Effective or efficient – can we be both?

It feels like an age-old debate, doesn’t it? Are we focussing on what is urgent or are we working on what is important? The same can be said for effectiveness and efficiency. The well-worn quote describes the difference: Efficiency is simply about doing things right while effectiveness is about doing the right things.

I think in an ideal world, we need to find ways to be both effective and efficient but I am as guilty as the next person. How do we become more efficient? How do get more stuff done in the limited time we have available? With an email intensive inbox and a diary crammed with meetings, it’s sometimes easier to be efficient as you hammer out responses to the 150 odd emails waiting for you. Just know that this doesn’t make you effective.

Some points to consider in how can we differentiate and ensure that if we are efficient, at least we are being effective?

Direction and vision: Effective people know where they are going while efficient people have a sense of what they are doing. This often means that effective people can focus their daily activities on things that make a difference to their vision and plan. Efficient people are busy but it’s harder to measure if it’s not a tangible goal and can end up being a list of completed tasks that don’t contribute to the longer-term plan. Know what you are working towards rather than what you are getting done.

How long is your list? Efficient people have long to-do lists. Effective people have very short ones. Don’t try to be a Jack of all trades and spread your resources too thinly to be effective. Efficient people tend to say ‘yes’ to everything because they want to impress and want to be helpful. Effective people have short to-do lists and are focussed on a few activities

Focus your energy: Efficient people turn up and get to work. They have a list of things to do and they start cracking through them. Effective people consider the tasks ahead of them. They then think about the ones that require the most effort or energy and work on them when they are at their best. Efficient people work through tasks with little thought as to when the best time to do them is.

Work on the business not in the business. Reflect. Efficient people don’t have time to reflect. They’re too busy getting things done. They tend to be future focussed and thinking about what needs to be done next week. Effective people plan in time to think and reflect on what is or isn’t working and how they can change that.

Give yourself boundaries. Efficient people blur the boundaries between being at work and being at home. They’re always on, ready to respond to client or work emails. They’re the ones standing in the playground responding to emails whilst their kids run around. Effective people are present. If they’re at home – they’re spending time with their family. If they’re at work, they are working. They enforce boundaries and are comfortable with that.

There is a place for both effectiveness and efficiency in every workplace but it makes you think carefully about how you spend your day. For me, while I know I can be very efficient, I think I’d rather be known for being effective? What do you think?

Nikki Benfield is an independent marketing consultant with VentureWeb (trying to be both effective and efficient!) currently working at EY. Like what you read? Email Nikki here.