Work smartly rather than just hard

Have you realised over the two year period of Covid-19, almost everything has changed. Invest in your knowledge upgradation and most importantly, pick your battles wisely. You have probably heard the expression add fuel to the fire. Well, I think it applies here. Those who work the smartest, usually work very hard as well, or at least used to. There is a simple reason for this. You can learn what works more quickly if you also work hard. A simple example. Let’s say you are new to the world of online. You work really hard creating loads of content and do Facebook Ads or other techniques.

Eventually, you will stumble on what works. Once you know what works, you can double down on that ad with the best ROI. Of course, you might need to keep reading and check how the algorithm changes, but you get my point. What is more, people who worked hard in the past, are more likely to have resources to outsource, to begin with. Your conscientiousness and even your spouses' conscientiousness can impact your income as per the chart below - which is another reason to pick your marriage partner wisely but that is another topic!

So, the people who work smartest, often are hard workers, but they merely want to focus on working hard on the right things. I have seldom met a lazy person who is very productive. I have met many hard and smart workers who beat those who merely work hard. I have also met people who have “slowed down” and “taken it easy” after more than a decade of hard work, aided by smart work: Anyway here are some tips for you to follow.

Leverage your time. If you read a book when you are young you have 50 years to make money from it. If you do it at 65, you have less time. The same is true of compounded investment returns. Investing your 200, Euros or Pounds a month can be enough to become a millionaire if you start very early. If you start at 55, you need to invest a lot. Leverage technology and other people. We all get tired. Everybody needs sleep. Nobody can work 24 hours a day. What we can do, however, is buy time, either by employing people or using technology to do those basic functions. Take business and old-fashioned techniques. How many cold calls or doors can you know on? 300 a day? With technology, it is possible to 100x that at least.

Negotiate. The last point is more relevant for business owners. For salaried employees, asking for a pay rise takes a few seconds and can make you a lot. Of course, people can say no, but if you get into the habit of asking in the right way, you will get some breaks. Surround yourself with the right people. Spending an hour having a coffee with a negative and toxic person takes the same amount of time as spending that one hour with a positive person who wants the best for you, and can give you good tips. The best way to do this is to seek out those you admire in your industry and spend more time with them. Surround yourself with people you want to be like.

Take care of your health. Eating more healthily and exercising can improve concentration, happiness, and end outcomes. Simple things like waking up earlier, or later, depending on what works for you, can make all the difference. Focus on the 80/20, 64/4 and 50/1 rules. 80% of your results will come from 20% of your actions. Sometimes as much as 50% of your results will come from 1% of your actions. Think about business. Some of those huge deals can make or break a year. The same is true when it comes to health. One right decision can make all the difference

Think hard. Have you ever noticed that you come up with good ideas whilst on holiday or taking a shower? Sometimes when your brain is relaxed, you can think more clearly. Thinking hard, and reading a lot, can be just as important as traditional hard work IF you implement ideas. Great ideas are useless in and of themselves. Change your residency. We live in an online and digital world. More people can work from home. Changing your residency can reduce your taxes and cost of living, meaning that your net and disposable income can go through the roof. Of course, this does depend on your nationality and many things. For Americans, unlike most other nationalities, people need to also renounce citizenship. If that sounds too adventurous, more within your own country.

Don’t listen to society. Many people work hard on the wrong things. Get married by 30, have a house by 32, and so on. Learning to say no to society's expectations can make a huge difference. Of course, if these things would make you happy, go for it, but don’t do it just because other people are. Reduce toxic habits. I spoke about toxic people. However, toxic habits like gambling, drugs, and alcohol are usually negative if taken to excess. If you can moderate it, it might not affect productivity. If you can’t, reduce to zero over time.

Also, don’t give up. Many people make positive changes, but then stop if they don’t see quick returns. Getting clear on priorities. When a farmer wants crops, he doesn’t just buy them. He plants them and waits. He knows that during spring you plant. That during summer you grow. Finally during autumn, you harvest. He gets clear on all of these priorities and by winter he has food. If he tried to rush and did everything in spring, he would only be pulling up crops that aren’t ready yet. Get clear on the priorities, and you’ll get what you want. Cheers!