Although my list of next year's resolutions is not yet complete, one item that I'm sure will be on that list is for me to work smarter, not just harder. That means that I'll eliminate redundancy in my efforts. Why make more work for myself if I don't have to?
I'm Ken Boone and this is my Podcast, “MUCH MORE TO SAY” This year, I published nearly 50 episodes of this podcast. I also published over 25 blog posts. While those numbers pale in comparison to most of the podcasters and bloggers I'm currently following, they are huge numbers for someone like me. That's because writing and/or recording 75 unique pieces of content is really just a waste of time and energy. I wish I was more prolific like many of the creators I've been following, but I've become a “slow and steady” type of guy in my old age. In order to become more deliberate in my approach to content creation, I wrote everything down on my dry erase board. That happened to be my first resolution in both 2022 and 2023. I was guilty of valuing quantity of quality. To prove my point, all you have to do is look at my list of New Year's Resolutions. In 2022, the list was 15 items long. I got a little smarter in 2023, when the list shrank to seven items. For 2024, I think my list of resolutions will be rather short. As I said in my intro, the list is not complete, but I'm sure that it will probably consists of possibly three resolutions. I'll tell you what they are in this episode, but today, I'll only elaborate on Item 1. So, before I forget, here are my three New Year's Resolutions for 2024:
For most of my adult life, I recited the “work smart... not hard” mantra, but for some reason, practicing that concept was easier said than done. That's because my belief quantity over quality defeated any attempts at productivity. All I have to do is point to the amount of extra work I do to create my content. As I said earlier, I've created around 75 unique bits of content over the past year. That means I came up with 75 ideas and wrote 75 different scripts. That would be fine if this were my job. But this is my labor of love, which is the thing I would gladly do if money were no object, and I could never fail. The term 'work smart… not harder' was first used by Allen F. Morgenstein, an industrial engineer and the creator of the work simplification process. It was later featured in a cartoon by Carl Banks, with the lead character often telling his nephews, 'Work smarter than the smarties and tougher than the toughies.' Mr. Banks' line reminds me of the joke about the two people being chased by a bear. I'm sure you've heard it, but it's still worth repeating. Person number one tells person number two, “I don't have to be faster than the bear. I just have to be faster than you!” To paraphrase what I read in an article on Indeed.com, “If you want to take control of your time, it's important to work smarter, not harder. Working smarter reduces your stress levels and conserves your energy.” But I still struggle to find the right mix of discipline and motivation so I don't cut any corners. That's why I find it useful to read some of the inspirational “hard work” quotes and sayings that I've posted throughout my workspace in order to keep me productive. To quote Bill Gates, “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” While Mr. Gates would never knowingly hire a person whose laziness affects his/her competence, I get his point. I can apply this quote when it comes to Resolution Number 1 for 2024. In my case, I'd consider being lazy as not to do more than necessary to get the job done. Case in point, I've been publishing a podcast episode on Wednesday and publishing an entirely different blog post on Friday. Instead of doing that, why not repurpose the episode content for the blog post. Easy. Simple. Smart. In fact, this episode is a companion to my blog post from last Friday. For 2024, I'll align things so my Wednesday podcast episode will serve as the foundation for my Friday blog post. But I'm still kicking that idea around in my head. Parting Shots There you have it. Resolution Number 1 for 2024 is now stated and set in stone. Next week, I'll dive deeper into Item 2, “Advocate for Others”. And since I've been doing that for the past six months, that should be an easy episode to produce. I'll wrap things up with a year-end podcast episode on Wednesday, December 20th, followed by a year-end blog post on Friday, December 22nd. There, you will get an explanation of Item 3, along with a heartfelt expression of gratitude for all of your support this year. Today's Quote “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” Peter Drucker – Austrian-American Consultant and Educator
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
About the HostKenneth E. Boone, Sr. is a writer, podcaster, music lover, sports enthusiast, and retired accountant. Archives
May 2024
|