Work Hard and SMART

picture from simple-shida.blogspot.com

Hello everyone. I was reminded recently of the advice I got from a former boss. We were having a pre-appraisal, unfortunately my head of department called in sick and so I was there to represent him. We had been given a project and it was still in the inception stage so there was relatively nothing to show in terms of results, just work in progress, steps to success if you know what I mean. As other heads of department confidently defended their departments, giving strong results as back up, I sat there rehearsing my lines in my head. It finally got to my turn and after I gave information about all we had done and were doing and what we expect to do to gain results in due time, my boss said to me " I don't know what you people are doing in your department, you may be working hard, but you need to be working smart". In my head, I thought we were working smart but I wasn't ready for long talk so I nodded and appreciated the advice. 

In this same office, after a few weeks, we had a training and the trainer again emphasized the need to work smart. He made a comparison with brick layers and barrow pushers, saying they work really really hard, yet hardly ever live above that level. This is very true; as important as it is to work hard, it is equally or maybe even more important to work smart. Please note that working smart is NOT the corrupt notion of cutting corners and doing illegal things to get ahead - well, not in my books. It is finding better and faster ways to get more done efficiently and ethically, I should add. It is looking at the whole picture, finding out why you were asked to do a certain task; the entire purpose and aim of the task or series of tasks you were given so you could think and contribute. Perhaps they missed something, maybe you were once taught a better way to achieve the same aim. Sometimes, there is nothing you can add, it happens, especially when you're working with very experienced people who make it a point of duty to keep with the evolution of practices in their field (we should all be like this).

Very often, we get consumed with the idea of being busy more than actually being busy or doing meaningful work. Am I making sense? Let me try. Many times, people try to validate their importance at work by how many hours they put in. My question is, put in doing what actually? In school, you must have come across people who go to class and spend many hours there just to return as empty as they left. Sometimes they just can't assimilate at that point and they won't let themselves rest to try again later, they will exhaust their brain and body strength in the name of "putting in hours" to seem serious. In the office, you see someone typing a 5 page document for a whole day and they tell you they've been busy all day. Really? If there's no work to do, I can somehow understand that, but if your office has a pile of work and seeking the next free or capable person to be handed the next task/project, why aren't you offering yourself? Even if there's no work, why not get that simple task done and pick up something else to grow yourself. I am not talking of lazy days. I totally understand some days when your body just refuses to do serious work. I am talking to people who have made this a habit, yet expect to be nominated for the next promotion. Then, there's another group of people who are actually working for the whole day, but someone else knows how to get the same job (and more accurately too) faster with simple technology. They offer to show you an easier and faster way to do it, but no, you want to stick to your traditional method of doing things when there's a whole lot of work waiting for your team. You should be thinking of the overall productivity of the company, the purpose, time should be of the essence. 

Working smart does not apply only in the office front. It applies to our lives in its entirety. We should work smart in the different parts and phases of our lives. We shouldn't just be gliding through and taking everything as is, sometimes I feel like I don't have an option but they say you always do right? In other words for every purposeful thing or everything that should be purposeful, we should have a reason for taking a step and it should conform with the grand plan. I don't mean for every little thing like having a reason for choosing chocolate flavored ice cream over pistachio just because. I'm not saying you should be stuck up about life and be too serious, but in the things that matter, really matter, think well and make the smart decision, one that will be right for today and for tomorrow. 

It is easier said than done, I know, I know. I'm far from perfect when it comes to this but we should all try so we can work towards having the life we desire. Okay, that's my 2 cents. Please drop yours below.