There are many arms to my business life. Sometimes it can catch up on me and I don’t know where to even begin. There are areas of the business world which are more difficult than others and sometimes the thought of doing those just fill me with dread. Does this sound familiar? Recently I’ve started to figure out ways to work smarter not harder.
Work You Love
Whilst many people love their work life, not every aspect of your work life can be something you adore. Everyone has an element of the working day they probably dread. It could be month end, or doing a certain job on a machine. Maybe it’s working with a specific person or having a meeting with a boss. Whatever it is, focus on the area of your job that you love and know that this time that you don’t like shall soon pass.
Work Smarter Not Harder
I’ve recently found that a couple of jobs for some clients are hard to do at home. Working from home has many benefits or freedom and flexibility but it’s more difficult than some folk think. I find distractions everywhere. Another cup of tea to make. The washing to put on, then put in the dryer or hang on the line. Suddenly it’s lunch time and I can enjoy a sandwich in front of a box set, which then becomes two episodes instead of one. See what I mean? It’s hard to stay focused. This is why I’ve started going to a local cafe on Tuesdays. I have about 90 minutes there, enjoy the walk to get there, speak to the cafe owner and anyone else in there that morning. I have a brew, some toast and use their wifi to nail a bit of work. This not only gets the work done, it gets me out, refreshes me and gives me a reason to leave the house that day. That is smarter and it promotes good work.
Time Management Training
Perhaps you find it hard to manage your time. I think everyone probably does. We live in a busy, no, hectic world! There’s a lot of work to do and not enough hours to do it. But we’re so often busy doing nothing. Daydreaming. Scrolling. Talking the day away. Implementing some time management training is definitely a good thing. I don’t mean that you have to invest in time management training software for your computer, that might be more hassle than it’s worth. Simply looking at your day and dividing it into time blocks (which isn’t the same thing as timeboxing) in which you can achieve your work is key. This can help you to work smarter not harder.
Do The Work
As you can see, it’s not always easy to work smarter but it certainly helps you to achieve more. Maybe the cafe isn’t for you because your work doesn’t allow you to do that. Perhaps the job you have isn’t somewhere you want to be. Look at your work life and see what needs to change to make you better, happier and sometimes healthier. It’s so often the little things that make a big difference. Shorter days, flexible hours, working with people you get along with. Maybe even taking time to volunteer or do things that you love. Nothing is perfect but if you can find ways to make things better, you can work smarter not harder.
