Efficiency is the practice of not wasting time and energy. To be maximally efficient is to be like a machine, perfectly designed to accomplish a task without wasted time or energy.

But humans are not machines.

When a machine is slow or multitasking– the opposite of efficient– we say that it is inefficient. But when you or I do something slow or halfway paying attention, inefficiency has a much more dramatic result.

Wasting time and energy adds up to a lifetime wasted and laying on our death beds we won’t be thinking about how inefficient we were, we’ll be thinking about regrets we have: how we could have used our time and energy better.

The opposite of efficiency is regret.

So whether you realize it or not, all this personal development work and striving for efficiency at work is not just so we can get more done, it’s to prevent ourselves from feeling future regret.

The stakes are high, my friends.

Peter Drucker, the famous management expert, said “efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.”

So perhaps our shift should be away from trying to be mechanical and perfectly efficient and to be more effective. To make the most of our limited time and choose what is important enough to spend our limited time and energy on.

Caveday is a company aimed at improving your relationship to work. We write regular posts on Medium and send out monthly newsletters with productivity tips, life hacks, and recommendations. Sign up for the mailing list here.

Or sign up for Jake Kahana’s personal emails, called “The Email Refrigerator” here.