Tim Ferriss: Smash fear, learn anything | Video on TED.com
Main takes from it, emphasis mine…
And proceeded to look at — I wanted to set competition so I’d have a deadline — Parkinson’s Law, the perceived complexity of a task will expand to fill the time you allot it. So I had a very short deadline for a competition!
This brings us to the point, which is, it’s oftentimes what you do, not how you do it, that is the determining factor. This is the difference between being effective — doing the right things — and being efficient — doing things well whether or not they’re important.