Becoming Much More Efficient... in Three Minutes

Source: Pixabay, Public Domain

Efficiency has moved from lauded to dubious, vaguely corporatist, militaristic.

Yet that vilified virtue is crucial to productivity. And productivity is core to the life well-lived.

I feel on safest ground if I tell you the things I do to be efficient. I know they work, at least for me, and no one can accuse me of not walking my talk. At minimum, this article should take but three minutes to read—an efficient use of your time.

Housing. I stay put. I took the time to find a good place way back in 1977 and have stayed there. Too often, people keep moving in hopes of a fresh start but find that their problems travel with them. By staying put, I avoid the major time-suck, hassle, and cost of moving and refurnishing,

Transportation. I buy the most reliable car, Toyota, and keep it until it drops, almost always, over 300,000 miles. Not only do Toyotas require minimal servicing and repairs, I also avoid the surprisingly time-consuming process of selling the old car and buying a new one. And of course, I save a bundle.

Work. I work at home, each week saving the hours and stress of the increasingly long commutes.

With my career counseling clients, I use many efficiencies. Most salient, I have new clients complete and email me a probing new-client questionnaire in advance of our first session. I review it before the session, which helps me plan it and hit the ground running. So we usually make solid progress in just that first session. If I had to ask all those questions during a session, it would use up at least one full session and progress would be limited. In addition, the client completing it at home has more time to reflect on the questions.

In my writing, YouTubes, and radio programs, I'm using my best skill: the ability to think and communicate on the fly. That enables me to do that work efficiently. In contrast, I'm terrible at fixing things. So when I need a repair more complicated than a light bulb, I just call the fix-it person. That's efficient.

Food. It's remarkable how much time you can save in food preparation. My typical breakfast in summer is yogurt with fresh fruit, in winter, oatmeal. Lunch might be a tuna sandwich and fruit for dessert. Dinner might be broiled chicken and steamed broccoli seasoned with garlic, parmesan, and/or curry powder, with frozen yogurt for dessert. All are fast to shop and prepare for, are foods I like, and are filling, inexpensive, and healthy.

Investing. I don't have the hubris to think I can beat the market even if I were to take all the time to pick stocks reasonably. So I invest very simply: Every time I have an extra $1,000 in my checking account, I invest it in my favorite Vanguard fund, which is Vanguard Growth Index Fund, although the typical investor might be wiser to choose one of Vanguard's All-in-One Funds. (I am not a licensed investment advisor. I'm merely rendering a personal opinion. Also, please know that neither Vanguard nor the aforementioned Toyota pay me.)

Recreation. I avoid major time sucks, for example, video games, extensive TV watching, sports playing, mall shopping, long chats, or long-distance travel. My most frequent recreations are 45-minute hikes with my doggie Hachi, half-hour gardening stints, and watching a movie at home with my wife.

All this efficiency isn't onerous. It's kind of fun and makes me feel I'm living up to my potential.

I hope that the three minutes it took to read this might yield at least one tip to try. If so, you and I will have been efficient, which, notwithstanding the zeitgeist, isn't a dirty word.

I read this aloud on YouTube.

This is part of a series on undervalued values.