Many people believe that hard work is the cornerstone of success. And it’s true that if you work really hard at something, you’re going to get better and better at it. And this means that you are likely to be more and more successful at it too.
But there are also a lot of advantages to working smarter. You can save time, strategize better, pick projects that are more lucrative and generally live a fuller life if you work smart. Here are some tips to help you do so:
Do What You Love
There’s no substitute for doing what you love and, believe it or not, it’s one of the ways in which you can work smarter. This is because when you do what you love, it doesn’t feel like work at all. It feels like play. So you can keep doing it for hours on end without feeling tired.
Delegate
A lot of us are brought up to believe that there’s something virtuous about doing routine, mundane tasks by ourselves. But great chefs have sous-chefs help them out with routine things like chopping, paring etc. You can also hire someone to do a number of routine, everyday things, thereby freeing up your time.
Prioritize
There’s nothing wrong with prioritizing jobs which pay you more. After all, everyone needs and wants money. So don’t let anyone guilt-trip you into taking up jobs which don’t pay you what you deserve. And make sure that you get the well-paying jobs done first.
Communication
Many of us waste a lot of time writing long emails to each other at work when a short email would do just as well. In fact, the reader would probably prefer it and understand it better. Additionally, talking to someone on the phone or just walking over to their desk, if possible, will probably save you even more time as that person will understand what you’re trying to say much faster.
“Gut Feelings”
There are people who make fast, on-the-spot decisions and those who analyze every little thing before making a decision. The truth is that people who make snap decisions actually seem to have a higher success rate than the analyzers. It may seem contrary to what you’ve heard but it can help to develop your “gut feeling” or to at least try to make faster decisions than usual at work.