How to Actually Work Smarter
For overworked ICs and managers who want to reclaim their time without lowering their standards
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“Work smarter, not harder” sounds useful because it is impossible to disagree with.
It is also useless on its own.
It tells you the result to want, but not the decisions required to get there.
If it were that simple, everyone would do it. But defining what “working smarter” actually is and then doing it is where things get challenging.
Most overworked people do not have an effort problem.
They have a selection problem.
They are working hard on too many things because they have not decided which work deserves more effort, less effort, or none at all.
The good news is that working smarter is not a personality trait.
It is a skill.
And like any skill, it can be learned, practiced, and improved.
First, Accept That You Can’t Do Everything
The first step in working smarter is not a tactic or a “hack,” it is accepting an uncomfortable truth.
Instead of trying to do everything to perfection, it is recognizing that this is impossible, and that trying to do it ensures that you never work as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Early in your career, it sometimes feels possible to do it all. You answer every email, attend every meeting, volunteer for every project, and somehow still finish your work.
But as your responsibilities grow, this stops being attainable, and it certainly is not sustainable. There will always be more work than you can get done.
So, start with the mantra:
“I can’t do it all.”
This will help you start deciding what truly matters (which is the most important part of working “smarter”).
Saying “No” Is About Accepting Risk
Once you have accepted that you can’t do it all, you need to prioritize.
When prioritizing, many people make the mistake of still trying to “do it all,” but simply organizing it better (e.g. “If it appears on a pretty list or in a nice time box, I can get it all done…”).
Again, this is not the case.
True prioritization is deciding what to say “no” to (people avoid this because saying “no” is inherently risky).
You run the risk of pissing people off if you say no to what they think is important, and you run the risk of choosing wrong. You might prioritize incorrectly and waste time and resources on the wrong task.
However, truly effective prioritization requires you to accept this risk.
This risk is what stops people from choosing to work smarter.
The reason so many people simply work harder (instead of smarter) is that working harder postpones difficult decisions.
You never have to tell someone no, and you never have to risk choosing incorrectly, but you are ensuring that you never focus fully on what matters most.
Risk is the cost of good judgment.
The alternative is trying to do everything equally, without judgment.
This always means that nothing receives your best effort.
Understand The Problem Before You Solve It
One of the fastest ways to improve your judgment and work smarter is to stop asking only: “What am I supposed to do?”
Instead, ask:
“What outcome are we trying to create?”
“What decision will this work help us make?”
“Is the requested deliverable the goal, or is it one possible way of reaching the goal?”
When you understand the objective behind a task, you discover a better way to achieve it.
So, instead of just bending your work to fit the process you have been handed, you start optimizing for the outcome the business actually wants.
Finding a better way to get the business what they want is the epitome of working smarter, not harder.
Organizations place more value on people who solve the underlying problem than on those who merely complete the assigned task.