business terms
Effectiveness vs. Efficiency
Below is a guest post from one of the stock traders I trade with, David Hutcherson, on Effectiveness vs. Efficiency:
Now that you know the difference between clocking and grinding, you are ready to conquer the world and not to mention your goals as well. After a few 2nd shift sessions, you realize that you are still not getting closer to your goals. Why?!?!? Is it because you are being efficient and not effective? Note that being efficient is doing things well regardless of their importance but being effective is doing the right things.
Sometimes we get caught up in trying to make sure we use our time efficiently by making sure we accomplish our tasks in a timely manner. But are those tasks effective in helping you reach your goals? If not, you must remove those tasks from your daily routine. For instance, if you find yourself in meetings that do not contribute to your end goals; you should consider eliminating those meetings from your schedule. This will open up your time for more effective tasks.
Always remember: What you do is more important than how you do it!!
Discussion
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I think the biggest thing to remember is to look at each task to see its effectiveness first before you try being efficient at it. I think most people will assume that any given task that is recommended to them to complete a goal is already effective and they try to be efficient at it.
For example, when trying to lose weight, it is commonly believe if you ran a mile 3 times a week, you should lose weight. So since most people think exercising specifically running helps you lose weight, you automatically give it a try, not questioning its effectiveness. 3 months later, you get super efficient at running, but you realize, you only lost 3 lbs. If in the beginning, you would have taken a closer look, you would have notice that you eat way too many junk foods and that is negating your exercising. So if you would have cut out junk foods instead of running, then you would have seen far better results.