The Myth of Working Smart

It is amazing how sometimes a little phrase can sneak into your mind, take root there and grow in completely the wrong direction and meaning. One of those mantras is ‘Work Smart not Hard’. The problem with the expression is that it is easy to look at it as an ‘either-or’ option as if you are faced with making a choice between working hard and working smart. Somehow people equate working smart with not working much at all which is an excuse for sheer laziness. You still have to work hard; you just work better at it.

The primary difference between just working hard and working smart is productivity. It is easy to work hard and produce nothing concrete at the end of the day. The aim of what you do is to have something that you can ship at the end of it; a product delivered, a goal achieved. Smart workers ship and ship fast because they work hard.

Do not mistake being busy for working hard. I can be busy on Facebook, Twitter and every other social media platform I can think of. I can be busy in meetings that do not really require my presence or input. I can be busy on the fluff of the day that actually does not matter. Let us be honest with ourselves we can all think of an occasion where we have avoided a task and managed to get ‘busy’ doing other stuff in order to evade the actual task.

In order to work smart you need to work for a reason with a clear vision and objectives. Productivity is enhanced by having small ‘victories’ during the day. This is one reason why a daily ‘to-do’ list is an effective tool to generating positive momentum. Each item ticked off the list creates a small but powerful emotion of achievement inside you which fuels the drive to do more.

Declutter your life, delegate tasks, and outsource that which others can do better. Get rid of the fluff that hinders your productivity. Unless your role is to monitor the social network no Facebook during work. Aim for high impact tasks, those which have the biggest effect on what you do. As a writer this means I have to write, not spend hours answering emails. It does not mean I will never answer emails, just that I will set the task of writing a priority. Delegating does not mean that you do less work; it merely allows you to do more of the work that matters.

Structure your life and business to maintain flow. One way for this is to set aside time that is uninterruptable for key tasks. No phone calls, no emails, no visitors, just you and your work.

Work when most effective for you to do so. A friend of mine wrote a book by setting aside a minimum of twenty minutes dedicated writing every night before bed regardless of how the day had been. Some days he wrote more than others, some nights he would take longer, but he was diligent at doing the hard work of writing. The project took him 18 months, but he shipped.

Set your iteration cycles and feedback loops correctly. Do not double your workload by stupidly asking for opinion at the wrong point that sends you back to the drawing board for unnecessary changes. Get the key deliverable points from the person who signs off on the project before you start. Then when you need that final approval point out exactly how you have fulfilled what they asked for. Get mass opinion early in the project while you are still brainstorming, then trim the number of voices down to a few key, select individuals that matter and have solid wisdom.

One of the questions people ask of hard workers is ‘How do you get balance in your life?’ Usually this refers to keeping time for family, friends and vacations as well as managing a crazy 18 hour a day schedule during a start-up. Firstly I am not sure that balanced people change the world. Passion and unrelenting drive to a goal are necessary to getting there. There are phases in life when balance is just not realistic. Studying for a degree? Then believe me come exam time balance goes out the window temporarily. Remember that life is not an ‘either-or’ scenario but a ‘both-and’ and set the goals for your family as strongly as you set the goals for your work and then you will not treat them as fluff.

Getting the hard work done, paying the price, allows for success. Do not be afraid of putting your hand to the ploughshare in order to reap results later. Perhaps the mantra should read ‘Work Smart and Hard’.