Efficiency is defined
by your values

Productivity blogs abound, and anything you read here you can probably find somewhere else. So am I just contributing to the noise? Maybe. But just like my music might be nothing more than a scratchy record to you, what we each have to say will reach people in a totally unique way. It might not be a way that varies dramatically from everyone else, but we each make connections differently. This is what I mean when I say efficiency is defined by values. In my life, I might want to be efficient by using my money very frugally. Everything we do is governed by the resources we have going into it, and how we perceive those resources. What I consider an efficient use of my money might seem to you to be a waste of time. Efficiency is defined by values-what do you value in life, and what are you willing to sacrifice to achieve that goal?

Alternatives offer
a new perspective

If you're like most people, it probably seems like sticking with the way things are being done is the best way to do them. While it's become a bit clichéd in our modern society, the thought pattern behind the "if it isn't broken, don't fix it" mindset remains. Most millennials (and some from other generations) wouldn't want to be accused of thinking and acting like everybody else. Again, however, this centers around values. You are probably clinging to something for comfort that, if you replaced it, your life would improve. Consider television. The more forward-thinking in our society would probably claim that television is a good way to wind down and relax at the end of a challenging day (and not just a mindless form of entertainment). Now, ignoring the screen theory that says that just looking at screens that emit blue light can make it more difficult to sleep, there are other reasons that television (and media) don't really relax us. Amusement is not recreation. Consider those words: amusement-coming from the roots which mean to not think; and recreation-which we could take to literally mean to make again or make new. The point is this: we may choose to watch television because it is easy, but might painting not make us more relaxed and rejuvenated?

Challenging your perception of the world is good for your mind

When we try to take on a new perspective, we are forced to grow. This probably won't be comfortable, but it can be enlightening. Our personalities are such that we tend to see the world in a very specific way. Reality may be objective, but our perception of it is certainly not. From simple things, like the way we see color, to much more emotionally-ridden events like car crashes and crime, different people have different stories about almost everything. When you take on the challenge to see the world in a different light, your mind is forced to make connections that it has been ignoring or missing.  In doing so, your mind literally grows, and your perspective is broadened.