Work Smarter NOT Harder

Recently, a client called us and asked for a program targeting the theme, "Work Smarter, Not Harder". As part of our preparation, we contacted senior managers and executives to survey their responses to this question: What are your three best strategies for working smarter, not harder? We received valuable suggestions within just 48 hours. Responses were specific; and they fell into three major areas: Focus, Prioritize, and Protect Communication and Relationships. We thought that you'd find these specific suggestions from seasoned and highly experienced executives useful and perhaps, even affirming of your daily practices.

Strategies for focusing more effectively amidst the noise of our daily lives came from most of our survey respondents. Specific suggestions for focus included:

Remember that you do not have a million things to do, you have one thing to do at a time.
Set aside "home-work" during the day. When I recognize that I can't complete all of my work within my allotted work-day , I set aside work that I can easily do at home (work that doesn't require me to reference other information at the office or in my files.)
Identify and work within my "peak" energy times when I have complex or difficult projects.
Come in to work 30-60 minutes earlier so that I have quiet , uninterrupted time to devote to a project.
Focus on what matters most to the business and worry less about staying "caught up."
Use an appointment calendar and keep your calendar integrity. Avoid allowing people to "pop in" on you when it's convenient for them.
When you have a drop-in visitor, set a time limit and use a timer to honor it. When done with humor and courtesy, this practice can give you hours back in your workday.
Resist the urge to multi-task. You usually get more done when you concentrate on one thing at a time. Talking on the phone while writing e-mails or checking messages on your Blackberry while in a meeting leads to being more distracted than you realize.
Ask yourself "What exactly do I need to accomplish here?" before starting a task. This focusing question helps organize projects quickly and achieve results more efficiently and effectively.
Set a standard for the outcome and stop when you've achieved that standard. Of course you want high quality, but far too much time and energy is wasted on seeking a perfect outcome.

As you consider the value of focus for Working Smarter, Not Harder, remember of the words of Harry Emerson Fosdick, "No steam or gas drives anything until it is confined."

The skill of prioritizing was a second area of emphasis for those senior managers and executives who responded to our survey. To prioritize more effectively, these suggestions were provided:

Take the time either Friday afternoon or first thing Monday to ask, "What are the top three things that I need to get done this week to be successful in my job?", and write those down. Asking this question on a regular basis helps me focus on my top priorities.
Frequently re-evaluate the "urgent" list to make sure you're working on the most critical deliverables for the upcoming deadlines. Daily, consider the top five items on your to-do list and make sure they are the right five.
Set interim deadlines for the day and identify those things that MUST be done in time for a specific meeting, by noon, or the end of the day. This helps prevent the problems of spending way too much time on one important task and missing a deadline on more urgent tasks.
Admit when you're overloaded and seek help with your priorities. You do no one any favors by keeping an excessive load of work that will not be completed in a timely manner. If you are prioritizing your time-sensitive tasks and reviewing due dates on a frequent basis, you will recognize overload and explain which responsibilities are in conflict. Most managers are willing and eager to help with priorities. They respect an employee who can state a well reasoned case for needing help and who can identify tasks that need a later due date so that the most urgent deliverables are completed on schedule.
Use specific criteria to help prioritize your tasks more rationally. For example, you could use impact, urgency, and return on investment of time and energy as three criteria for evaluating your top priorities.

Prioritizing is key to focusing on what is most important to be accomplished. Remember, "if you chase two rabbits, both will escape" (unknown).

A third area of emphasis for our survey respondents was, Protect Communication and Relationships. There was a strong awareness that broken relationships take time to repair and poor communication takes time to correct. Responses for honoring communication and relationship included:

Communicate as much as possible about a project. Communicate a project's milestones, accountabilities, roles of team members, etc. Do it over and over again to ensure clarity.
Use e-mail and direct voice messaging as much as possible to communicate at any time of the day without interrupting someone else's work day . Doing so often speeds up the communication process.
Use e-mail more than the phone to contact people. It helps ensure clarity to have someone's written response rather than relying on the memory of a phone conversation.
Take the time to build your work relationships. Coach and mentor your subordinates.
Be courteous to the people you work with. Treat others with respect in every interaction. Always thank someone for their opinion, whether you agree with it or not. When possible, express how you will use someone's input, even if it's just for gathering information.
Return phone calls, respond to e-mail messages, and answer letters as soon as possible; within 48 hours is most desirable.
Be "approachable." When co-workers or others are reluctant or fearful about coming to you, chances are that something will get "mucked up". It will be a worse mess by the time it finally hits your desk than if someone had just gotten you involved at the start.
Increase your self-confidence. Displaying a confident belief in yourself, your work, and your mission helps others to trust you.
Do you have frequently asked questions? Compose your response to each question and then put it into a Word document so that you can easily copy and paste the next time the question arises. Another option is to copy and paste your response into a section on your website called "FAQ."

Author James Thurber reminds us of the essential need for great communication: "Precision of communication is important, more important than ever, in our era of hair trigger balances, when a false or misunderstood word may create as much disaster as a sudden thoughtless act."

Work Smarter, Not Harder. It's a clever phrase that can be brought to life when we apply specific strategies for focus, prioritizing, and protecting relationships and communication.

By: Susan B. Wilson, MS, MBA, CSP