Working hard is not easy – we all know that, but we can always work smart. We usually work hard because we need to achieve our endeavours in life, but didn’t you realise that we can work smarter, rather than working harder? In fact, there are so many benefits of working smart: better health, more money, balanced work/life, more energy, a better self-confidence, exceptional productivity, and contentment with work.
At the end of the day, sometimes it’s hard to take time and stop thinking about work and it’s so easy to fall into a pattern of “always working” rather than working smart.
Here at RedShed, we can help you! Here are some tips that you can use to work smarter, not harder.
1. Take more breaks, you need it.
Letting stress build up can be unhealthy in several ways. Not taking enough work breaks can make our brains tired and distracted. Getting away from work and having a rest can be helpful in working smart. It can help you to refresh your mind and reset your attention span. Get up from your desk, walk around or stare at the window and make a cup of coffee, not social media or answering personal e-mails!
2. Take an Afternoon Nap
A short nap is the best way to improve your energy levels when they are low. According to National Sleep Foundation, a short nap is usually recommended for short-term alertness. This type of nap provides significant benefit for improved alertness and performance without leaving you feeling groggy or interfering with night time sleep. Sometimes we have to listen to our body and have a rest.
3. Be Social at Work
A little chitchat can be important in work because it can build relationships and helps you to stay connected in to the office vine. You can share a joke, or your personal story while standing at the photocopier. Schedule a coffee break with some office buddies. Trust me, it will help.
4. Work and Spend Time in Nature
According to some research, spending time in nature makes people feel more alive. Staying indoors can have serious effects on our health, both physical and mental. Spending time outside lets our minds fully relaxed and unwind, helping us to focus for longer when we return to work.
5. Plan Ahead
We all know the old saying “failing to prepare is preparing to fail”. Planning ahead is the most important part of the formula we call time management. Whether it be physical travel, a personal goal or a business venture there has to be a breakdown of the various elements required to take us from where we are now to where we want to be.
6. Check your Email in the Morning
Contrary to popular belief, everyone says not to check their emails first thing in the morning, but the main concept of this is to reply to anything urgent and then sit down at a computer with no inbox open to distract you from whatever work you want to get on. Makes sense, right?
7. Take Time to Spend 15 Minutes Laughing
Search the internet and look for hilarious videos, or read a funny book, look at photographs of yourself in junior. Laughing can lift our mood. Smile. Be happy. Laugh. Fully.