You need to stop working hard and start working smart

The world keeps telling us to work hard. Every instagram post we see on entrepreneurship or career development revolves around working long hours, being busy, not sleeping, grinding, drinking coffee so much so that it’s become a “cool” thing to being super busy and not having time off. Do we agree?Today, I’m here to tell you, I’m 100% completely OVER it and I want you to be over it as well. We need to start working smart and stop working so freaking hard!

I think we can all agree that health is the most important thing in life and with the lack of health, we can accomplish nothing. So, why do we put our health at risk? Why do we dive into the professional world like it’s life or death? When choosing between life and work, life should always come first; there’s shouldn’t even be a second of doubt.

Yet, we follow suit and start living to work. The worst part of it all is that while we are working SO hard, we are not even accomplishing all of our goals. How many times do you “finish” working at 7pm and your daily to-do list is still not done? Simply because our mind is not designed to be a computer… as much as we want it to be. A person’s attention span is of around 20 minutes and it’s recommended that when working in front of a computer screen, 5 minute breaks are taken every hour. See here

So, I want to help change the norm. I don’t want you, your family, your friends to continue working hard and put a dent on your health. I want them to start working smart. Maybe you are thinking, “okay Belen this is great but what if you at a job you hate and want to build your own?” I’m here to tell you it’s possible. It’s possible to not over-work yourself. It’s possible to nourish your body, it’s possible to hang out with friends, it’s possible to have a life! Don’t we all want that? Though, I’m not going to lie, it takes commitment and perseverance. But, for once, let’s commit to our personal health.

Personally, I’m a hard worker and can work 12 – 14 hour days in front of a computer if I want to. It fuels me, it makes me feel good about myself, it makes me content BUT life has opened up my eyes and being tireless doesn’t last forever. And if you feel like it can last forever and that you are designed to work like that, allow me to tell you, you are wrong.Life is to be enjoyed. As much as you enjoy your work, your work does not define you. It’s time to learn to enjoy the sweet pleasure of doing nothing (like Italians say, Dolce Far Niente!), it’s time to pick up a hobby, develop a skill, learn a new language; as cheesy as it sounds, it’s time to expand our horizons.

Trust me, when you start enjoying life and not depending 100% on your job, you will become better at your job. You will succeed (if that’s what you want). Succeeding in your professional career doesn’t mean working 70 hour work weeks with endless tasks, it’s learning to work smart so that you can accomplish more in less time.

For now, start small.

Create a list of your to-do list for the week.
Color coordinate (most important to least important)
Create small tasks to help you accomplish the weekly deadlines
Distribute small tasks through-out the week

This way, you are doing small progress every day and don’t feel overwhelmed and stay up all night on Thursday night when your project is due Friday at 9am.