WEBVTT - Second Cup: Efficiency isn't everything

0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:09.480
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

0:00:10.720 --> 0:00:16.760
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:22.840
<v Speaker 1>tip is that efficiency isn't everything. Even if there is

0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:26.320
<v Speaker 1>a task that could be done cheaply by someone else,

0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:31.400
<v Speaker 1>or that theoretically could take less time, if you enjoy it,

0:00:32.400 --> 0:00:35.440
<v Speaker 1>feel free to keep doing it, at least some of

0:00:35.479 --> 0:00:40.560
<v Speaker 1>the time. The endpoint of efficiency is freeing up time

0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:45.199
<v Speaker 1>for tasks you enjoy. If you are already at that

0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:52.640
<v Speaker 1>enjoyment step, you are winning at life. So I have

0:00:52.760 --> 0:00:56.880
<v Speaker 1>been reading various books lately on how entrepreneurs can free

0:00:56.960 --> 0:01:01.960
<v Speaker 1>up time. Many entrepreneurs work very long hours because they

0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:06.440
<v Speaker 1>are tackling everything in their businesses. That can be a

0:01:06.480 --> 0:01:10.240
<v Speaker 1>problem if people want to eat and sleep and see

0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:14.520
<v Speaker 1>their families. I have certainly pondered which tasks I can

0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:18.280
<v Speaker 1>get off my plate. I have delegated a great deal

0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:24.400
<v Speaker 1>in my business and in my personal life. However, as

0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:28.160
<v Speaker 1>I think about this question, I realize that there are

0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:31.000
<v Speaker 1>some things I don't want to take off my plate,

0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:34.240
<v Speaker 1>even if I can see the argument for doing so.

0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:39.040
<v Speaker 1>For instance, I love to hear from readers and listeners

0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:43.560
<v Speaker 1>if someone has taken the time to read my work

0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:46.840
<v Speaker 1>or listen to my work, and has written me their

0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:51.520
<v Speaker 1>thoughts about it. I want to acknowledge that. I want

0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:53.960
<v Speaker 1>to share my follow up ideas and hear what the

0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:58.120
<v Speaker 1>person thinks about those as well. So I read all

0:01:58.160 --> 0:02:01.280
<v Speaker 1>the messages I get from readers and listensteners, and I

0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:06.200
<v Speaker 1>respond to about ninety percent of them. Sometimes this can

0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:10.520
<v Speaker 1>be time consuming. I recently ran a time tracking challenge

0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:13.280
<v Speaker 1>where several thousand people kept track of their time for

0:02:13.320 --> 0:02:16.560
<v Speaker 1>a week. Many of those folks then sent me their

0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:21.480
<v Speaker 1>time logs afterwards with thoughts on their schedules and their lives.

0:02:23.080 --> 0:02:26.400
<v Speaker 1>Studying these time logs and responding to people's questions and

0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:30.640
<v Speaker 1>discoveries took at least an hour a day for several weeks.

0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:34.160
<v Speaker 1>It was pointed out to me somewhere in here that

0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:38.440
<v Speaker 1>I could have created some automatic responses or response templates,

0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:41.120
<v Speaker 1>or had somebody else helped me go through all this,

0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:46.400
<v Speaker 1>which is totally true. But I love learning about time.

0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:51.320
<v Speaker 1>I love seeing how people spend their time. I like

0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:55.320
<v Speaker 1>digging through the data so I really understand the choices

0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:59.200
<v Speaker 1>that people make. So even if this did take a

0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:03.799
<v Speaker 1>lot of time, I was glad to do it. Other

0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:08.240
<v Speaker 1>people might make different choices, but reading and responding to

0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:14.160
<v Speaker 1>my own messages works for me. Perhaps you, likewise, have

0:03:14.280 --> 0:03:17.960
<v Speaker 1>certain work tasks that you enjoy, even if they are

0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:22.600
<v Speaker 1>not necessarily the core of your job. Maybe you are

0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:26.760
<v Speaker 1>mostly in management, but you enjoy using your technical skills

0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:31.079
<v Speaker 1>from time to time. Maybe you are mostly acquiring new

0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:35.400
<v Speaker 1>book projects, but you still like editing a few on occasion.

0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:41.200
<v Speaker 1>You are mostly designing menus or training restaurant managers, but

0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:44.680
<v Speaker 1>you enjoy hopping in during the dinner rush to help out.

0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:48.480
<v Speaker 1>Or maybe there are tasks you do that you are

0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:52.800
<v Speaker 1>well aware could be done quicker. I can crank out

0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:55.160
<v Speaker 1>a blog post or newsletter quickly when I need to,

0:03:56.320 --> 0:04:01.240
<v Speaker 1>but sometimes I enjoy carving out extra time, coming back

0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:03.960
<v Speaker 1>to the work a few more times to tweak a

0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:09.960
<v Speaker 1>phrase or add a new angle. Does anyone notice or care?

0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:16.160
<v Speaker 1>Quite possibly not, But I enjoy it, so I do it.

0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:20.720
<v Speaker 1>There is no need to go overboard on these things.

0:04:21.160 --> 0:04:24.720
<v Speaker 1>We probably shouldn't spend all our time on lower value

0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:27.880
<v Speaker 1>tasks when we are responsible for the higher value ones

0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:31.680
<v Speaker 1>that pay the bills, but we don't need to offload

0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:36.720
<v Speaker 1>them completely either, or do everything at the absolute swiftest

0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:44.160
<v Speaker 1>speed efficiency isn't everything. It is a lot, but it

0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:51.920
<v Speaker 1>isn't everything. Best to keep it in perspective. In the meantime,

0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:57.760
<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:07.760
<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:10.760
<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:14.600
<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:19.920
<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b the number

0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:24.360
<v Speaker 1>four then breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an

0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:28.719
<v Speaker 1>email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That

0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:32.080
<v Speaker 1>before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks

0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:33.880
<v Speaker 1>so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.

0:05:39.680 --> 0:05:43.720
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:48.680
<v Speaker 1>from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:54.080
<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.