RE-CONCEPTUALIZING HARD WORK: EMBRACING SMART WORK FOR REVOLUTIONARY PRODUCTIVITY.

My hot take: By the next two decades, the traditional hardworking guy will not be employable and might become professionally irrelevant if care is not taken. ?

Source; I no fit lie you bro.

On a more serious note now, the world is experiencing a shift in the description of what a “hardworking guy” is. The traditional hardworking guy is fast becoming an underachieving clueless buffoon who will one day suddenly die of stress. ???

Don’t get me wrong, there is no better or a more reliable pathway to success than hard work. This has been the case for centuries and this will continue to be the case. However, it is time to reconsider our understanding of hard work. We vilify smart-work as cutting corners, taking shortcuts, or even being lazy rather than as prioritizing efficiency and strategy over sluggish manual labour. This misconception has led to a society that values long hours and a lacks of work-life balance at the expense of effectiveness and productivity.

There is probably nothing about working smart that you already don’t know. My article is not a pontification of what working smart is, it is a call for a change of mindset about work. A new mindset to working hard is dislodging the compunction that comes with skipping steps or taking shortcuts to achieve results in the most efficient way possible. Working smart means using tools, processes, and techniques to streamline processes, optimize resources, and achieve results efficiently. It means focusing on output rather than input, quality rather than quantity, impact rather than effort, and efficiency and productivity rather than endurance and sacrifice. It means using technology and innovative solutions to get the job done in less time and with less effort. By embracing smart work, we can revolutionize the way we approach our work lives and achieve even greater success.

Without mincing words, with the right skill, knowledge and training, working hard can be easily replaced by machine labour. Talking about working smart, I recently found an AI app that summarizes key points in a research paper and helps you brainstorm ideas (Casper) and another one that helps you find common themes across multiple research papers in minutes (Lateral- you can check it out). As an academic writer, I finished more essays in shorter time and with better efficiency (this was high-key a crazy competitive edge for me at the time).

Check any organization, smart workers are invaluable assets. In fact we get slightly jealous of them because we perhaps work harder than them. They work smarter than us, and that sometimes makes all the difference. Since they waste less time doing machine labour and rather focus on skills that cannot be emulated by AI. They are the ones who bring a fresh perspective, identify opportunities for improvement, and innovate new products and services. Hard workers, on the other hand, are primarily focused on completing tasks and may struggle to see the bigger picture.

Smart workers possess a range of skills that enable them to achieve results in the most efficient way possible. These include good communication, analytical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and solid teamwork. They also actively seek to learn new techniques, develop their expertise, and embrace new technologies, making them more adaptable and versatile.

If you ever desire a healthy work-life balance and a life of fluid creativity, then choose working smart over working hard. Hard workers who believe in the idea of "working around the clock" end up neglecting their personal lives, which can lead to burnout and exhaustion. By contrast, those who work smart can manage their time more efficiently, allowing them to balance work, family, and social life. The happier and less exhausted you are, the more useful you are to yourself and the society. ?

In conclusion, working smart over working hard should be prioritized. Smart workers are not lazy; they are simply efficient and strategic in their approach. They save time, resources and lead to increased productivity and profitability. Ask yourself, what is the fastest and most efficient way to something done? That’s smart work.

P.S: The skeleton of this work was generated by ChatGPT, my smart work was adding context, evocativeness and life to it. ?

DISCLAIMER: Please when I talk about working smart, I am not talking about fraud, let us be guided.

Quick one: Does the idea of smart work only favour smart people? Share your thoughts in the comment.?