Today’s technology enables huge leaps in efficiency overnight.
Once someone realizes a solution to a problem is repeatable, especially if the problem relates to sorting and analyzing information, then building (or hiring someone to build) a piece of software that solves the problem repeatedly is almost certainly possible. Hard work, possibly requiring a good dose of genius, but the world makes such things happen every day.
This is good.
But somewhere along the way, we lost something.
In our strivings to become as efficient as possible, we stopped asking ourselves what we were becoming efficient at.
- I may efficiently schedule tweets to post at certain times, but to what purpose?
- I may efficiently read about 400 friends whom I barely know, but to what purpose?
- I may efficiently microwave a burrito, but to what purpose?
The right questions are about effectiveness.
What is the real point of this task, and how can I effectively pursue that goal?
- I sometimes have many creative thoughts at once, but I want to spread my tweets out to have the most impact. Could software decide how quickly to post my tweets, leaving me to simply add to the queue?
- I want to invest in my friends’ lives. Who is available? Who can I encourage?
- I need to fuel myself. I can efficiently microwave a burrito, but would spending 15 minutes in the kitchen creating a more balanced meal be more effective?
The world has more than enough people pursuing efficiency. Steve Jobs asked, how can I effectively help the world enjoy music? The answer had nothing to do with FM tuners, large hard drives, or wifi.
It had everything to do with 1,000 songs in your pocket.
Go be effective.