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Work smarter not harder

Often as we are raised, we are told to work as hard as we can to get what we want. There’s nothing wrong with this philosophy, but I’ve found a certain type of work ethic suits me better: working smart.

What’s the difference between working hard and working smart? A hard worker will decide to go to the library and spend four hours studying for an exam, period. A hard worker will tend to work on something until they have it mastered before moving on to something else. This is not bad, as the hard worker will achieve their desired exam result (so long as they are studying correctly).

A smart worker will decide they need to get X, Y and Z done. They will be at the library until they have completed all of their tasks, but they are most likely switching between tasks so they don’t get bored and lose their motivation. In the end, a calculated, smart worker will be able to achieve the same outcome as a hard worker, but spend less time doing so.

To illustrate, consider Steve, who works hard, and Sally, who works smart. Both Steve and Sally want an A on their biology exam. Steve and Sally also have an essay due the next day.

Steve’s strategy is to study for 50 minutes at a time with 10-minute breaks. Steve requires these 10-minute breaks because he gets bored looking at flash cards after 50 minutes straight of looking at them. Steve plans to use this strategy until he understands 100 percent of the biology material. Unfortunately for Steve, after he finishes studying for biology, he will have to begin writing an essay for English.

Sally’s strategy is to study for biology for 30 minutes, then write a few paragraphs of her essay, then return to studying biology for another 30 minutes. Due to Sally’s quasi-multitasking strategy, she will not need a dedicated break due to boredom. Sally will utilize this strategy until she understands 100 percent of the material.

The main difference between Steve and Sally is while they have to complete the same amount of work, Sally is likely to finish with the same effectiveness as Steve but with much greater efficiency.

Over my time spent at Bradley, I’ve found this to be an extremely effective and efficient way to accomplish my workload while maintaining my sanity. Give it a try.

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