I was reading a book recently that highlighted the difference between these two words:
“Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.” — Peter Drucker
Have you ever spent an entire day checking things off your list, yet still felt like you neglected something important? I know there are responsibilities we simply have to do. What I’m talking about are the things we keep putting off, telling ourselves we’ll get to them when we have “extra” time, knowing full well that another day may pass without ever making room for them.
Here are three examples I have struggled with.
Cleaning. When my kids were growing up, even though they all had chores and all did their own laundry, there was still a lot of work to be done. My house was never as clean or organized as I thought it should be. So I decided early on that I wasn’t going to miss out on making memories for the sake of keeping the kitchen clean. If it was family night, if we had guests, if we were going out for ice cream, I wasn’t going to stay behind doing the dishes. They would be there when I got back, I promise. You know who isn’t around anymore? My kids. They’re all grown up and living their lives. I didn’t know it then, but I was choosing to be effective over efficient.
Hobbies. I love to read. If I could make a nice living reading, I would jump at the chance, as long as I got to read what I wanted:) On a regular work day, I long for the evening when I will be able to read. If I wait too long, though, I’m too exhausted to focus. I’ve been getting better at making the time. Just as in cleaning, I realize that my work has no end. If I don’t make the time to read, it doesn’t just happen. Do you have a hobby you’ve been trying to squeeze into your daily life? Hobbies are an important part of resting and energizing ourselves. Whether it be gardening, writing, drawing, painting, etc, spending even a little time of our day on it can give us a whole new outlook and make our daily tasks more manageable.
Date nights. When our kids were young, it was a challenge to make time to go out as a couple. We had to find someone to take care of the kids, we had to figure out what our budget was, we had to agree on where to go and then actually go after a long day of work. But date nights have an exponential ability to feed our relationships. We can look forward to them, enjoy them and build memories as a couple as we raise our kids. Now that Arturo and I are empty nesters, we still look forward to our next date night or three day weekend or mini vacation. I think part of why we enjoy each other’s company is because we did not wait for the perfect time or for when our kids grew up to start hanging out together. Now we even work together! Again, I didn’t know it then, but step by step, we were choosing effectiveness over efficiency.
Efficiency is very tempting. Especially to people like me who make a to do list and then cross it out as the day goes by. But people like me also run the risk of missing the point. And that, to me, is worse than leaving some things on my to do list undone. I do, it turns out, prefer to be effective over efficient.