Why I typically don't suggest "working harder" at your job (and what to do instead)
Here’s a maybe-radical idea:
At work, your job is to add value. Your job is not to work a specific number of hours.
Let me say it again:
At work, your job is to add value.
Your job is not to work a specific number of hours.
I’ll give the obvious caveats: I’m (mostly) talking about knowledge work. And yes, of course, there are exceptions.
But also, there’s a good chance you’re not the exception.
Your job may think that it wants a certain number of hours from you, for example, but what it really wants is the greatest amount of value from you.
Doesn’t that make logical sense? If the choice was more hours or more value, wouldn’t the obvious choice be more value?
…
Here’s the other important thing: most people will add the greatest amount of additional value by working smarter, not harder.
Working smarter involves using our brains more effectively when we are working, and then taking strategic breaks so that our brains can rest. Working smarter frequently involves working less than you do now.
Here’s a thought experiment:
Imagine that you’re a manager. Your direct report says: I want to add 25% more value, but I don’t want to tell you how I’m doing it.
Would you care how she was doing it (as long as it was ethical, of course)?
What if it turned out that she was adding 25% more value by working 25% fewer hours?
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I frequently help my 1:1 life coaching clients do exactly that: add more value at work, often while working fewer hours.
My clients sometimes feel nervous, at first. Working fewer hours tends to also make your life nicer. There’s more time for exercising, having a calm lunch break, or spending time with family. Are they doing something wrong?
But I’m not telling them to be slackers, or lazy. I’m always focused on them being proud of their work and adding as much value as possible. It’s just that more hours don’t always mean more value.
Eventually, my clients realize this, too.
…
A series of steps may be required to actually implement working smarter, but the first key is this:
You have to shift your mindset away from “my job is to show up at work for 10 hours a day.”
Instead, you have to think: “My job is to add as much value as possible.”
As always, I’m rooting for you. You’ve got this.
Katie
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