Here is How you can Work Smart to Achieve Big, Don't Work Hard.
System and flows are the new trends.
Working smarter, not harder is simple advice. But how?
Many people struggle to decide how to spend their time.
I’ve met people who work 12 hours a day starting at 5 a.m. They’re miserable and underpaid.
Not everyone must work harder.
It’s about channeling energy.
People believe hard work pays off. People are shocked.
This post honors hard workers. Work smarter, not harder.
Here are 7 proven hacks you can use to work smarter, not harder.
1. Start every day by Choosing the Most Important Tasks
I thought keeping a schedule, clearing my desk, meditating, reading, and taking cold showers were productive.
Doing these tasks daily made me feel productive, but it was a dopamine rush.
I misjudged these activities’ importance.
Why?
You’re not productive if your actions don’t advance your goals.
Meditation isn’t useless.
Meditation reduces stress and anxiety. But it is not enough.
I’m saying choose activities with the highest ROI (Return On Investment). This is the day’s top priority. Choose tasks that affect your performance and outcomes the most.
I can’t overstate the importance of prioritizing tasks.
Here is how you can do it:
Choose 3 daily tasks to do.
Every day, finish them — no excuses!
2. Hard Tasks First
With your 3 most important tasks chosen, start with the hardest.
Done!
See how you feel afterward.
Hitting Done, or Publish has a huge impact. Do you in believe it?
3. Complete Focus on One at a Time
Daily distractions abound. Coworkers telling jokes, advertising blasting into your eyes and ears, and daily phone notifications. Everything distracts you.
Interruptions kill productivity.
Open Chrome tabs or music while you work. Or maybe you check your phone every 5 minutes to see the latest news or tweets is a huge distraction.
Stick to your plan.
Finish it.
Forget music, Twitter, social media, and coworkers.
As much as possible, ignore pending tasks.
Work smarter, not harder, remember that.
Start with small increments of time if you have trouble focusing.
Start by setting your phone’s stopwatch for 5 minutes.
Five minutes, to start, you can increase it later.
Stop working when the alarm sounds. If you want, continue.
Next time, try 6 minutes. Six becomes seven. Seven turns eight. Etc. What’s the timer’s maximum?
Starting is always hard.
Once you begin, you’ll want to finish it.
4. You need a “Not-To-Do” list.
Simple life rules will give you clarity and reduce mental stress.
People rarely consider stopping bad habits.
Here comes your not-to-do list.
Your Not-to-do list contains actions you must reject to be productive.
Your Not-to-do list uses the world’s strongest word.
No.
You might constantly check your phone. Don’t do this.
You might check social media at work. Don’t do this.
Perhaps you’re overthinking a decision. Do you waste time organizing your desk whenever it gets messy? Yes? Don’t do this.
Consider your Not-to-do list simple LIFE RULES. Knowing what to avoid will help you prioritize your goals.
5. You Need a “Done” List
Ever feel like you accomplished nothing?
Definitely.
I’ve always felt like I wasn’t working enough. I often thought about the day’s events, but it never helped me relax.
A change was needed. I listed my day’s accomplishments. This list helped me sleep better.
How it works:
Add completed tasks to your Done list instead of crossing them off.
Imagine this list growing as you complete tasks.
This simple hack will boost your confidence.
6. Create a Flow
You may not know what it is…
Not to worry now.
Here is an example, of something I do, you will love this.
You may know I have a Weekly newsletter. (yes I do)
You may know I have a Blog.
You may know I have been writing more than two threads per week on Twitter.
You may know I have been posting medium (at least 4 stories per week)
Do you know I am also working 9–5?
I don't think so.
Here is what I am about to say, actually to prove to you.
I bet you can't find it easy to do all these if you don't have a flow.
So, what the hack is the flow?
Here is my Flow of Weekly Newsletter:
I Choose a Topic for Weekly Newsletter on Monday. (I have all my ideas, which I want to write listed already whenever I get an idea I listed it) so, on Monday I just need to choose one.
From the Content Creating Process, you will do research about the topic you choose, and provide links.
Do you think you can do this process in one day?
So, that is why I have allocated days and time for specific tasks of creating the Newsletter.
That is the process of creating the newsletter, but I dont finish from here.
I also repurpose my newsletter, and I have allocated tasks before publishing the newsletter and after publishing the newsletter.
Before Publishing the Newsletter:
Pre Newsletter Tweets and Quote tweets come with Tweet templates.
After Publishing the Newsletter:
I repurpose it as a
- Short Medium Story
- Blog Post
- Twitter Thread
Once I publish the Newsletter I need complete these tasks.
Those are the tasks related to my Newsletter.
You may find it complicated to begin, but once you have planned and established this system, it is easy to complete everyday tasks.
Ticking those boxes makes me motivated and it helps me to stay consistent.
If you are interested to implement this system, you can get it from here.
So, I should say creating these flows makes me be consistent.
Don't limit these flows only to newsletters, you can create them for tweeting, creating blog posts, creating medium posts, and many more.
The idea is to spread your specific tasks before hitting the deadline.
7. Creating a Bad Draf is okay
Let me use my newsletter process once again.
The first drafts are terrible. It’s full of errors, inconsistencies, horrible grammar, and bad English (have I said English isn’t my first language?).
I wouldn’t show you.
After a few tweaks, spelling checks, and modifications, I’d gladly upload it online.
You should have a checklist to complete like this below, this is part of my content-creating process (as I have shown above) You can include as many.
The first attempts are terrible.
Each iteration improves your work.
I am sure things will improve.
Be humble. Do it poorly, then revise until you’re satisfied.
This is the end of 7 Hacks.
Self-discipline is what separates high-performers, I’ve discovered while building my business and improving my lifestyle.
Success doesn’t require spectacular methods.
Self-discipline leads to success, even when you don’t want to.
While self-discipline can help you generate more money, actualize your dreams faster, sustain your momentum, and continuously produce value, you may be tired of failing to complete your duties and goals.
You can have the most amazing life, but without self-discipline, it won’t change.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you learned something important.
Related Posts:
The biggest 10 Mistakes I made on Twitter
My Top 10 ways to Make Money on Twitter
How to Make Money on Twitter, even if you have less than 1k followers
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