The idea that you should work smarter, not only harder isn’t anything new. When talking about the difference between smart and hard work it’s pretty simple to explain what working hard means. If you want to be successful in the long run, you have to put long hours into work. You have to start early, before all other people, and you have to stay up late, when everyone else is already enjoying their afternoons and evenings.
On the other hand, it’s really hard to find very clear guidelines on what working smart really means and how it’s different from hard work. It’s very obvious that even if you’re determined that nobody will outwork you, you still have maximum limits regarding working hours that you reach pretty fast; and there’s always someone who’s willing to sleep less than you. On top of that, many people work hard, but only a few become really successful. That’s because smart work is what makes the difference.
As already mentioned, there are some vague ideas out there about what smart work probably means, but this topic is far from analyzed properly, especially if you’d like to really implement some practical advice for becoming a smarter worker and outperforming others with smart work, not only by investing into long hours, hoping that you will get a streak of good luck some day. Let’s put an end to this.
I’ve been analyzing and observing people who work hard for more than a decade. It always amazed me why some people working hard got so much farther than others. One of the important reasons is, of course, smart work, but what I’ve found out is that most people who are working smart didn’t learn it. They do it intuitively, it’s part of their character, of who they are and how they were raised. Lucky them.
But what is really their secret that the others don’t know when getting down to work? Let’s look at the main elements of smart work, from the most obvious ones to the most concealed ones that fine tune smart work and can take your success level a step further. Below, you can find 30 elements of smart work. No smart worker has all of them, but the more elements you manage to implement into your working strategy and style, the smarter worker you will become.
- From physical to creative work
- Life management skills
- Time management skills
- Understanding the system and the territory you operate on
- Knowing what you want
- Being in the right industry
- Providing scarce resources to markets with a high demand
- Looking on the bright side of life
- Carefully selecting the right opportunities
- Thinking before acting
- Exploiting the halo effect
- Focusing on creating, delivering and capturing value
- Innovating and being bold
- Having control
- Leveraging other people’s time
- Leveraging other people’s money
- Creating intellectual property or products, and unfair advantages
- Standing on the shoulders of giants
- Being proactive and having emotion control
- Networking and asking for help
- Putting yourself first
- Considering limits
- Hanging out with the best people possible
- Building on your strengths
- Keeping short-term and long-term perspective
- Search, execution and politics
- The right timing
- Know when to cut your losses
- Being agile and adaptable
- Prestige: Giving back to the community
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