Most of us can be efficient when we need to be. We can check off that agenda and say, "I put in a hard day's work." But was this the best possible use of your time?
Professional writer and blogger Ali Hale writes that, "Being efficient means processing things fast. You get through your to-do list quickly and, in any given task, you eliminate time-wasters. Being effective means choosing to do the right things. You eliminate time-wasting activities or busy work from your day."
Hale has some great tips on how to increase your effectiveness, including saying "no" more frequently (to prevent overcommitment to non-essential projects), clarifying and prioritizing your values, and figuring out shortcuts.
Being efficient is great, being effective is even better.
While Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Plaxo connect us with friends and colleagues and provide a platform for alumni groups, civic issues, fan clubs and the classroom, and Moms' pleas for paper cups and markers, social media trickles into an already full stream of email and information overload. Who isn't struggling to stay afloat?It takes time and lucidity to craft a witty Evite acceptance, update your Facebook profile or write a colleague a proper recommendation on LinkedIn. This "Social Daze Shun," (my term for inundation of social media) combined with work and personal email inboxes that often have up to 2,500 emails (with 800 unread) builds stress and lessens productivity.To help, try some of my favorite email and social management tips:
Back in the late 1990s when sending e-cards took off, Hallmark, king of the greeting cards, was faced with a difficult decision: let other companies rule the online space with free e-cards or enter into the space itself. Would such a move devalue its cards? Would it damage its premium brand?Hallmark reacted first by expanding its online collection and then including free e-cards alongside those priced at a low fee. By offering one of the largest and most diverse high-quality selections online, it was both competitive and stayed true to its brand. By positioning the brand as the source to go to for all cards, it put the company at the forefront of consumers' minds - online and retail.Now, once again, technology is changing the playing field, and Hallmark is poised to score. Hallmark Mobile Greetings, available via a downloadable app to a cell phone, can be sent for 99 cents and allow instant communication with an anywhere/anytime mentality.Like the expansion of its e-card offerings, Hallmark is not counting on the mobile cards to replace its in-store business. Instead, the company sees it as a way to be more accessible to customers and keep the brand relevant.By evaluating emerging media spaces as communication evolves - so will your brand.
If you've produced a video in the last year, chances are you shot it in high definition or, perhaps, film transferred to high definition. So why not go all the way and showcase your production the way it was meant to be seen: in vivid HD detail with a larger format for graphics. With Blu-ray encoding now affordable and small players available to buy and rent (and simple to connect with a single HDMI cable), there's no reason your next exhibition or event video can't maximize the attracting power of high-definition video. (You can still make regular DVDs too!)