{mosimage}How many times have you heard someone say they work hard? How many times have you described someone else has a hard worker? How many times have you described yourself as a hard worker?

I’m willing to make a sizeable wager that the answer is….

ALL THE TIME!

EVERYDAY!

A LOT!

{sidebar id=7} Here is the thing, working hard is very commendable. It is a trait that is very admirable and desired by most employers, but it is a phrase that lacks a key word….SMART!

I have always been a big proponent of working smart, not hard.

Do you have any co-workers that always seem busy? It seems that no matter what time of the year or time of day, they always have papers on their desk, are on the phone, or are doing some other task?

In a previous corporate life of mine, I noticed this all the time. To me, I felt like I had nothing but spare time on my hands while I would look around and see others buried in their work. I always had more responsibility, more job tasks, more meetings to attend, and more people to help, but yet always seemed to have the most free time.

I see the same thing in the sales world. Follow-up calls get behind schedule or just missed altogether. Thank you letter’s not sent, poor presentations to potential buyers, and mostly marginally satisfied customers at best.

Why is that?

Abraham Lincoln once said “If I had nine hours to cut down a tree, I would spend six hours sharpening my axe.”

Preparation is the key to Working Smart.

Without the proper smart preparation, you ARE working OUT OF CONTROL! You are at the mercy of the day and all the time robbers that live in it!

Time Robbers are people that do nothing except steal your time. They add no value to the accomplishment of your goals, but they DO hinder your ability to maximize your time.

BEWARE of these people. You know them as the guy that calls you and talks F-O-R-E-V-E-R. Or the people that “stop by” to say hello. They talk you into the 2-hour lunch. Time Robbers steal both your time and energy!

Think about it, most people have about 8-9 hours in the average work day. How is that not enough time to handle your daily goals?

I know what you are thinking. “You wouldn’t understand, I have so much responsibility,” or “I have to make sure everyone else is doing their job,” or “I can’t just not talk to people that need me.”

Seriously, unless you are the President of your own Country or care for 5 or more children five and under at the same time, you have plenty of time to accomplish everything you need to do in a day and prepare for the next day.

Working hard often comes at the expense of working smart.

{mosimage}TIPS for working smart

1) Start your day with a plan. Write down the task (goals) you WILL complete each day.

2) Set time goals for your tasks. Detail when you will do each task and how long they will take.

3) Avoid time Robbers…People that interrupt you from completed your daily goals.

4) Always be control of your time.

How do you spend your time?