Working hard vs working smart

I’m ditching my motto this year. It’s a motto I’ve believed in for a long time. But I don’t believe it anymore.

There is always someone willing to work harder than you. Someone who isn’t taking breaks. Someone who will do whatever it takes to succeed. Be that someone.

Let me clarify. I do believe there is always someone willing to work harder than you. What I don’t believe is that working your ass off without taking any breaks unequivocally leads to success. Just because you get to the office earlier, stay later, write longer blog posts, work more weekend hours, spend your evenings on Facebook and Twitter commenting on as many posts as you can…does not necessarily mean that you are more likely to succeed. That’s why I’m adopting a new motto this year.

Work just as smart as you work hard. It’s not how much you do that defines success, but what you do. 

I didn’t like how much time I spent working last year at times. But more importantly, I spent too much time doing “work” I didn’t need to be doing at times I didn’t need to be doing it.

I am as big a fan of social media as you’ll find anywhere. But in 2012, where you won’t find is me Facebooking and tweeting aimlessly at night or during the day when I could be knocking out client work or spending time with my family.

I am a huge fan of going the extra mile for clients. But you can go the extra mile between 9-5 or whatever night and weekend hours you decide to put in. Maybe it’s just me, but I think it’s natural to get competitive about how much time we give to our jobs. But how much are we getting in return? And how is it affecting our health and happiness?

So, old motto out. New motto in. And I’m starting here. With a less-than-400-word blog post (Thanks for the advice, Shelly Kramer!). Who was I trying to impress with those 800-word novels anyway? Not very smart. Not very smart at all.

Have any good examples of “working smart” vs “working hard?”

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