It’s an interesting topic and an interesting question as to what really matters.So what really matters is it hard work or smart work? But first let’s dive deep into what hard work and smart work is?
What is Hard Work?
So, Hard work is putting efficient amount of hours doing a particular task. It basically requires a rigorous amount of time and a huge commitment. It’s the traditional way of getting the work done. It’s uses the old technique to get the work done in an old manner. And hard work requires a lot of effort and therefore it becomes a tedious and tiresome process. Hard work aims at quantity and therefore can become monotonous and boring for some people, but if done properly it can give good results.
What is Smart Work?
So, Smart Work is opposite of hard work, it’s getting the work done smartly. It helps in completing the task in less time and also you can learn a new skill. It requires an in-depth knowledge of the work in hand as that will make your work easy and you can look for efficient ways to do the work in a more planned and organised manner. Smart work is more of like a modern way of getting the things done by leveraging technology. Smart work really helps in building up the strength as one acquires the in-depth knowledge about any work and helps in finding multiple ways to solve a particular problem, which eventually helps in building your strengths and helps you to become a master of the work in hand.
So, the question is,
What really matters the most?
Simple answer, work smart as well as work hard. Hard work is uncorrelated with net worth, think of the really hard working jobs like coal miners and manual labourers most of them should already be millionaires judging by how hard they work but they are not and that’s the conventional thinking that everyone put in your head when you are barely old enough to know what hard work really is. This is the way people get angry and frustrated and disappointed that despite working hard for decades you are still broke. Whereas people around you are rich and successful are happy and that’s what working smart means, less of hassle and more work gets done in less time.
As both are handy, both are directly proportional to each other. If you are working hard work and not working smart you won’t progress much in life and you won’t be able to complete a task properly and just because you are working smart and not working hard, as that’s not a solution either, this can lead to laziness or to adopting some shady practices that lead you to somewhere you don’t want to be. Smart work is the result of hard work, to master the quality of smart work one needs to work hard. Through hard work, we can gain experiences, which helps us discover new things which eventually helps us work smarter. Successful people combined smart work with hard work to get to the place where he/she wanted to go, they did crazy amounts of work at the beginning of their careers, they had just hit the point where they were able to scale down and do things differently.
So, here are some tips to work smart and hard,
Plan your day in advance:- A ship without co-ordinates will be lost at sea. Write down your plans.
Not just for a day but have a plan/strategy on how you are going to tackle you week and your month:- Break down the process and then work on it what you’ll do this week or this month? Write it down.
Set Boundaries with your family, friends and others:- Tell them what you can and can’t be reached don’t be available for anyone at any time. Give 100% commitment to your goal/task.
Time yourself:- You’d be surprised on how much more efficient you’ll be when doing this using the Pomodoro technique works really well 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of break and then again 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of break or then 90 minutes of work and then a little break.
Use tools:- Yes use tools to work more efficiently. Apps, widgets, gadgets anything that can bring your effectiveness up.
Enjoy the process:-If you are looking to get the most out of the work you put in then learn to use the 80/20 Principle. I recommend the book 80/20 Principle to know more about it.
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