Much Ado About Working Smart

Work hard or work smart? That is the question.

I’m not sure I have an answer, just an opinion.

While smart work is what a lot of people romanticize now, I think everyone needs to make room for both. Sometimes, you can’t outsmart hard work because processes are important.

I’ve realised that many people are so eager to move from the school of hard work because of the word, ‘Hard’.

I’m of a different opinion; that hard work isn’t necessarily about the labour or endless hours put into the job but the dedication and commitment to getting the job done. It’s about the intellectual rigour being applied to ensure that tasks and projects are executed with excellence. It’s about the art of thinking and following through.

In the end, hard work is about results, just like smart work. If you work hard from today till tomorrow without hitting the mark regarding your deliverables, it’s nothing. It’s the same for smart work. Use all the tech in the world and explore all the loopholes you can find; if they aren’t getting you closer to your deliverables… you already know.

Regardless of what school of thought we align with, the end product (and sustainability) is what truly counts. What any boss wants to know is not how creative or brilliant you are, or how you don’t mind working overtime or taking work home — these are all important — but whether you can deliver or not.

Because when they can rely on you to execute, how you do it (so far as it’s ethical and can be replicated via standardised processes) doesn’t matter.