In order to maintain a competitive edge; today’s fast paced and technology driven workplace requires smart employees. The term smart is often referred to as those with highly intelligent, but that is not really when it comes to the global workplace. There is one major difference between a smart employee and one who simply has a high intelligence quotient. An employee with a high IQ is able to comprehend, analyse, process and reproduce information. While a smart employee has these skills too, he also possesses a sophisticated wisdom and common sense that no textbook or training can teach, including wisdom that is derived from his life experience.

"Work smarter, not harder" is an age-old saying.

Many people, when faced with six dozen tasks at a time, decide to work longer hours and push themselves to the point of exhaustion to get things done. However, this really isn’t the best way to go about it. Instead, it’s time to look at how to work smarter and learn more effective ways to work. Once you master the concept, the rest of your working life will be easier. There are simple techniques that you can employ to save steps and boredom while performing almost any task.

Working smarter and not harder involves better managing your time, knowing what needs to get done and when, and utilizing tools that will keep you on track. Here are a few tips to help you be a smart worker.

Stop Multitasking

The very first thing to be avoided if you are planning to be smart at your work is multitasking. Multitasking is simply impossible for us to truly focus on multiple tasks that require real brainpower. We may feel like we are successfully managing all of these moving pieces, but switching between multiple tasks makes it harder to get tasks fully completed.

So, the next time you have the urge to multitask, stop. Take a breath and then go back to focus on the one thing that needs to get done right now. Once that's done, then you can move on to something else.

Prioritise

Set yourself up for success prioritising your work. Make a list of all the work based on their importance. You should keep a checklist and follow it in order. By following the list, you can be more productive by doing the most important or impactful thing first every day and be sure it gets done.

You start work on the big, intense projects first, and work on smaller tasks that don't have deadlines as you go through the day. Knocking off your most important tasks first make it surprisingly more fun to finish other work in the afternoon, since the stress of today's deadlines is already dealt with.

Improve Your Time Management Skills

If you have too much to do, and too little time to do it, then it is essential to prioritise and reduce the number of activities you do each day. For example, when setting up a top priority task, you need to switch off your phone and ignore your email so that you can focus on one task at a time.

Time management doesn’t have to be complicated, but it needs to be consistent. Work expands to fill the time available for its completion. To increase productivity and manage your time better, spend time on your biggest priorities and cut out everything else.

Look for short cuts

This does not mean taking the easiest method for the sake of it or being lazy. Keep a format for those common mails and messages which could save your time. You might have to make minor edits, but the bulk of it will already be written.

Using shortcuts on the keyboard is another time saver and can speed up your work. There are so many of these. If you make the effort to learn them, they really can be helpful and save you time in the long run.

Periodic breaks

Even at the office, you need to allow time for your mind to regroup and recharge. You need to protect your health and the integrity of your job. Working yourself to a frazzle constantly makes you prone to mistakes. Push yourself hard for the first 50 minutes of every hour and then reward yourself with a 10-minute break.

Focus on progress, not perfection

You can increase productivity and get more done when you focus on progress, not perfection. You can waste time trying to make everything perfect. Perfectionism can cause you to work harder, not smarter by constantly making perfect things that could be done in half the time.

To avoid perfectionism, focus on making progress towards your goals instead. Do the work to the best of your ability and move on. Alternatively, do the first part of a project that you’re great at and find other people to work with you on the rest.

Learn to say ‘No’ more often

People waste valuable time on activities that are not essential and that they’re simply not very good at. Rather than working harder and having a long to-do list, start working smarter by creating a list of activities that only you should do. When you utilise capabilities, you can achieve faster results in less time.

Focus more on the work that you actually enjoy doing. When you do, you'll feel more fulfilled, inspired, challenged, and productive.

Track your time and productivity

Reviewing your progress often will help you identify what is working and what is not. Also, take note of what you struggled with. Focusing on achieving a specific result helps you work smarter and increases productivity. It also helps you leverage time because you become fully focused on the result.

Get automated with productivity tools

If you’re looking to work smarter, it is well worth downloading all the useful tools and apps that can boost your productivity. Find out applications that can help you to be more productive; download and install whatever fits your needs.

These tools can help keep you focused, organize your tasks, and eliminate distractions from your workspace. Being productive has never been so easy.

Create time deadlines

When you set impossible deadlines and have long to-do lists, it forces you to work harder, and longer. If you want to work smarter, be realistic about the deadline required for each task. To be more productive, give yourself extra time to complete the work in. It's a huge relief not to be struggling to meet deadlines at the last minute anymore.

Keep yourself updated

Keep up to date on trends and developments. When an opportunity arises, you will be the best equipped to seize it because you have never stopped learning. This is a great way to work smarter.

Cut down your To-Do list

A smaller to-do list is less daunting and more achievable. There's nothing wrong with having a short to-do list if you are getting real work done. Remove all those silly works that you can finish in some just a couple of minutes. By working smarter on a small number of priorities, you can prioritise better and improve your time management.

It’s important to work smarter, not harder if you want to take control of your time, rather than letting time control you. Working smarter reduces stress and overwhelm and saves time and energy. Learning to work smarter can make you more effective and productive. Working smarter also leads to increased focus and performance.

To work smarter, set clear goals, identify your most important activities, and work on your biggest priorities first thing each day. To work smart, not hard the key is to do less stuff and focus more on your biggest strengths and opportunities. Working smart is about being more effective not efficient.

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