Do not work can increase productivity you believe it?

Editor's Note: This article is by CamMi Pham's article, originally published in Medium. The author explains from his own experience and some scientific evidence that sometimes hard work is not necessarily the right path to success. The key to success is not hard work but clever. Because time is scarce goods, sometimes less effective but better.

Busy is not necessarily that you have productivity. To be productive, it is more to manage your energy than to time. To run your life well. We need to learn to spend the least energy to get the maximum benefit. Doing the following seven things, I reduced the working hours per week from 80 hours to 40 hours, but the work done a lot more.

1, no overtime efficient

Five days a week, eight hours a day is Ford's discovery of 1926. Experiments show that the daily working hours reduced from 10 hours to 8 hours, weekly working hours from 6 days to 5 days, productivity has improved.

The Overtime Effect of Construction Projects, released by the Business Roundtable in 1980, pointed out that in the short and long term, the more work is done, the lower efficiency and productivity will fall:

If more than 60 working hours per week last more than two months, the cumulative effect of a decline in productivity will lead to a postponement of the completion date, with the same number of people working 40 hours a week or even earlier.

US military research shows that "sleeping for less than an hour a day for one week results in a cognitive decline equivalent to 0.1 alcohol level."

The Secret World of Sleep states:

After staying up late no matter how good you are during the day, your emotions will not be too high. More importantly, the willingness to think and act in a forward-looking manner, the suppression of impulses, the degree of optimism, empathy, and emotional intelligence will also fall.

So ensuring adequate sleep is important to maintain a high level of productivity.

Many celebrities experience nosy during the day. Leonardo da Vinci, Napoleon, Edison, Mrs. Roosevelt, Jean Oteri, Kennedy, Rockefeller, Churchill, Lyndon Johnson, Reagan and others have the habit of napping.

2, do not always say "good"

According to the 20/80 principle (Pareto principle), 20% of the effort creates 80% of the result; but 20% in turn consumes 80% of the effort. So we should focus on things that yield 80% of the results and then give up on something else. So you can focus more time on the most important tasks. We should stop saying "yes" to low-output and even no-till tasks.

The difference between successful and very successful people is that the latter says "no" to almost everything

- Buffett

This raises the question of what we should say "yes" and "no" for what? If you can not figure out what is worth the time, let's take a simple detached test. Keep track of everything you do and optimize as much as you can.

Most of us tend to say too much "yes" because it is a lot easier than refusing. No one wants to be a bad guy.

In a 2012 study by consumer magazine, researchers divided 120 into two groups. A group of people train to say "I can not" and the other group say "I do not." The result is very interesting:

Students who told themselves "I can not eat X" chose to eat chocolates 61% of the time, telling myself that "I do not eat X" could not resist the temptation for 36% of the time. Making such a simple change in the notion can significantly improve the choice of healthy foods.

So, next time you need to avoid saying yes, say "I do not".

Another trick to avoiding unnecessary activity is the 20-second rule: Give yourself 20 seconds to think about things you should not do.

3, do not be kisses

I have managed a very large community, trying to do everything by one person, and finally found out I can not do it. I was exhausted, and finally the community took over self-management work. Surprisingly, everyone is doing better than me. I thus realized the power of the community.

We must realize that it is important to seek help when needed. It's better for you to get some of the better people to take over. This will allow you to spend more time on your most important assignment. Do not waste time solving problems on your own, let the experts help you.

Many times, even if friends can not help you, their companionship can make you more productive.

4, do not perfectionism

A study of perfectionism and productivity by Simon Sherry, a psychology professor at Dalhousie University, found that perfectionism is a stumbling block to productivity:

Perfectionists need more time to complete their tasks

The perfectionists therefore waited for the perfect moment. For business, it's too late for you to wait for the perfect moment.

Perfectionism often fails to see Tarzan because of its folly, because of too much attention to small things and missed big scenes.

The perfect moment is right now.

5, do not repeat the work

According to a study by the Tethys Solution, a 5-person team with 2 months of productivity enhancement (introducing automation software) if spent 3%, 20%, 25%, 30% and 70% on repetitive tasks, After that, the time dropped to 3%, 10%, 15%, 15% and 10% respectively.

Now as long as I need to do more than 5 things repeatedly, I will ask myself to find a program to do for me. No programming does not matter, if you do not understand development, then go buy the program.

People often do not remember time is money. The reason they do it manually is often because it is easier to do and does not require research. There seems to be no problem dealing with 30 images, but if it is 30,000? You can only rely on software to deal with it. Remember, you need to spend money to make money, and time is your most valuable product.

6, the decision not rely on speculation

If the site can SEO, then life can be. Do not rely on guessing to make decisions, use data to support your decisions.

There are many studies in different fields for reference. For example, did you know that people are the most distractible at 4 pm? A study led by Robert Matchock, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Even if you can not find the data you need, you do not need to spend too much time testing separation tests.

Keep asking yourself, how do you plan to measure and optimize everything you do?

7, do not always work

Most people do not realize that if we are too focused on something, we will be able to draw the ground and jump out of the way. From time to time getting out of work alone is very important. According to "lonely force", the time of solitude is good for the brain and the spirit:

Harvard research shows that if someone believes they are experiencing something on their own, their memories will be longer lasting and more accurate. Another study shows that being alone for some time can make one more empathetic. Although no one will question the early loneliness of being alone, it is unhealthy for some to feel alone for some time to improve their mood and performance.

To reflect on the time left is important. When we do not look for solutions, the latter tend to come unexpectedly.

Of course, we can not become more productive overnight. As with everything in life, it also requires effort. Sick wait is not wait for change. We all need to know more about our bodies and find the best way to distribute energy so we can have a more successful and happier life.

[This article is compiled from: medium.com]