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Simplicity, Efficiency and Productivity

I started thinking about whether things automatically get more efficient as they simplify. I could name a couple dozen examples of how this has happened in my life.

Unfortunately, looking at each one, I began to see a pattern: the thing that was simplified and made more efficient was overly complicated (by me) in the first place. So by stripping off the unnecessary, it became more efficient.

For example: I had been typing my grocery list and then faxing it to my shopper. This entailed hooking up the phone line to the machine, then fiddling with the software. It dawned on me one day that I could simply email the information. Amazing productivity gain by simplifying. But I made it harder than it needed to be to begin with.

How many other things in my life are needlessly complex? A great many, I believe. And perhaps the biggest tip off is when I start resisting things because they will take too long.

Let’s look at the flip side. Can things be so simple that they are no longer efficient? I think so. I can think of extreme examples, all with people refusing to use modern technology, which causes productivity and efficiency losses. In my own life? Sadly, I do not seem to have this problem. I swing more toward complication.

I think there is a balance here. Things should not be too simple nor too complicated. And in the middle of that balance is the key to productivity and efficiency

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