How to Avoid the Efficiency Trap
And how to be productive by doing less
People these days are finding themselves more busier than ever.
Even with all the new technology and productive tools. We find that the more we accomplish, the more work we will get. It is just like the mouse running on a wheel.
Because most people believe keeping themselves busy means productivity. And being idle is a waste of time.
I used to think the same way. Even after I quit my full-time job and went freelance. But soon I realized I had fallen into what is called the Efficiency Trap.
In this article, I am going to explain what the Efficiency Trap is from my own experience. And my advice on how to avoid falling into it.
Not being present
I used to work as a full-time project manager. And the same project management techniques work pretty well for my freelance work.
But when I applied those techniques on my travels, it was a disaster.
Here is the reason: A good project manager always prepares before a project goes live. And when the project is live, the manager will go ahead to prepare the next phase.
So when I travel, say I was having lunch with my family members in a nice restaurant. While they were enjoying the food and the atmosphere, my mind was not at the restaurant anymore.
I was busy planning how to get to the next destination of our trip. Like which way to get to the subway, or where to get a taxi, etc.
Once we got to the next destination, my mind would start working on the following one. And my family trips usually had about 4-5 destinations a day. So you can imagine how enjoyable I used to feel about a family trip.
Was the trip efficient? Absolutely! But was it fun? Well… not to me.
I knew there must be something I was not doing right. But I couldn’t figure it out.
Until I read this book.
Avoid the trap
I first came across the term “Efficiency Trap” from the book by Oliver Burkeman.
It is basically about the illusion of we can make time for everything that matters. Simply by trying to do more. But end up with more and more expectations to fulfill.
In my view, anyone can fall into the trap, regardless of their social or economic status. Because it doesn't matter how much you make, or even how much free time you have.
What matters is the mindset.
For instance, is a student better off spending all his time studying for straight As in all subjects? Or getting some Bs is fine but spending some time on his hobbies and making new friends?
The same thing goes for a father talking on his business phone during the whole family dinner. Or a freelancer cramming so many tasks in his schedule that he doesn’t have free time anymore.
The problem here is we are so overwhelmed by our own expectations. So much that we’ve forgotten what is truly important to us.
But how do we determine what is important? And how is it going to help us in terms of productivity?
Focus the importance
Well, there are many ways of improving productivity. And you can treat them like cooking recipes.
The original version might not fit your taste. But once you understand how the ingredients work together. You can always make your own version.
For me, Buffett’s 5/25 rule works out pretty well this way. Basically, the rule asks you to list your top 25 goals in life. Then only focus on the top 5. For the remaining 20, other rules of productivity would tell you to put them in lower priority.
But no, not this one.
Buffett’s rule asks you to totally forget about the last 20 goals. Because they are simply distractions and would slow you down on achieving the top 5.
In my view, we don’t have to follow Buffett’s rule exactly by choosing 5 goals out of 20. Because it doesn’t matter whether we are doing 3/10 or even 1/5.
The main idea is we can’t always have everything in life.
No matter our occupation or status. It is always a trade-off and our goals will change in different stages of life. We need to know what is essential to us at the moment.
And then laser focus on it.
However, you may ask, working on fewer goals may imply idle time during the day. Doesn’t it make us less efficient?
Less is more
My answer is no. Because the truth is quite the contrary.
Most people think filling up all our time with tasks makes us efficient. But in fact, we need time to reflect, digest, and make sense of all the information we’ve obtained.
For instance, my best ideas for work usually came when I was not actively thinking about it. Like when I was cooking in the kitchen, or playing board games with my niece. And this happened more times than I could count.
The same idea goes for my family trips now.
I’ve learned to cut down from 5 to 3 — or even 2 — destinations a day. And oftentimes, I would simply join local tours to help myself out.
Sure, doing everything by myself can save a few dollars. But saving money doesn’t make it to the top 5 goals of my family trip.
So I’ll instead focus on spending quality time with my family. And the trips have become so much more enjoyable now.
To sum up
The efficiency trap occurs in different places for different people.
We often fall into the trap when we are anxious about something. It can be a big project at work, or planning a wedding, etc.
And it is OK. Because changing our mindset takes time.
But once you get it, it will become part of your way of doing things. And you won’t need to worry about falling into the trap ever again.
