Plenty has been said about getting new clients, using the right software and finding the balance between clients’ want and clients’ needs, but we shouldn’t forget good, old-fashioned efficiency.

No matter your profession… Web Developer, Graphic Designer, Project Manager, etc. , we can always improve our efficiency. Firstly, what exactly is efficiency?

Tfd.com defines it as:

The ratio of the effective or useful output to the total input in any system.

I love that this definition uses both “effective” and “useful”. Efficiency is about so much more than how much you work. Quantity is important, but I’d rather have an employee put in 1 hour of useful or effective work than 40 ineffective hours. For the self-employed, we need to ensure that we’re holding ourselves to that same standard. Work without accomplishing something isn’t really work, it’s just spinning your wheels for the sake of staying busy.

How To Be Efficient

1) Cut the crap.

How much time do you spend a day working on things that never provide any revenue? What do you work on that hasn’t produced any results? Get rid of it. After all, if you’re not earning revenue or reaping some other benefit (tangible or not), what in the world are you doing it for?

2) Find the gold.

On the flip side, what projects or tasks are bringing you the most reward? Fill your newly freed-up schedule with these tasks that bring home the bacon.

3) Step it up.

Chances are good that even your “efficient” tasks can be made more efficient. Make sure your maximizing the production from everything you do. More results + less work = Happier You!

4) Repeat.

Repeat these steps at least once a quarter. Today’s business world, our economy, and especially the internet markets are changing far too rapidly for you to think you can just reset your course once a year. A monthly re-evaluation of your goals and your efficiency can go a long way.

Regardless of who you work for, what you do, or how much time you spend doing it, you need to be constantly improving your efficiency. Even if you don’t, your co-workers and competitors are.

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