Achieving peak performance requires preparing the necessary tools. The right environment will enable you to achieve better things in less time than otherwise. Abraham Lincoln is credited as having said: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Correctly attributed or not, the wisdom of this quote has endured longer than the familiarity with the subject matter. You may never cut down a tree with an axe, but if you did, you would readily recognize that attempting to do so with a blunt axe will not just take you many times longer than it would to first sharpen the axe, but will also be even more brutally unforgiving to your body than the already arduous task.
Our modern tools tend to be more technical than an axe—but not always. Whatever the tools of your trade may be, pay attention to what changes you might make so that they can help you be more effective. For example, if you use a computer for work, how often does it crash, slowly respond, or automatically update? Perhaps a better operating system or newer machine is in order. If you drive rideshare for work, how many miles per gallon does your car get? How much would you save if you traded your car for a more efficient model? If you homeschool, are there ready-made curricula that would do at least as good a job as what you spend your time creating from scratch?