We’ve all heard the famous quote “Work smarter, not harder”. In general, we all understand what it means. But how does it apply practically to the workday or to our daily lives? What does it actually mean to work smarter, not harder?

The true meaning of this saying looks different to everyone and will take different forms depending on how and where you work. In general, however, it’s easy to apply the principle of streamlining your workday and finding the best way to do a task rather than the most complex way. Let’s take a look at a few practical ways you can start implementing this saying yourself.

Don’t Overexert Yourself

Taking on a lot of work at once seems like it will get you further in the long run, but it’s important to know when you need to take a break. Your body and mind can only handle so much, and your brain needs to get rest in order to give you the most focus capability during the day. 

If you’re able to, leave work a bit early when you’re truly exhausted and can’t focus anymore. Take the extra time to unwind and rest up so that you can give work your best efforts the next day.

Improve Your Time Management Skills

Keeping something like Parkinson’s Law in mind will help you to boost productivity and better understand how to manage your time. The law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion–meaning if you give yourself a week to finish a project that would normally take a few hours, you won’t take a few hours to finish it but you will take the whole week to do so, psychologically making it harder on yourself. 

Pro Tip: List the projects that you need to get done and how long each step should take for better time management. Seeing the tasks written out will help you to get them done efficiently.

Prepare Ahead of Time

It’s useful to plan a routine that will help make the mornings and workdays easier. Consider a meal prep plan so that you will have breakfast and lunch–important brain fuel–for the workweek. At the beginning of each week, list the projects you have been working on and the tasks you’ll need to get done this week. Schedule your tasks and set the time it will take to complete them. 

Attend to emails and missed phone calls early in the morning to get them out of the way before you sit down to get important work done. Scheduling, planning, and time management are all part of working smarter instead of harder.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Work is an important and often somewhat enjoyable part of life, but it should never consume all a person’s effort or attention. Finding ways to work smarter instead of harder will cut down on wasted time and boost your overall productivity, leaving you free to care for yourself or pursue other interests outside of work. Learn to finish work and do an excellent job so you can care for yourself and be productive when you come back.

Join the conversation for more tips on building a good work-life balance.