Work Less Accomplish More

Most people grew up hearing some form of “work hard and you can achieve your goals.” Any one that has ever done sports of any variety has certainly heard that pep talk before. But more and more people are discovering that it’s not how hard you work that pushes you to your goals but HOW you work.

In my own life, I have found that after 10 in the morning, my work capacity will fall to around 20%. The kids are booming through the house and the hubby has usually started some task or chore. My muse runs to a corner and hides. On rare occasions she may make her way out during nap time or after the kids or in bed, but for the most part I’m just spinning my wheels if I try to work after that time.

This has been the case since I began writing professionally. Only in the last few weeks have I accepted that fact. Now I’m accomplishing the same amount of work in my day by shifting my writing and projects to the early morning and saving my research and emails to the down time.

That is just one way I am discovering that I can work less and accomplish more. Delegation is also something that I attempt now and then. Sometimes it is successful and sometimes it just adds to the stress, but I will continue to ask for help and to praise the efforts put forth – as long as there are efforts.

I’m also learning to prioritize my projects. There was a time when I would simply make a to do list and expect people reading that list to understand that the task of fluffing pillows was not quite as important as emptying the cat box. But I have learned better. Now I actually write out to-do lists according to importance.

Time will slip away, no matter how well you schedule your tasks and errands. For each task, I approximate how much time it should take to finish. Each day I attempt to complete each task in less time then I have estimated. It’s amazing how much a deadline will motivate work (even when it is my own deadline).

There are more tips and tricks to working less but accomplishing more. It seems that I learn one or two on a regular basis. Some are part time savers and some are long term savers, but all of them are helping me achieve my goals while enjoying the journey along the way.