Quotes About Efficiency

Use counters for activities, not for storage.

by politely asking questions ..., we often can clarify our approach, prevent false steps and needless work, and end up with a better result

the habit of bed making is correlated with a sense of greater well-being and higher productivity. Other common broken windows include having a messy car; accumulating piles of laundry or trash; not being able to find important items, like a passport or a phone charger; hanging on to stacks of newspapers, magazines, and catalogs; wearing pajamas or sweats all day; or not shaving or showering

One of the biggest wastes of time is doing something well that didn't need to be done at all.

When I clean up that mess, I'm always surprised by the disproportionate energy and cheer I gain, plus I'm able to find my keys.

Secret of Adulthood: Keeping up is easier than catching up.

It didn't take me long to see that I did better when I had less time. Not several hours but ninety minutes turned out to be the optimally efficient length of time—long enough for me to get some real work done but not so long that I started to goof off or lose concentration. As a consequence, I began to organize my day into ninety-minute writing blocks

the Strategy of Pairing, I couple two activities, one that I need or want to do, and one that I don't particularly want to do, to get myself to accomplish them both. It's not a reward, it's not a treat, it's just a pairing.

When you buy any kind of device, put the cords, the manual, all that stuff in a labeled Ziploc bag. You avoid having a big tangle of mystery cords, plus when you get rid of the device, you can get rid of the ancillary parts, too.

Questioners tend to be very interested in improving processes. They like to eliminate mistakes and make things better.

Because of their focus on justification, Questioners wake up each day and think, What needs to get done today and why?

It's a Secret of Adulthood: Working is one of the most dangerous forms of procrastination.)

DON'T PUT THINGS DOWN; PUT THINGS AWAY.

When the Schiphol Airport put the image of a housefly above the drains of urinals, men began to aim at it—a change that reduced spillage rates by 80 percent. "Gamification" is used in the design of devices and apps to help people improve their habits.

It's a Secret of Adulthood: The biggest waste of time is to do well something that we need not do at all.

Accomplish more by working less.

Sprinters are pleased with their work product, because sprinting is how they do their best work. Procrastinators aren't pleased with their work product; they know they could've done a better job if they'd allowed themselves more time.

Apply the one minute rule. Don't postpone anything that could be done in less than a minute

eliminating clutter would cut down the amount of housework in the average home by 40 percent.

So you hire minimum viable people, and much like improving your minimum viable product, you improve your minimum viable employee.

Life is too short to deal with orifices.

What gets measured gets done.

I believe the road to preeminent success in any line is to make yourself master IN THAT LINE. I have no faith in the policy of scattering one's resources. Andrew Carnegie

Markets weed out inefficient practices, but only when no one has sufficient power to manipulate them.