Work Tool: Ten Times Faster (Practice)

Chasing the Efficiency Eagle.

In a previous post, I outlined the theory of trying to accomplish a task 10-15 times faster. Since then, I've tried it out. Here are my first attempts. Let's go!

1. List target tasks

Statistics Weekly podcast creation
Clearing the dinner table
Writing a research paper

2. Get some kind of timer and time yourself on the tasks

Statistics Podcast: rough estimation, full afternoon (4 hours)
Dinner Table: rough estimation, around 5 minutes
Research Paper: rough estimation, spread out across two months

3. Jot down quick notes on how you could make it faster

Statistics Podcast: write Python script to open all relevant webpages; write Python script to parse through R packages to pull out new packages; only pick most relevant articles
Dinner Table: post at one point; combine similar dishes; single dumping point for garbage; quick movements
Research Paper: Get quick analysis out and to collaborator same day; build reference notes right away; get introduction scaffold together right away; annotate code

4. Continue and keep track of timing

Statistics Podcast: down to about 2 hours, give or take 30 minutes
Dinner Table: down by at least half
Research Paper: still working on it, but can probably condense it to a single month with planning

5. Make another round of notes and try again

Statistics Podcast: speed run the journal article sources; throw up reference links in notepad; use hand-written notes for quick uptake
Dinner Table: plan of attack before starting; keep fridge open
Research Paper: N/A

6. When you've felt you've hit absolute limit, give yourself a star

Statistics Podcast: still around 2 hours, can probably get down to 1.5 hours when I've finished in-depth looks at journals
Dinner Table: depending on meal, between 1-2.5 minutes
Research Paper: goal is for a paper in a month

Comments

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