We've always been fueled by the idea that hard work makes us successful. From our households to schools, everyone demanded us to work hard. Was that the key to success? Were we doing the right thing when we were burning the midnight oil, skipping hours of sleep for finals, and racking up all those good grades? Or was there an easier and smarter way to do all this, proving that working smarter means more than working harder?
Hard work and smart work defined
Hard work refers to putting in earnest efforts and hours of labor while staying focused, irrespective of the time and situation, to see a task to completion. Smart work is all about strategizing, meticulous planning, time management, and prioritization to achieve the same amount of work in less time.
Why smart work matters
Not to criticize hard work; it has its own benefits. You somehow figure out how to do life with all the decisions you make while putting in the work. But think about taking a little bit more effort and activating a few more brain cells to make your work smart? What exactly do you achieve with being smart? Here are some of the benefits.
Not to criticize hard work—it has its benefits—but think about shifting your efforts from the physical labor involved in the task at hand to the more mental aspects of the task, like time management and planning. When you do this, you can decrease the physical strain and fatigue that hard work yields and gain a host of other benefits.
You'll find time to do what you really want to do
Approaching tasks smartly helps you work faster and with better efficiency. You end up saving enough time that you can channel towards other important jobs or for leisure. You can achieve a better work-life balance when you choose to do smart work. Instead of taking the full load and pushing yourself to get it done, you can work in such a way to bring everyone together, get the entire team involved, and make work happen faster.
It's okay if you procrastinate, but you'll know how to get the job done
Procrastination is generally frowned upon but habitual procrastinators can lean into smart work without feeling guilty. While it seems like procrastinators find it hard to focus and accomplish tasks before deadlines, sometimes they are also identified as smart workers. An article posted by the University of California talks about how strategic procrastination can boost creativity and innovation in individuals. The key here is to be aware of our patterns of procrastination, how it is affecting our productivity, and also keep track of it to maximize our outputs.
No more stressing
Hard workers often stress themselves to an extent that they feel burnt out regularly.
Whereas, smart workers are seeking ways to make work happen without bending or breaking too much. With smart work in your pocket, you can relieve stress by taking sufficient breaks and fueling yourself to come back stronger.
Ways to start working smarter
The only way you start working smartly is by knowing how to do it. While trying to work smart, you can take the help of people and tools around you. By minimizing the amount of labor involved and by using tools that enable you to work faster, you can get the best output in a short span of time without using too much of your energy.
Learn to delegate work
Sometimes team work is the best smart work you'll ever do. It not only empowers your entire team to come together and see a task through, but also ensures you get work done faster. Imagine having the insights of fresh minds when you are looking to elevate the outcome. Let's say you've been given the task to increase the adoption of your product. While working on this particular campaign, you might have a lot going on like social media campaigns, emails, webinars, and more. Instead of taking up everything on your own, you can identify what your teammates are good at, split tasks among everyone, and make the campaign successful.
Find the right tools to compliment your work
So much of smart work involves making the best use of tools on a daily basis. When you are equipped with the right tools, you end up producing exceptional results in a short span of time.
In Zoho Cliq, we have incorporated AI brilliance into tools you use every day to help save time and work faster. Let's say someone has shared a screenshot of a support ticket with you and asked you to follow up on the same. Instead of manually typing out the ticket ID in your ticketing app and fetching the ticket, you can copy the ticket ID from the screenshot and paste it using Zoho Cliq's text extraction for images, making your work faster. You can extract text out of any image shared in Zoho Cliq's chat, copy it, and analyze things further.
Strike the right balance
Prioritizing your work makes all the difference. Knowing what has to be done first and what can be done later can improve your productivity by leaps and bounds. Put your best skills to use, find your strength, identify tasks that need immediate attention, and get to them first. While you get the urgent work done, use the rest of your time to focus on the remaining tasks. You can also leverage the power of automation to automate repetitive tasks and save ample time.
While smart work can help you achieve the results, a combination of both hard work and smart work can elevate your outcome in the longer run.
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