5 Steps to Maximize Your Return on Effort

In Part 1 of the Higher Ed Marcomms Survival Series™, I introduced the Impact/Effort Matrix—a tool to help you step back and evaluate your workload objectively.

[Missed it? Click here and go read it then come back. It’s ok. I’ll wait.]

The Impact/Effort Matrix  gives your team a common language and perspective to free up space by removing the low impact items that are like tiny little energy parasites.

Ew.

But no matter how high your ideals or how clear your matrix, there’s always a chunk of work that never fully goes away. Some of it just comes with the territory—data gathering and reporting, requests and approvals, meetings, committee work.

It doesn’t move your key metrics. But it still has to get done.

So make the most of it. Keep it efficient and move on.

After you sort out the non-negotiables, everything else in the “low impact” zone becomes fair game. This is where your hidden bandwidth lives. Look closely.

Is it a manual task? A dated process? A cyclical formality? A pet project you’re scared to let go of?

Time to roll up your sleeves and pull out Jeff’s…

5 Steps to Responsibly Let Go, Streamline, and Shift Work

For pros who want to focus on what matters without burning bridges.

1. Name It, Then Claim It (or Cut It)

Get clear on what the task is, what purpose it serves, and who it impacts.

• Who uses this?
• Who relies on it?
• What would break if it disappeared?

Mindset shift: If no one notices it’s gone, it probably shouldn’t be there.

2. Start With Your Own Junk Drawer

Build confidence by cleaning up your own stuff.

Look for:

• Reports you generate but don’t use
• Repeating tasks you now do out of habit
• Pet projects you’ve outgrown

Pro tip: Clean your own house first. It earns credibility when you suggest broader changes.

3. Talk First, Cut Second

If others rely on the work, don’t disappear it overnight.

Instead, ask:

• Is this still helpful the way we’re doing it?
• Would a simpler version work just as well?
• Could parts of this be handed off or automated?

Approach: Frame the conversation around improving service or freeing up bandwidth for higher-value work they benefit from too.

This is a double whammy. You both save time and you build trust.

4. Propose Experiments, Not Ultimatums

Red flag: “I want to stop doing this forever starting now.”
Collaborative partner: “Can we test a new approach for 30 days?”

Tactic: Run a low-risk trial. Measure what changes.
If it works, great. If not, tweak and try again.

5. Make It Stick

Once you’ve made a change:

• Let the right people know
• Log what changed
• Set a reminder to revisit the change in 60–90 days

Bonus: You show strategic intent. You create transparency. And you model high-trust behavior that others can follow.

Even if you only remove one or two tasks, this exercise will help you understand your workload more clearly. You’ll spot patterns. You’ll learn to minimize low-return tasks. You’ll get better at connecting the dots between effort and impact and you’ll build it into all your processes. Then you’ll wonder why it took so long to start.

I call it the Jeff Method: See it. Shift it. Sustain it.

Because more isn’t better. Better is better.

A version of this article first appeared on ncmpr.org.