48 Days of Efficiency: The Experiement – Part 1
December 11th, 2010 • Efficiency & Personal Growth
The Problem
Over the last few years I’ve become increasingly frustrated with a few major aspects of my life. They are as follows:
1.) I am unhappy with the amount of packaged foods I consume. I would like to no longer consume any food that comes in unnecessary packaging.
2.) I exercise in waves. I will exercise regularly for a few months and then not at all for a few months. Overall my commitment to my own physical health is inconsistent and I feel less physically healthy than I would like to be. I am not overweight or extremely out of shape. But, I am not in top physical condition and I would like to be.
3.) I have absolutely zero consistency in my daily life. I don’t have a single activity beyond walking my dog, eating, sleeping, and brushing my teeth (none of which I do at the same time each day on a daily basis) that I do daily.
4.) I do not use my energy with enough efficiency. Bottom line – I waste too much time.
The Process
A few months ago I started talking with a good friend of mine who owns a Minneapolis based photographic equipment rental company called Flashlight about how I was feeling like I wasn’t using my energy properly in many aspects of my life including my business. These conversations motivated me to explore this idea more deeply and try to identify the specific aspects of my life I feel like are least efficient and how I can move towards becoming the most productive person I can be.
Step One: Re-Centering
As an effort to move myself closer to my new goal of optimal energy efficiency I’ve made a few starter adjustments. They are the following:
1.) I’ve joined an indoor rock climbing gym and have gone at least 3 or more times a week for the last month. Besides climbing I have been running 5 or more miles twice a week as well.
2.) I’ve been sleeping more and don’t set an alarm clock. I sleep for as long as I feel like and set meetings for later in the day to allow for me to sleep in if I feel like it.
3.) I’ve been doing a lot more writing. Writing personal letters, blog posts, e-mails, and portions of a novel.
4.) I’ve been reading and thinking about the best way to move towards more efficiency.
5.) I documented and organized all of my 2010 financial information for my business for the year up to the current date.
6.) I’ve been turning down work. And have been doing less overall.
Someone reading these might at first glance think one or more of these actions might seem like adjustments in the opposite direction of optimal energy efficiency. My arguments against that thought would be this:
1.) Before taking these steps I was burnt out. I have been working harder than I realized over the last few years and had simply started to lose energy.
2.) I was starting to feel although I’ve been working hard. I haven’t been working smart enough or efficient enough and I haven’t been making as much money as I could be if I was more efficient with my time and energy. Therefore, doing less, sleeping more, writing more, and getting one important aspect of my life organized has helped center me.
Without even being completely aware of it I have actually been doing this for about the last 2 months. I have been slowly… slowing myself down. I have been doing this to get reorganized, re-centered, and re-balanced to move forward towards prime efficiency again. Because I have at various years in my life felt like I was living at a very high-level of efficiency, which is something that adds to my overall happiness. And unlike some people I actually really enjoy an effective and forward-moving day of hard work.