Dictinary.com defines efficiency as; the state or quality of being efficient, or able toaccomplish something with the least waste oftime and effort; competency in performance.
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In this section I will talk about how to attain personal efficiency by using one technological solution that I have found very efficient over a number of years.
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For me, getting organized is one of the critical things in becoming efficient. I believe that being busy is not always a good indicator of productivity.
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Most ‘organized’ people start their day with a to do list, and as the day progresses, the list grows. By end of day, they may never be able to tell how much of what they set out to do has been accomplished. This can be because the list was in bits and pieces, a sticky note here, a scribble in a notebook, a reminder on the emailing solution etc. The next morning, it is almost impossible for them to pick up from where they left off the previous day.
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Or, maybe you have a number of goals you are pursuing, and you would like to document your progress in a manner that helps you stay focused. Or maybe you have mentor, with whom you want to give a transparent view of what you are doing. If you are tracking this on pen and paper, this can be such a daunting task that you may just not get through to doing it. Not because you don’t want to achieve your goals, but simply because of the work involved in keeping track of your progress toward your goals.
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I was the kind of s who would start the day with a to do list of 5 things, by lunch time, my to do list would normally have about 15 things. By end of day, I would have done about 8 things from my to do list. The next morning, I would have to redo my list afresh, because I couldn’t simply recycle it and remove what I accomplished the day before. This is because I was doing it on paper. Another problem I had was reporting. My boss required to review everything I had done for the day. I had to rewrite what I had done and share it electronically. You can imagine the inefficiencies of what my normal work day entailed.
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Suffice to say I also had my personal goals and other things I was pursuing at the same time. Learning to play a musical instrument, learning a new skill, keeping fit and a few others, required I keep a clear track. Fitting this all at the end or beginning of my day, required quite a chunk of my time. Problem was, they were in a physical notebook that I could not carry with me at all times. Therefore I couldn’t tell where I was with what at any given time.
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Enter Evernote.
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I first encountered Evernote while researching for a corporate collaborative solution for the company I was working for. It sorted out my work organization and reporting issues faster than I could finish my pen and paper to do list. I was now able to review all my work tasks centrally and create new to do lists from what was not finished the previous day in two clicks. My boss now had a transparent view of what was on my plate, and could even add new tasks on my list.
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Organizing my personal goals and pursuits became a breeze. I had notes for each pursuits and updates were seamless. I could attach images, documents, audio and even video to my journal.
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The sweetest part of Evernote is that is it accessible over numerous platforms, be it on mobile (iOS or android) via an app, or on a windows or MAC OS computer as an installed application or simply on Evernote web on the Evernote website. You can access you information on the go, and sync across multiple devices seamlessly.
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Getting started is very easy, just start here, and I will walk you through the process.
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Feel free to ask me about Evernote. I will be glad to help.