I’ve been thinking about creating more space for reflection, for growth, to do things that bring me more joy and that matter more. At work, I’ve asked management to give me more space for thought leadership by delegating trivial tasks to junior teams (which he agreed!). In life, I’ve also delegated a major task to our helper (cook) so i don’t have to cook after a long day of work to put food on the table. These transitions are going to create the space I need, I think.
As I listened to one of Tim Ferriss’s earlier podcast, he talked about choosing what to focus on. It’s about efficacy, do the right things, as opposed to efficiency, do things well and fast! A light bulb right there! It describes exactly what I am trying to do.
My whole life was about efficiency, how can i do things faster and better as they keep piling on and I still don’t have more hours per day. But it’s time to shift to efficacy, choose WHAT to do before HOW to do it. It’s not an easy question and I’m figuring out a framework to make these decisions. But some criteria that came to mind are:
- Can someone else do this and achieve 90% of the outcome if I do myself? If so, let them do it.
- Do I believe it matters more than just me? Will it be impactful?
- Does it challenge me intelectually? If it doesn’t keep me thinking while I’m running, then it means it’s too easy/boring.
- Who do I have to work with? If the team is not pleasant to work with, then a big NO.
- Will i have fun?
These filters have helped me to narrow down things I want to focus on at work and identified 30% of my plate to delegate to others. I have to think about a similar system for my life.
New book arrived and I love the Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” calendar. I liked this one for the day
and need to remind me to follow this advise:
Monday went well… at least 6 hrs of deep work out of 8 hrs I spent in the office. It’s amazing how much one can do in one hour when focused. It’s also good investment to spend 10-15 min at the start to think about what I want to focus on for the day.
When I look how husband works, taking a “break” every 5-10 min to check his phone (for probably equal amount of time if not more), I have to bite my lips to contain the urge to tell him “I’d probably fire you if I’m your boss, you are so inefficient!!! ” hahaha….
PS. I also need to figure out a system to make my desk more organised and less stuff on the table
Our New Journey 
Hahahaha I laughed out LOUD at your comment about your husband!!!! So funny. Honestly, I used to be kind of like that too. That’s one reason I have really been cracking down on phone use and using timer methods for deep work, etc. Sad, but true. I agree though- it is extremely inefficient! I am also amazed on days when I really stick to my deep work blocks how incredibly much I can get done!! Life changing for sure to get rid of distractions and above all, I think, learn to ignore that uncomfortable feeling of “boredom”… which sometimes I think is the real reason I used to check my phone a lot (just wanting to do something else for a minute).
LikeLike