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Being able to work smart instead of hard and achieve success is a dream for everyone. Many people link success to hard work, which often means working harder and putting in more effort. Other people believe that success comes with smarter work where you are able to save your time by working less and doing more, which is also known as efficiency.
The Origins of Working Smart
The concept of working smart originated in the 1930s by Allen F. Morgenstern, an industrial engineer who created a program that aimed to develop people’s ability to produce more with less effort. Since then, this concept has been used as the key to achieving results.
The Conflicting Viewpoints on Working Smart vs. Working Hard
Hard work is usually associated with more time and effort. Several studies were also done to test the effect of working hours on productivity. In 2018, an article was published showing the results of several studies that showed that productivity dramatically decreases with longer work hours, and completely drops off once people reach 55 hours of work a week. Even someone working 70 hours in a week achieves no more than another working 15 fewer hours on average. Those studies support the concept of working less and still doing more, which is smart work.
However, the truth is that working efficiently doesn’t necessarily imply exerting less effort, and smart work is not only related to the number of hours. The concept of smart work implies your ability to leverage your working hours and prioritize the tasks you have, finding out better and quicker methods for completing tasks using available tools, technologies, and strategies to find better and faster ways to accomplish tasks.
A common fear associated with the work-smart concept is that it can get people to stop working hard and promote laziness.
Does Calling for Smart Work Inspire Laziness?
Laziness is often associated with a lack of desire or willingness to exert effort. It can also be called procrastination, where you avoid responsibilities and choose to delay the tasks you have, even if this means you will be doing nothing.
Warren Buffett says, “You’re looking for three things, generally, in a person. Intelligence, energy, and integrity.” The weird thing is that intelligence and being smart can also be said about a lazy person.
The Surprising Link Between Intelligence and Laziness
In 2015, in the Journal of Health Psychology, a study was published suggesting that less physically active individuals, who are often labeled as lazy, may be smarter than those who are constantly active. Based on this study, the reason was that people with a high IQ tend to get bored less easily, leading them to spend more time engaged in thought.
Maybe this was the reason for Bill Gates’ quote, “I always choose a lazy person to do a hard job, because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” This point of view, if it was truly said by Bill Gates, implies that a lazy person is smart and will always find smarter ways to do things and save his time and effort.
Also in a TED talk in 2023, Adriana Girdler, one of Canada’s foremost business productivity and project management specialists, talked about being “smart lazy.” She mentioned that by focusing our attention on things that really matter, we’re laying the groundwork for maximum output with minimum effort.
The Role of AI in Working Smarter
AI allows us to get work done more quickly, so if smart means less time, we can consider that it makes people smarter. But on the other hand, AI may impact thinking and creativity, making people more reliant on AI tools for ideas. Since smart means more quickly and more efficiently, it can also hinder smart work.
A study among university students in Pakistan and China examined the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on laziness, and data findings showed that AI significantly makes humans lazy. Again, as mentioned above, some experts find that being lazy has its own benefits.
Lessons from Successful Entrepreneurs
Many professionals and business owners believe that running a successful business requires a combination of both smart and hard work. Each person has his own definition of what smart work means and what hard work implies, so let’s check out some insights.
Insights from Industry Experts
Indian entrepreneur and business coach Rajiv Talreja emphasizes that building a business demands long hours and hard work, stating that entrepreneurship is physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, said that “nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week,” and he mentioned that he worked 120-hour weeks. On Twitter (X), he claimed that 80 to 100 hours per week are necessary to change the world.
Balancing Smart and Hard Work
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, mentioned that people should work hard, smart, and long, saying, “When I interview people, I tell them, you can work long, hard, or smart, but at Amazon.com, you can’t choose two out of three.'”
The 80/20 Rule: Working Smarter and Maximizing Efficiency
The 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, suggests that 80% of the results come from 20% of the efforts. By focusing on the most critical tasks and eliminating time-wasting activities, individuals can achieve greater productivity and success. This rule is a great way to do smart work.
Other Tips for Working Smarter
Learn to delegate tasks: When you learn to delegate and trust others, this frees up your time. Tim Ferriss, the author of the best-selling book, “The 4-Hour Workweek,” talked about doing more in less time. He mentions that by eliminating distractions and outsourcing certain aspects of your life, you can reduce your work time to four hours a week.
Avoid Unproductive Activities: Identify and minimize unproductive activities such as excessive meetings and concentrate on tasks that drive real results.
Prioritize Your Tasks: Set the key tasks that align with your goals based on importance and urgency, and focus on completing them efficiently. This helps you maintain clarity and prevents you from getting overwhelmed.
Prioritize Rest and Recharging: Recognize the importance of rest and recharging and avoid burnout by scheduling regular breaks to achieve optimal productivity.
Leverage technology and Automation Tools: Adopt a smart-lazy mindset where you aim to achieve maximum results with minimal effort. You can automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks.
By implementing these tips, you can work smarter, saving your time while increasing your productivity.
The Balance Between Smart and Hard Work
The concept of working smart instead of hard is not about avoiding exerting effort and working long hours whenever needed. It emphasizes finding efficient ways to accomplish tasks and using the tools that can help you. Also, smart work comes from experience, which beats hard work. With time, you become smarter, so you can do more in fewer hours, and the same task that took you days with more experience gained can take you hours. Learning to delegate and automate is very beneficial and is part of the growth mindset.
