Lesson 12 In the Science of Getting Rich: Efficient Action
Do, everyday all that you can do that day, and do each act in an efficient manner - Wallace D. Wattles
I bet you’ve heard of the statement “Work smarter not harder” well that is this chapter in summation. In this chapter the author shares ways in which we can work effectively towards our desired goals by not working too hard or being overly busy. I know in recent times the word busy has become something like a badge of honour where we use it haphazardly and by filling our calendars with so many things, initiating so many projects at a time and overstretching ourselves in many areas of our lives. There are 3 important points to consider in this chapter and I will elaborate on them as following.
Staying focused
I’ll bet you are also familiar with the word - multitasking - this is a concept that many pride themselves on, and I also do but Wattles advises that in order to effectively get to our goal we must stay focused with concentrated energy and effort on a primary goal. Thus all activities we undertake should be directed towards this specific goal and not many other things all at the same time. I struggled with this in the beginning as I thought it meant to have only one goal at a time. How is this possible? If it was so then we couldn’t learn multiple subjects at a time could we?
Pondering over this some more, I got a better understanding which is that this reasoning is not limiting me to one desire at a time but limiting my actions and effort whenever I act, to be towards just one thing at that time. I had been working in this mindset and space (multitasking) for a long time and so many of my goals were half baked majority of the time, when the deadlines came around because my efforts were scattered. It wasn’t until I decided, specifically, this year to stay focused on the tasks of a specific goal until that is achieved then I will move on to my next. That shift in mindset propelled me in months more than I had been in years.
Eliminating distractions
We tend to see factors like social media as the major distractions in life but there are other hidden distractions which we are encouraged to eliminate whenever we decide to act on our goal. I for instance make sure that before I sit to work or write, I have my phone on silent, dishes done, my water bottle filled, cup of tea or coffee made and TV and radio off. I remove anything that can interrupt my flow. Also I make sure that notifications on teams and email are turned off when I am working on different things during my corporate hours. I go back to check from time to time but I am not distracted by the pop ups and sounds. In this way I am able to complete blocks of activities that move me closer to my desire.
Continuous learning through adaptability and flexibility
To improve one must be open to learn and adapt to new and efficient ways, this is another important theme covered in this chapter, which I find very interesting and especially suited to my personality. I am naturally curious and particularly about things I am passionate about, I am always exploring and researching better and newer ways things are done. This trait has seen me thrive in situations where most people will give up, though it comes naturally to me now I have had to learn to be flexible and easily adapt in my ways of thinking so I could learn and improve myself. When we are working towards our goal one vital aspect is our ability to “course correct” that is being open to take a step back, evaluate and adjust our method to keep on track. The only way to efficiently do this is to be open to learn and adapt.
So, these 3 points plus others have been a backbone to how I have started and been working on my goals and as the chapter reinforces, not only hard work results in success. We are encouraged to prioritise our efforts to stay focused, eliminate distractions and be flexible to learn and cause correct with absolute faith and purpose towards our desired goal. I know it works because I have, with focused determination and purpose achieved goals I had set for the year in 4 months. I stayed focused, channeled my energy and effort towards a specific goal at a time and continued learning other ways to act efficiently.
I would love to hear how you are staying on top of your goals so kindly share in the comments.
Journal prompt: what are some of the distractions keeping me from working efficiently on my goals and how can I eliminate these?