Productive Tips to Help You Work Smarter, Not Harder

All our lives we’ve been told to work harder if we want to succeed in life. Nothing wrong with that. What if you could get more done in less time if you worked smarter not harder? Use these productive tips to help you work smarter, not harder to succeed in life and have more time for the other things in your life.

Technology has made many things easier and less time-consuming. There are many devices, gadgets, and mediums that provide speed, accuracy, and real time directives to work smarter, not harder. An example; Spellcheck has been one of those tools that help with spelling and grammatical errors which is a huge time-saver.

Productive tips to work smarter:

1. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Ask if it has been done before and find out how they did it. This can be a big-time saver. Most tasks have been done before. Find out how and if there is a template or some other time saving tool you can use to complete the task.
2. Avoid Perfectionism. We all want to do a good job on the tasks we are working on. There is nothing wrong with having high standards. And yet, sometimes we can get stuck in the weeds about making something perfect when in reality there is no such thing as perfect. Come up with ways of catching yourself if you are agonizing over a task and spending too much time on it.
3. Pace yourself. Create a to-do list at the beginning of the day. This allows you time to process what needs to be done and determine your best options or alternatives. Analyze the project. See if you can reach the same result with fewer steps. Refer back to that to-do list throughout the day to keep yourself focused and on task.
4. Delegate. Identify people who perform certain tasks better than you. Ask for their help. Give them clear instructions on what you want to achieve, and then allow them to use their initiative and creativity. When you can, passing off routine and mundane chores will still get the job done well while freeing you up to deal with more important tasks.
5. Ask the right questions. When you are being assigned the task, make sure you are clear on what needs to be done, the timeline, and when the task is due. This will save you time in the long run because you won’t need to get clarifications later because you asked the right questions before beginning the project.

Avoid being overworked and overwhelmed. Use these tips to increase your productivity while saving time. There is nothing wrong with working smarter, not harder. Enjoy peak performance by prioritizing your tasks and employing proven tools, strategies, and technologies to help you achieve success and personal satisfaction on a job well done.

If you would like help implementing these strategies, please reach out.