be assigned a piece that was, say, 1200 words. I’d write a first draft, look at the word count, and see a number like 2000. This would be a problem, because unless you are uncommonly verbose, there is no good way to edit a 2000 word piece down to 1200 words. You have to completely rewrite it to narrow the scope. This takes a lot of time.

This would not happen now. If I agreed to write a 1200-word essay, the first draft would likely be around 1300 words. It might even be 1100 with a few “TKs” in there, meaning I would be planning to stick in another statistic or two, and wanted to leave space. Editing that sort of draft into something ready for submission is just a much lighter job.

People tend to get better with experience. This is a good thing in its own right. I cringe reading some of my early work! But from a time management perspective, there’s an added bonus: Getting better at what you do tends to make you more efficient as well. Or, as I wrote in 168 Hours, my first time management book, which was first published 15 years ago this week, while email hacks might be fun, “the best way to create more time is to actually get better at your professional craft.” Indeed, as you get further along in your career, you might be able to work less and accomplish more than you did earlier on.

So it’s worth spending some time thinking about how you can actively improve at what you do. When I recently interviewed Dr. Emily Anhalt for the Before Breakfast podcast, she suggested asking people for feedback, and specifically, “What is one thing that I could do 10 percent better?” Even if people are generally happy, they can come up with something that can be improved a tiny bit, so framing the question this way is more likely to solicit practical responses.

You can also build in time to practice your skills. Musicians and athletes aren’t the only ones who can practice! If you’ve got a high stakes meeting coming up, build in time to simulate various ways it could go with your colleagues. If you’re giving a presentation, don’t wing it. Give the whole presentation multiple times in front of your mirror (or a helpful colleague) so you fix any problematic spots. At the end of meetings, build in a minute to talk about ways you could conduct the meeting better the next time, and then try those things out.

Long-term improvement can be slow, and hard to see. So as you focus on improving your craft, make a list of signs you are getting better. Maybe more or your proposals are being accepted, freeing up hours in the day to focus on delivery or landing bigger fish. Maybe potential clients are reaching out to you, vs. you needing to call them. Planning lessons takes less of your planning period, so you’ve got more time for strategic thinking. When you see these changes in your time log, celebrate them! We cannot make more time, but doing better work in less time is somewhat like finding an extra hour in the day. Or more. What you do with that extra time is up to you.

All the best, Laura

PS. Have you read 168 Hours? If you haven’t, please do! I’d love to hear what you think. You can respond directly to this email.

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