Working Harder vs. Working Smarter? Spoiler Alert: Achieving Success Requires Both

We’ve all heard the saying, “work smarter not harder.” While we often shrug this off and go about our day, there is a lot of merit to what is being said. What we don’t hear however is the importance of working smarter doesn’t eliminate the need to work hard.

As a successful entrepreneur and leader in the digital marketing field, I understand the importance of finding a fine balance to ensure utmost productivity. While every day presents a new challenge, by working both smart and hard, I know that I can overcome when an obstacle presents itself. The question is are you working harder or smarter? Spoiler alert: achieving success requires both.

Work Smarter

What does it mean to “work smarter”? Often, the idea of working smarter means utilizing your time wisely so that you’re not redoing, overdoing, or incorrectly doing tasks. Working smart is a vital method to be more productive over the course of the day by delegating and communicating tasks, having a well laid out plan, and sticking to the plan within the time parameters. When you work smart, you’re ensuring that no task requires more than it’s allotted time and therefore can fit more into that parameter.

Work Harder

So, you’ve been working smart and have a little extra time on your hands? It’s time to work a little harder. While working harder gets a bad reputation, when done appropriately it can be the difference between a successful professional and a mediocre one. When you work harder, you’re ensuring that everything on your list is being done and then some.

Being Flexible

Any successful professional knows that being successful comes down to being flexible. Sometimes, you’ll set out with a plan that falls perfectly under the “work smarter” guidelines, but the day requires you to double time it. While new tasks might not fit into working smarter, it definitely falls into working harder and the flexibility to bounce between the two mindsets is a great display of how they can work together.

Setting Yourself Up for Success

Working smarter and harder can be easier said than done. First and foremost, it’s important to take care of yourself. From doing enough exercise, having a routine, and eating correctly throughout the day, having the energy and mental state to be productive is going the be the best platform for how you work throughout the day and set you up for short and long term success.

Check out these 3 Superfoods High-Achievers Should Consider Trying

Routine

Once you know how you function best, it’s important to create a routine from it. If you run best on eight hours of sleep, it’s important to establish a routine to get the full amount of sleep. If you work best after an early morning workout, it’s important to make the trip to the gym. Once you’ve established how to set yourself up for success to work smart and hard, establishing a routine will enable a means to consistently productive days.

Learn more about habits that many successful entrepreneurs live by here.