We all want to get more done, but most of us feel like we don't have the time to do it.
With work, family, and friends pulling you in different directions every day, how can you possibly prioritise your work without letting the rest of your life fall by the wayside?
Often we resort to working harder as we believe this is the only way we could possibly get more done and be more productive, after all the 'hustle' culture I so prevalent nowadays.
This usually leads to burn out and unhappiness.
If you want to be more productive and get more done and enjoy the process then working smarter not harder may be the answer.
So here are my 5 tips to work smarter not harder.
Most Important Tasks
Every week I usually outline 3 of the Most Important Tasks I need to focus on in that week. I can then break down those MIT's into further tasks that I need to do on a daily basis.
These MIT's then act as my guiding posts throughout the day and week, so any time I deviate from them or start doing other tasks I can always recalibrate and get back on track pretty quickly.
Because of this, I can immediately spot if a task I am doing is important or me procrastinating to get out of doing the tasks that are most important.
When you set your MIT's for the day, week and month this allows you to work smarter because you are spending less time on 'busy work' that makes you feel productive when it's actually not.
Multitasking Is A Myth
I have spoken about this in many videos before but if you want to work smarter then do not multitask.
There's a productivity law known as Carlson's Law which states that:
All interrupted work is less effective and takes more time than un-interrupted work.
So when you switch from one project to another or one task to another, there is time lost during this switching process. Each time you switch you need to re-engage with the task, refocus and get back into a rhythm, and stop your mind from drifting into other things.
This context switching causes you to lose focus as well as valuable time that you could otherwise use to work smarter and get through a task quicker.
If you want to be more productive then stick to one task at a time, and only move on to the next once you have completed one. Focus is the key.
Time Blocks
A strategy I use which I find extremely effective is the Pomodoro Technique.
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management system that utilises time blocks as well as a timer. The technique consists of working in 25-minute work blocks and taking a 5-minute break after each block.
You focus and work through these 25-minute blocks, take a 5 minute break and then repeat the cycle as many times as you want.
The whole premise behind this technique is that you will be more productive during the high focus 25-minute slot and then be allowed to take a break rather than doing long work sessions, which can tire you out.
Often when we work continuously for a long period of time we end up procrastinating and losing focus, so even though we may have worked for 3 hours straight, we may have only been productive for 30 minutes of that time and the rest was just busy work or procrastination.
The Pomodoro Technique allows you to focus for a set amount of time on one task and then take a break to relax your mind before returning to the deep focus stage once again.
Set Short Deadlines
Setting shorter windows for tasks to be completed can greatly help in working smarter rather than harder.
Parkinson's Law states that:
Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
Which simply means that if you give yourself 1 week to complete a task, it will take 1 week, if you give yourself 2 weeks it will take you 2 weeks. So basically the amount of time you give yourself that task will expand to fill that time.
Why is this important?
The reason why it's important is because if you want to be more productive then give yourself a shorter deadline to add some pressure and get the task done quicker.
You don't want the task to creep unnecessarily and expand and become more complicated that it needs to be.
This is why setting shorter deadlines can be important because often we give a task too much time when in fact it would take less time to complete it and get it over and done with.
This takes away time from other things we could be doing.
Batch Your Tasks
This is related to the previous tip I mentioned about multitasking.
When you have lots of different tasks to do throughout the day and you are switching from one to another this can tire you out.
So to work smarter just like batch cooking your meals we can batch our tasks together to make sure we are only working on related tasks at one time.
When you batch or theme your work sessions you can focus on one project or task rather than shifting your focus frequently. You can even set "theme" days so let's say if you are running a blog then you can have a day of idea generation and keyword research, so all you do on that day will be finding ideas for blog posts.
Then you may have a day of writing, where all you do is write out your blog posts. That's it.
Once you focus on one part of the task you don't have to keep switching and you're more likely to reach a flow state and get more done.