5 Rules To Work Smarter, Not Harder

You hear it all the time – be someone who works smarter and not harder. But what does that even mean?

In a nutshell, working smart means understanding how you work best and using that knowledge to boost your productivity and performance. It’s about making the hours work for you and not the other way round where you wished you had more hours to just catch up on work! Sure, hard work pays off but when you are feeling tired and stressed because you’ve been slaving all those long hours, it’s time to give your work style a major overhaul with a touch of smartness.

Wait, having you been hearing all about the importance of hard work? Yes, all that still matters but working smarter is about putting in the effort to be more efficient, and not to put in more hours. Here’s why working smarter is something you need to consider:

1. It helps reduce burnout
All those long hours make you tired, cranky, and eventually stressed out and unable to focus and be productive. But when you work smarter, you’re mindful about not wasting time on unnecessary tasks so you can focus on what’s important to produce work that really matters.

2. It improves your work-life balance
Ahhhh the holy grail – work-life balance. Can we really achieve this? If you start working smarter now, yes! Rather than working longer hours and being consumed by your professional life, when you work smarter, you’re making the effort to carve out more time for your personal life. It’s a great way to manage time, which is key to yups you got it – work-life balance.

3. Boost your productivity
Know how you feel completely drained by the end of the day and absolutely zonked out the next day? That’s the effect of working way too hard. But if you work smarter, you will notice that not only is your focus laser sharp, you are more productive and positive about your work. Do it long enough and you’ll see yourself more motivated to set new growths.

4. You don’t feel tired
In short, you don’t come home from work each day feeling completely wiped out! Working smarter means knowing how to prioritise your work and time so you can finish the challenging tasks with more energy and produce better results. You don’t spend hours trying to do it all and therefore, you don’t come home with one hand on the door and your head already inching to get down on the pillow!

5. You’re more valuable to the company
Your boss sees it when you work smart, and that’s what a lot of companies value in their employees. Management is always on the lookout for employees to be more productive and not just someone who slaves through the day. Sharpen your work-smart skills and you’ll be an important employee who’s on your way up the ranks.

Now, how do you work smarter? Here are some tips to get started on.

Get on a solid morning routine
We wrote about the importance of a morning routine here but as a recap, experts have shown that a good start in the morning equals to a great day that’s all about being productive and efficient. What constitutes a good morning routine? Wake up at the same time, give the snooze button a miss, eat breakfast, schedule in some exercise – anything that gives you a boost of inspiration with a capital I to get you on the right path to success.

Minimise the multitasking
You may think you’re accomplishing a lot by trying to do so many things at once but essentially, what you’re doing is doing it all but without the desired results. When your focus is split into too many ways than one, you’re also splitting your energy and efficiency into many different parts. Research has shown that multitasking makes you more distractible and prone to errors. Instead, focus on the more important task at hand, complete that, and move on to the next. This way, you’re working smarter by completing what’s needed first, instead of putting in energy and time into things that don’t matter as much.

Create focus blocks
A focus block is a power work-smart move. Here’s how it works: Picture your work schedule as a series of blocks waiting for you to fill in with the tasks you want to complete. Place these tasks into the blocks as you deem important, and then work on completing them throughout the day. Set time aside for sifting through emails, working on the project notes, touching base with clients, coming up with new strategies. Make sure not to overlap your blocks! This way, with each focus block, you can dedicate 100% of your time and attention to the task and be uber effective with each one to produce better results – definitely a smarter way to work instead of trying to do them all at once without any proper planning!

Say no often
It’s a tough word to say but when it comes to working smarter, it’s something you need to get used to doing. You may think you’re being a great employee when you take on every request that comes your way – but it comes at a cost! Overcommitting is a surefire way to overload your plate, chip away at your work quality, and impact your mental health. You’re better off saying no to the things you know you don’t have time for so you can focus on what really matters. Repeat after us: It’s better to do a few things well than a lot of things poorly. Hate disappointing your teammates? You can always help once you’ve gotten your tasks out of the way.

Read more about saying no here.

Delegate
If you can, pass along the work that others can do. This way, you’re choosing your time on tasks that need your specific skills and knowledge instead of doing everything. You’re not being lazy; you’re just being efficient and clearing your plate for the things that matter. It’s about zeroing on what you do best – which is something management is constantly on the lookout for in potential leaders!

Use technology to work smarter!
Many apps can help you automate your tasks and better track your work productivity – so use them to be more efficient with your time and effort! Apps like to-do lists, time trackers, and project management can help you wrangle your daily tasks. But be smart about what to use – the last thing you want is to download a lot of apps and spend more effort trying to fit all these apps into your work schedule! Just focus on what works for you to lighten your load.

Got any other tips on how to work smarter? Share them with us @Graduan!

Photo by Daniele Franchi on Unsplash.