5 tips to work smarter right away
"If only I had more time and energy.""If I finally have time left later then..." (and you have been repeating this to yourself for several years) "Today I again failed to get done what I wanted to get done."
Do these statements or thoughts sound familiar to you? And is that why you try to do a lot but your life doesn't really improve? Chances are you are ambitious and have many interests. The risk is that this makes you work harder and harder. But that only makes everything worse.... In this article you will read what smarter work is and find 5 tips to apply smarter work immediately.
After all, being busy is not the same as being productive. It's time to start working smarter.
Because, whether you want to spend more time and energy on your career or on your personal life: the solution is really never in working harder and pushing harder, but rather in working smarter.
Working smarter, what is that?
Working smarter means taking control of your energy and task distribution. That you no longer let yourself be led by the issues of the day. The result is the feeling of being more in control, a better work-life balance and more job satisfaction.
Working smarter is actually a lifestyle. Many small changes together make a big impact. In this article you will read the 5 tips you can apply immediately to work smarter!
1. Start the day with your most important task, which is working smarter
Sometimes in a day you have so many different things on your mind and so many things intertwined that at the end of the day you don't feel fulfilled at all. Rather rushed because after a busy day you feel like you are still behind schedule. Recognizable? To create more focus it is therefore good to think about what task you really want to have done. Start there first. At least before you open your mail (you can read more about that in point 4). Even if you only work on it for an hour, it will create a feeling of pride and energy for the rest of the day. This proud feeling easily converts you into more energy.
2. Declare breaks a sanctuary
This tip may feel very contradictory. Working smarter is about working, not pausing, right? Because after all, you have more to do's than you care about so you don't have time to slack off too, right? Think again! It's just how you look at it. After all, time and productivity don't run linearly together. Because what you need in the time you have is: energy! Your brain needs the right amount of in and out to be productive. Therefore, declare your break a sanctuary and take a real break every day. Not enough time? Read here how to make the most of your break retrieves.
Bonus Tip: In addition to regular lunch breaks, regularly take a few minutes to lounge, stare outside, walk and step away from your tasks. Allowing your brain to "air out" will give you more space when you get back to work!See also this chart to illustrate the difference between going on continuously (and then crashing) and working smarter by alternating focus and relaxation.
3. Get up without snoozing
Scientists showed in 2020 that snoozing the alarm clock can have major negative consequences.[1] The snooze button, they noted, attacks the autonomic nervous system, resulting in the increase of the stress hormone cortisol. It can even cause depression. Getting up immediately, on the other hand, boosts your willpower, creates the right mindset and also activates all the initial energy to make a success of your day. Working smarter therefore really starts with the beginning of your day.
"At the end of the day, you don't want to be known as someone who responds to his mail so nicely and quickly."
4. Never start your day with your e-mail
You've already read it: you want to start your day with the things that are important to you. Not with the things that are important to someone else. Management guru Remco Claassen describes it nicely in his presentations, "If you don't draw a plan for yourself, you become part of someone else's plan." Start with your best energy on a project that is important to you. At the end of the day, you don't want to be known as someone who is so nice and quick to respond to his e-mail. Besides, plenty of colleagues have already mastered that. Better to be recognized for getting things done. Your business.
5. Working smarter is also about: giving compliments
Human connection in a day is very important for your energy level. Has another person influenced you positively or are you grateful for something someone has done? If so, let him or her know. It doesn't have to cost a lot. The smallest attentions can have the biggest impact. Not only for the recipient, but also for the giver. For example, research firm McKinsey found that compliments motivate more than monetary rewards,[2] so giving compliments is definitely recommended when leading a team. Research from Maastricht University and Erasmus University shows that when the best employee receives compliments, other colleagues are also triggered to work harder. People also want to feel that appreciation and mirror the rewarded behavior. As a result, in departments where employees are complimented enough, productivity goes up by at least 5 to 7 percent.[3] That's what we call working smarter.
[1] Janes, M., & Banissy, M. (s.d.). The refuse to snooze report. Amazonaws. Accessed March 4, 2021, from https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/evesleep/assets/genesis/landing_pages/refuse-to-snooze/the-refuse-to-snooze-report-FINALpdf.pdf
[2] Dewhurst, M., Guthridge, M., & Mohr, E. (2018, Feb. 16). Motivating people: Getting beyond money. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/motivating-people-getting-beyond-money
[3] Bradler, C., Dur, R., Neckermann, S., & Non, A. (2016). Employee recognition and performance: A field experiment. Management Science, 62(11), 3085-3099.
