All Work, No Progress?

The Case for Smart Work Over Hard Work.

Lost time is never found again.” -Benjamin Franklin

Unless you somehow got access to a time
machine, it’s impossible to reverse time.

People often say, if only I had more time,
then I would pursue my dreams.

If I had more time, my kids would love me.

If I had more time, I’d be rich.

If I had more time, ________________.

Fill in the blank, because an excuse can
fabricate any outcome.

But success doesn’t like excuses.

In fact, success never rewards excuse makers.

*But what if you didn’t make excuses?*

What if you hustle and grind every day,
burning the midnight oil, completely
focused and on task, and are still not
making much progress?

Under these circumstances, there’s
a good chance you’re doing too much.

“Too much?” you ask.

How can you do too much?

Well, too much of the wrong things.

The Pareto Principle “80 / 20 Rule”

20% of what you do will account for
80% of your results.

You’re likely focusing too much on
the 80% of things that are getting
you 20% of your results.

Do a little reflection on what you’re
doing every day and determine whether
its busy work for the sake of being
busy, or if it’s work to create real,
meaningful results.

*This is about being honest with
yourself*

Does it make you feel good, thinking
of yourself as a hustler, pounding your
head against the wall, just for the
sake of doing it?

Don’t let your ego trip you up.

Sure, it’s encouraged to give as much time
to your work as possible, but make sure
it’s the right work.

There are, of course, certain inferior
tasks that MUST get done, but those
should be outsourced.

“For every thing we don’t like to do, there’s
someone out there who’s really good,
wants to do it and will enjoy it.” -Josh Kaufman

So pass as much of the 80% of work
along as possible and focus on that
magic 20%.

You’ll be shocked at how much progress
you make, without having to kill yourself.

This advice is commonly quoted as “working
smarter rather than harder.”

Strength and Honor,

Prady Tewarie
CEO & Founder
GetAZOTH.com
@seekingazoth

P.S. If you’re not financially suited to outsource, there’s still no excuse to continue focusing on tasks that waste time.

Get the real shit done, before knocking out the rest.

---

All Work, No Progress? Try this out. was originally published in AZOTH on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.