Becoming more effective does not mean working more. It primarily means to work on things with a higher impact or doing things in a better way. This requires working with more focus or stop working on all other things.

Stop working on other things

To work on higher-impact things or with increased focus, we first need to make time for it. I can think of two options:

1. Stop doing it

2. Getting others to do it

Most of the time, we can get away with 1. In all other cases, we first need to carefully think about whether and how it is to be done and then find the right person to work on it.

Work with more focus

“Be the gatekeeper of your own mind”: I don’t lack time; I rather let myself get distracted all the time. Be it a notification, a question, a presumably more interesting thing to do.

What strikes me the most in that respect are some typical avoidance patterns: I trip over an issue that I can’t solve after a few attempts, and I fall out of my flow zone. Before I know it, another tab – maybe an imageboard or LinkedIn – flashes on my screen. This is not only less productive but also distracting.

What I should be doing instead would be one of the following:

• Fix the issue at hand

• Ask for help

• Go on a walk

• Do a few pushups

• Work on something equally productive

• Meditate for 3 minutes

Conclusion

There are leisure times where all this does not matter, but this entry rests on the assumption that being more effective is desired in the first place. Now get them!