I love fast cars and just plain going fast. Course I’m not a street racer or crazy daredevil, but if there as an opportunity to open a car up safely, I’m happy to do it. You can imagine that for a guy like me there are few things more exciting than a jaunt on Germany’s Autobahn. My “first time” was about 17 years ago and was both a nerve racking and exhilarating experience. I had always liked going fast (“fast but safe” as I liked to call it), but in the States, you don’t have much opportunity for speed on public roads without fear of the smokies ruining your joy ride.
I happened on a couple of blog posts a few weeks ago that reminded me of driving on the Autobahn. It talked about the efficiency of the Autobahn and how that relates to efficiency with our time, the tasks we face and the responsibilities we carry, regardless of what we do.
I’ll let you read the blog posts in their entirety to get the whole picture and how the author fits each piece together, but here are some snippits to set the stage:
…why am I writing about the Autobahn when this is about efficiency? It’s because I’m using the Autobahn as an analogy and I want you take a look at your desk (and your computer!) and get the idea that this is your personal “Autobahn”:
It should be clutter free so your traffic can flow along freely and quickly.
The basic approach is this:
What does that mean?
It means that you have Porsches and Trucks on your desk and you need to know which ones are the Porsches and which ones are the Trucks.
You Porsches are the communications that usually are awaiting a quick answer, like which pricing formula do you want me to use for this proposal, etc. Someone is waiting for a response and is stopped in what they are doing, for example.
Your Trucks, on the other hand, are the projects that just move along (unless there is a very short timeframe involved).
Basically you need to prioritize tasks, and understand what place each has in your daily work day. If an emergency comes along that derails you, deal with it, then figure out how to avoid that type of emergency in the future. I don’t know that I buy into the whole organizational thought of the author, but I thought the entire thing was worth reading for the review process of emergencies in Part 2 alone.
I don’t know how many times a day I’m derailed because something “critical” comes up. Sure I have to stop what I’m doing and deal with it, but what am I doing to actively prevent or at least reduce the numbers of these things coming up?
Here are the 2 posts:
Take a read. They’re pretty quick. Tell me what you think.
June 25th, 2009 at 2:50 am
Every time I am driving on the Autobahn there is always some truck pulling out just in front of me almost causing a wreck. However the Autobahn is a good analogy and something to keep in mind.
June 25th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Great Analogy, I am looking forward to finishing the other posts!
June 25th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
You also need to keep in your lane, be careful when changing lanes and be constantly aware of long term turn offs, ramps etc. Good analogy.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Some people are disappointed the first time they drive on the Autobahn. They come with visions of a twenty-lane superhighway where cars are barely a blur as they whiz by. In reality, the Autobahn looks like a typical freeway, and despite rumors to the contrary, not everyone is hurtling along at the speed of sound.
June 25th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
I'm a cab driver and i love to drive my car at optimum speed. I love to perform the actions while
driving. Autobahn is a good analogy and everyone has to take care of it while driving..
June 25th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Thats kinda a good link up.. Great analogy there!
June 25th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
This is a very interesting post and a brilliant way to find out how to prioritize. I love the Autobahn and love just driving fast with the roof down!
June 25th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Yes, organization is an essential element of success. I wish every deal was a Porsche but I have got to deal with the trucks also.
July 1st, 2009 at 9:33 pm
oh no ! I think this is not good for you .please driving slowly.
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:46 pm
You are completely true buddy. Great analogy here. Its not a easy task to drive on superhighway and kinda is one of them..
July 4th, 2009 at 9:52 am
very nice anology , keep up good work!
July 5th, 2009 at 9:36 am
I'd love a chance to drive on the Autobahn or an actual race track. Driving fast is a thrill. I don't really get how the Autobahn relates to my computer desk. Maybe I'll check out the linked article later.
July 6th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Batching and preventing interruptions is pretty much a key to productivity. Unfortunately in so much we do, timely response is a key as well. It often helps to break things up into bite size bits of the day so you can still get the kind of timeliness you want while having periods of uninterrupted focus.
July 16th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Go with speed on the Autobahn is cool but only if you are in conditions of maximum security, as the trucks are very dangerous because when you goo whit speed they appear suddenly in you face and it can to do something very bad.(to wreck you car). So drive whit maximum of attention
July 19th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
It's all about rules and regulations… well just drive carefully because no rule does not mean no danger… and this can be used as an analogy in life as well, as suggested in the post…
August 3rd, 2009 at 1:10 am
Man… I would absolutely love to get the chance to drive on the autobahn! But I can't even afford a fast car like an Audi to be able to do it in the first place though, hehe! It's too bad we don't have an Autobahn here in the USA. I can definitely see the autobahn and efficiency relation.
Till then,
Jean
August 31st, 2009 at 12:22 am
Not sure about in the USA but over here that are a whole load of speedtraps to catch fast drivers. Guess we could do with something like that?
October 8th, 2009 at 4:53 am
Hallow, crazy about driving fast, your life will be at risk. so dont have such kind of dream to drive fastly. in order to make yourself fit.
November 1st, 2009 at 11:01 am
Never drove on autobahn but sounds amazing, something I have to do soon
December 6th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
It's all about rules and regulations… well just drive carefully because no rule does not mean no danger… and this can be used as an analogy in life as well, as suggested in the post…
December 7th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
This is a very interesting post and a brilliant way to find out how to prioritize. I love the Autobahn and love just driving fast with the roof down!
December 7th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
oh no ! I think this is not good for you .please driving slowly.
December 28th, 2009 at 1:03 am
I think driving slowly is safe and better
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