A key to working effectively is to do the right thing, the right way. 

For this we like the acronym GPRS, meaning

1. G - get your Goals straight
2. P - know the Process you'll use
3. R - Revalidate process with goals and expected resources
4. S - now you can Start

This will assist you in preventing common pitfals like:

• doing something even though you misunderstood the intent of the task, thereby having done the wrong thing, being late and and wasting resources
• doing something the wrong way - forcing you to do it all over
  • often the result is incorrect
  • or it may be correct, but takes too many resources/time to do
  • or it could be correct, but doesn't fit other parts of the work

More advantages to GPRS 

1. It allows you to quickly validate what you're about to do before you already invest time doing it.
2. It helps you pre-assess if the time/resources you want to use are in any way realistic. 
3. It allows you to request more resources before you start, if necessary. 
4. This allows you to stop early, in case goals, process and resources don't match up. Because often a task is picked up thinking "it's just a quicky" but would actually not be relevant if it takes a lot of resources.