Guest Blogger: Amy Kovarick, Executive Coach

It might be a cliché, that whole “work smarter, not harder” thing, but today I remind you of the inestimable value of “smarter.”

Do it your way!

The value hit me in a small way when doing a project for my son’s school. It involved making a dozen superhero capes from pillowcases. For the record, arts and crafts are NOT my forte. A fellow mom had told me it was so easy, just cut the seam, then do something or other with string, etc. I sat at my kitchen table last night for 15 minutes stumped and feeling inept. Finally, I said ‘#bleep# this’ and quickly sewed two pieces of ribbon for the ties instead of doing it “the right way.” Voila! Done.

It’s remarkable how much energy we put into beating our heads against a wall. The sticking to a process or path that really isn’t working because … why? That’s the way everyone else does it? We look like we are “really” working if it’s hard? Just plain old inertia?

Smarter is not only about efficiency or speed. It’s also about effectiveness and satisfaction. When you do something the hard way, it usually feels frustrating, sticky, grinding. When you have the guts to do something YOUR way, the way that is natural for YOU, it usually feels easy, straight forward and even fun. And you get results.

Like the company who dropped the 10 clients they really didn’t want to work with, and increased their business with the clients that they enjoyed. Or the aspiring author who hired an editor to help pull together her pile of notes and ideas (instead of staring at her computer screen), and is moving ahead on finding an agent. Or the sane voice who stopped the ridiculous email cycle, walked down the hall and solved the problem in person.

Working smarter is about giving yourself permission to do it your way and get on with it.

MY CHALLENGE TO YOU

Where does it feel hard, frustrating or sticky in your life? What would working smarter look like for YOU? Don’t try harder – try smarter!
(and if you need some help figuring it out – call me for goodness sake!)

Good luck!

Amy K