The dumbest effort is the inefficient diligence

1.

Always liked a quote: Whenever I do nothing for a day, I start to get anxious. Whenever I do nothing for two days, I start to get irritated. Whenever I do nothing for three days, I start to freak out. I can't, I can't, I haven't done anything for three days, I can't sleep or eat ......

This is exactly how I was three months ago.

Over the years, I've developed a habit of never letting any minute die with consequences: I listen to Japanese while I'm stuck in traffic, write articles while I'm waiting for someone, read a book while I'm on the toilet, pick up the slack at the point where any two things meet, and use it to return emails and text messages ...... I thought this was what I called diligence, and I was content to enjoy the I think this is called diligence, but also content to enjoy the admiration of my peers.

But I soon found that I was working longer and longer hours, my breaks were getting shorter and shorter, my moods were getting more and more agitated, and I would get so flustered after just ten minutes of inaction! And my social time had to be kept as short as possible, and I no longer even had the effort to make friends.

Even more frightening was the fact that my workload was not changing, but it seemed that every day it was increasing exponentially. I began to dread the moment when night fell because it meant that more things were labeled as "undone" for the day.

I blamed it on my own "incompetence" until I realized the crux of the matter - "Hard work without efficiency is laziness."

2.

Many students have wondered, "I'm either in class or in study hall every day, why are my test scores not as good as the roommate who goes to play every day after class?"

Many hardworking white-collar workers are surprised at the end-of-the-year summary: "I work overtime, travel, and contribute my weekends to the company, why do I feel like I haven't made any progress at all?"

Many housewives lament at the end of the day, "I obviously didn't have a moment to spare, but how come the house is still so messy at the end of the day and the bills are still unorganized?"

In his book, author Tim Ferriss points out the important difference between busyness and efficiency: those who are busy all day may be maintaining their busy status at the expense of effectiveness.

I made a list of my behavior that day and found the following unnoticed details: I often start the day in a disorganized state without a plan; I used to turn on the news and browse for half an hour before work; I am easily distracted by receiving emails and text messages; when I get stuck in my thinking, I always quickly get up to make a cup of coffee instead of following my thoughts and continue to find the answer ......

It is these small, unnoticeable habits that limit the time I have to make the most of it.

Ask the students, white-collar workers, and housewives who have the same struggle as I do, "swiping Twitter and reading friends in the study room", "working overtime without a plan", and "watching a few episodes of soap operas", these are the main reasons why most people "pay but not gain".

The dumbest effort is inefficient diligence.

3.

The "time crisis" that reached its peak three months ago made me focus on learning how to use my time efficiently, and I started to do some new experiments.

For example, handwriting a work schedule for the day. Every hour of planning is worth five hours of execution, and a plan written out in one stroke makes you want to conquer. Write down the to-do list and complete it according to the level of importance and urgency.

For example, do the most important things when you have the most energy. Effective time management is not just about finding extra time in the day but matching your effective time with your effective energy. Knowing your peak energy and using it wisely is one of the efficient principles of using less time to achieve better results.

Again, stay away from things that tend to distract you. We always "can't finish" something, maybe because we don't really "want to finish it". If you want to achieve your goal, then don't keep staring at your phone when you go to the study room, don't answer less urgent emails when you are dealing with a difficult problem, and don't just open the shopping website ...... when you are working late, "forced focus", which is what most efficient people have. The ability to have.

Also, the combination of work and rest. Many people feel that exercise is a waste of time, but research shows that exercise can make a person's work efficient. Running, cycling, yoga, and swimming ...... only 30 to 60 minutes a day can make a person's management skills, mental state, and stress-bearing capacity significantly improved.

4.

There was a project done to record the itinerary of some very busy women on each of the 1001 days.

In one of them, a woman found that the water heater in her home was broken when she left work on Wednesday and the basement was full of water, so that night she was busy cleaning it, the next day she asked a repairman to help, and the third day she asked a professional to clean the carpet ...... In one week, that woman spent 7 hours dealing with this matter.

The recorder lamented, "If you had asked this woman, who had been very busy at the beginning of the week, 'Do you have seven hours to spare?' She would have said, 'No, can't you see how busy I am?'"

That's the answer most of us would give because we don't realize that time can be highly stretched. By treating work like a "suddenly broken water heater," we can get those seven hours in the week to spare.