Working hard is the most popular way to achieve our goals. Everyone believes that diligence is the key to success. But what if all of this is just an old obsolete technique that is no more applicable?
Yes, if you work smart enough, you can accomplish more in 4 days than most people do in 4 weeks.
- Remember the 80/20 rule
According to the Pareto principle, 80 percent of the results come from just 20 percent of the work. In other words, 20 percent of your customers generate 80 percent of your revenue. But we are talking about tasks here.
Grit and determination on the top 20 percent of tasks yield more profit than 80 percent of the left tasks.Make the top 20 percent tasks your priority and then focus on the rest 80 percent. Also, you have the option to delegate the leftover tasks.
Every time you sit to work, ask yourself this very important question, what is the one task that I would like to finish right now if had to left the town for a week today? Whatever the answer comes up to your mind, that’s the most important task(MIT) at that moment.
Also, start your MIT in the morning, as after lunch your mind will not be as sharp as it was in the morning. You will feel sluggish and have zero willpower after lunch time. That’s why mornings are best to finish the work that moves the needle.
- Big Tasks are intimidating. Small chunks are manageable
Whenever we are overwhelmed, we tend to procrastinate. We all have experienced the tension before starting a big daunting task – we are baffled up on how to proceed. As a result of our apprehension, we leave the work for later time.
And as you know, later never comes. The best way to deal with this is to break your giant sized job into small manageable tasks. Choose the tasks in a way that they can be done in 20 minutes or so. Bonus, setting a timer will increase your focus.
There are great pomodoro apps available on both Google Playstore and Apple store that will help you a lot.
Besides, you can work like the late Kobe Brynt. Work with a laser focus for 2 hours in the morning, then 1 hour in the afternoon, and finish the day with another 1 hour at night. This technique has helped a lot to me. I urge you to give it a try, maybe your body might like this approach.
- Outsource what you don’t like
All of us are master of a handful of things only. We don’t like to do the mediocre level work. That’s why it is wise to focus on those areas where you are the strongest. Leave the rest of the work to a freelancer or someone with mastery in the required field.
Such jobs are usually –writing something, web development, graphic designing or a general virtual assistant. You will be less stressed and better focused.
- Listen to your body’s calling
What time you feel the most focused? When do you have maximum energy? When your creative brain is at its peak? If you don’t know these things then it will be hard to improve your productivity. You need to understand the rhythm of your natural energy. Look for that time of the day when you are on your productivity high? Do your most important tasks to those times when your mind is most alert.
You need to establish routines to make this work. This will make your real world rhythm align to your natural rhythms. Take small breaks to keep your energy consistent throughout the day.
- Distractions drag you down
Don’t think you are a master in one day. You cannot just work anywhere without extreme focus. Distractions hinder your accuracy and make you inefficient. The biggest distraction is your smartphone. Put it out of your sight or reach. The average person cannot leave its phone for more than six minutes.
These ideas are adopted by many successful businessmen and entrepreneurs. Anyone can be a master with some determination.
