Do Not Work Hard. Work Smart and Enhance Your Productivity.

While we all are trying to bring out our best productivity by working too hard, we usually miss the fact that the quality of productivity often suffers in that case and we might ultimately end up wasting our hard efforts. Staying busy does not account for success.

You might have heard the age-old proverb - ‘Work Smarter, Not Harder’. You will be surprised to know that it actually stands pretty true. There is a difference between humans and machines (at least till we have some high level artificial intelligence). While machines operate robotically, we have a mind of our own to analyze things and take the more efficient approach.

When we talk about time management, we should remember that assigning ourselves more work in a limited time does not count. It’s all about simplifying your work schedule intelligently and thinking of ways how a particular task can be completed faster without creating unnecessary burdens on your shoulders.

From my personal experience the following guidelines can help you manage your time in an efficient manner and certainly explain you why working smart is better than working hard:

1) Adequate sleep hours are necessary.
You might be confused why an article meant for time management is beginning with the mention of sleep. However, this is the biggest mistake we make. Even if you consult a specialist, he will suggest you to complete you 6 - 8 hours of sleep everyday if you want your mind and body to function properly. The actual required hours may vary from person to person and you need to listen to your body to analyze the requirement. Sacrificing sleep to work more is never wise. A tired mind is not able to function efficiently.

2) Check out the most important task as a priority.
Get it done with as soon as you can. In your everyday schedule, you will definitely find a couple or more tasks that are more important than the others are. Once you finish with them, you will be relieved of a major burden and you’ll work freely on the other tasks, which in fact will increase your productivity.

3) Saying ‘yes’ to everything is foolishness.
I’m not promoting ‘no’ here. But there should be a limit to how many tasks you accept. Making too many commitments can often lead you to troubles. You should analyze the spare time you have before accepting new opportunities. If you think any new commitment can make your other work suffer, you must say no.

4) Being a human, we definitely need a break.
Jumping from one task to another without giving our minds a hint of rejuvenation deviates you from focusing. You can apply this simple practice right now to your work procedure. You’ll definitely feel the difference. This short break can be a short walk in the park, a closed-eyes-body-relaxation, meditation or indulging in other mind clearing exercises.

5) Avoid Procrastination.
You cannot simply put off your today’s task to tomorrow. Always remember that tomorrow comes along with its own tasks and all your work is only going to pile up till the saturation point eventually. Get an early start on the things and you will find that it is actually much better than procrastinating.

6) Being a perfectionist might not be a good idea.
The only sad thing about being a perfectionist is that you spend a lot more time than it is required to finish a task. What you need to do is skip the unimportant details. Sometimes, diving into too many details might not be required. Scrutinize the necessities and work accordingly.

7) Stay away from the social media.
That stands true even for your break intervals between work. We often fail to acknowledge how much time we waste on the social media sites. It is addictive and definitely alluring way to move out of the reality, but remember that you might be wasting the crucial hours of your work schedule. You can do whatever you want once you are finished working.

8) Find peace.
The man today is constantly on the move. We indulge ourselves into one thing or the other every single second of our lives except when we sleep. This makes us prone to the work anxiety. Take a break from all the rush and find the moments of stillness where you’re doing nothing but relaxing.

9) Eat healthy and stay healthy.
You must have a healthy diet. Make sure you are consuming the required amount of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients every day. We have already talked about getting enough sleep and the next thing is to exercise. All of this when combined, results in high energy levels that offer you a clear and sharp mind.

10) Enjoy your work.
Basically, if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, you can never bring out your best caliber. If you force too many deadlines for yourself, the whole essence of working is lost amidst the hustle-bustle. Your life should be enjoyable even while you’re working otherwise, you will soon fall out of interest. This is the reason why you are always asked to embrace your passions and not follow the money or the crowd.