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By Sam21

Work Can Be Play - Management Guru

Work Can Be Playon Sep 15th, 2015 | 0 Comments

1. “There are no secrets to success; it is the result ofpreparation, hard work and learning from failure.”

2. “Falling down is how we grow. Staying down is how we die.”

3. “Success is going from failure to failure without losing yourenthusiasm.”

4. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

5. “Keep your face to the sunshine and you can never see the shadow.”

#Strategy of Smart Work

I would like to suggest a few ways as to “How to improve your efficiency and quality of yourwork” without feeling the pinch. You don’t need to put in enormous hours of work to prove yourmettle as it might only make you more exhausted and drain you of your physical and mentalstamina.

When we’re working hard, other areas of our life get neglected:

Maybe you’re working long hours but eating poorly and never exercising. It might not seemlike such a bad choice now, but when you run into health problems a few years down the road,you’re going to wish you’d found a better balance.

Working too hard can have a really negative effect on your quality of life, too. Long hours andthe pressure to keep doing more can lead to stress, burn out, depression, or just thatmiserable feeling of is this all there is to life?

So how can you get away from the mindset of working hard and start working smart?

Every 20 minutes take a break – Getting up to have a coffee or some water will make you feelagile. This suits well for the desk potataos who are wedded to the computers.

Prioritize the issues to be sorted out that particular day and focus your attention only on thoseissues until they are solved. This acts as a positive reinforcer and prepares you for the nextchallenge. If you find yourself with an excuse not to do it, tell yourself “Do it now”.

“First Things First” is one of Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits” in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.It means taking care of the most important things in your life before turning to the rest. Ratherthan trying to do everything at once, pick one or two key goals for each year, and focuswholeheartedly on those. It’s much better to actually accomplish a dream than to have avague stab at lots of different things … only to end up making very little progress.

Info: Pickthebrain.com

Learn to say “NO”

However, you can easily take it too far. At some point, you need to learn to declineopportunities. Your objective should be to take on only those commitments that you know youhave time for and that you truly care about.

Sleep at least 7-8 hours.

Most people need 7-8 hours of sleep for their bodies and minds to function optimally. Youknow if you’re getting enough. Listen to your body, and don’t underestimate the value of sleep.

Devote your entire focus to the task at hand.

Close out all other browser windows. Put your phone away, out of sight and on silent. Find aquiet place to work, or listen to some music if that helps you.

Exercise and eat healthy

Numerous studies have linked a healthy lifestyle with work productivity. Similar to gettingenough sleep, exercising and eating healthily boost energy levels, clear your mind, and allowyou to focus more easily.

Delineate a time limit in which to complete task.

Instead of just sitting down to work on a project and thinking, “I’m going to be here until this isdone,” try thinking, “I’m going to work on this for three hours”. The time constraint will push youto focus and be more efficient, even if you end up having to go back and add a bit more later.

Eliminate the non-essential.

Our lives are full of excess. When we can identify that excess and remove it, we become moreand more in touch with what is significant and what deserves our time.

Enjoyment should always be the goal. Work can be play

One Classic Example to Show the Difference Between Hard Work and Smart Work:

When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out that the pens wouldn’twork at zero gravity (ink won’t flow down to the writing surface). To solve this problem, it tookthem one decade and $12 million.

They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on practicallyany surface including crystal and in a temperature range from below freezing to over 300degrees C. And what did the Russians do…?? They used a pencil.

Hard work – Work and ThinkSmart work – Think and Work

Info: Gaurav Singh, Quora

Here are the SYMPTOMS that show you are not doing smart work:

Too many people work hard at making sure that they’re doing things right, but fail to considerfirst whether they’re doing the right things.

Here are a few signs that one may be falling into that rut:

They work hard throughout the day, but at the end of the day wonder if what they’vedone really made all that much of a difference.

They work hard but don’t feel like they get the recognition that they deserve.

They work tirelessly but it rarely feels like they accomplish much of anything.

Their task list is endless and they often feel overwhelmed.

Too often the attitude that we must work hard prevents us from quitting a task when we realizethat the outcome isn’t going to have the impact we had anticipated. There are times when it’sok to quit.

Info: Refinethemind.com

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