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Don’t Work Hard, Work Smart…

CJ Sutton

"Don't Work Hard, Work Smart", she said. It’s true you know. But isn't it funny that I was preaching the exact same thing to someone else the night before? There I was rambling on about how someone I know at work works harder than anyone else I know, but fails to manage his workload efficiently and subsequently ends up doing less work than his colleagues, and here I was getting the same advise the very next day. Funny how that works…

But for those practical thinkers out there, how exactly does one work smart instead of hard? Managing your workload can be tricky, and sometimes dedicating half an hour of your day per week strategizing on exactly what system will work best in managing your specific workload, can be very productive.

- Consolidate all your work
Consolidating your debt is one of the most practical pieces of advice being given to those in financial strife these days. Consolidating your work can is just as practical. For example, instead of taking on more and more forms of work from various people, simply make sure that you can easily view what has to be done in one place. Whether it be your in-tray, a ‘To Do’ list on your desk, or your email inbox; finding a way to get all of your ‘stuff to do-work’ in one easy-to-view place can help you a great deal in managing your workload, no matter how big it is.
- Prioritize
Once you can conveniently view all of your work in one place, make sure you take the time to prioritize that work. This might take a short while, but will ultimately save you time in the long run. So invest another half an hour in determining what needs to be done urgently, and what can wait.
- Work systematically
It’s no good prioritizing your work if you’re just going to ramble off three things at once anyway. Once you have your queue of work that needs to be done, start with the most important and don’t stop until you are done. Don’t even think or stress about the other fifteen things that are waiting to be done. Do one thing at a time at a comfortable pace. Remember that even if you meet your deadline, it will profit you nothing unless your work is accurate and precisely correct. You will also need a little time to check your work. How many times have you checked your work and NOT found a mistake? Hardly ever, right?
- Invest your time
Spending time on the right things, such as developing time-saving systems that work for you or prioritizing your work, ultimately saves you time. Invest your time on the processes that will make your life easier on a day-to-day basis and you’ll probably find your workload a little less threatening than it was the day before.
Work smart instead of hard… Makes sense, doesn’t it?