Dear Hard Worker,

Meaningful work is hard work.

Being a hard worker is a badge most of us strive to wear, and wear proudly. But not all hard work can be meaningful, not all hard work is effective.

It’s a no-brainer advice: If you want to get anywhere in life, work hard. And it’s true. Working hard is important. And it might really be the only way to get you to where you want to go. But where is that anyway? Where is that place you want to get to?

It might be helpful to first define where that is for you, or at least get a sense of its general direction. Because working hard can propel you forward, towards where you want to go. But all that effort can also just move you in circles, giving you a sense of movement but never really taking you anywhere.

What are you working for anyway?

Are you saving up for something? A house? Extended travel? For family? Retirement? And do you know how much you actually need? How do you know you don’t already have enough? Are you working for the pure joy of it? Is it sustainable, are you energized more than you are drained?

What’s your goal here, really? What change are you seeking to make?

I just threw a bunch of questions there. We know these questions exist anyway, regardless if we think about them or not. These are questions we answer – consciously or not – with our everyday actions.

Work hard, we hear. But it might be worth our time and effort to first work smart. To think about these questions first or as we go along, to figure some things out. Not all. Just some. Then to align our answers the best we can to the work that we do, or work that we can do. Work smart. And then work hard.

It might be a way to do work that is more effective, more efficient, and more meaningful.

Times have changed. I want to be careful of generalizations, but I think we are now enjoying a privilege that our grandparents or even parents did not have: the ability to work less hours for the same pay, the flexibility of current work environments, more options, more possibility; a greater capacity to work smart. For they had to work hard from the get-go. Out of necessity. But now, for some or even most of us, that may not be true anymore.

They’ve worked hard for us. We pay it back by making sure we are doing meaningful work. And we pay it forward, to those we seek to serve, to future generations, and to ourselves, by working smart first or as we go along – aligning work with clear intentions and positive change – and then working hard like our future depends on it. Because it does, and it will.

I’m going to echo Seth Godin with this, but maybe we should loosen our grip on what was optimal or conventional 15, 20, or 50 years ago – in terms of how we work, or how we design how we work – and let’s start playing around with what’s possible today.

Sometimes, hard work might not be enough. It needs direction, focus, and intent: smart work. Figure things out. Be thoughtful. Be creative. Experiment. Work smart. And then work hard. At least, that’s my working thesis.

In any case, like you, I’m also just figuring things out. But I know one thing: The possibilities of how we design how we work now are more than ever. And if you believe that’s true, then the same also applies to the flipside of our working hours: our free time.

They’re two sides of the same coin, anyway. And that precious, priceless coin? Well, I think you know what I’m talking about.

Sincerely,

Unemployed & In Between Projects, Aspiring Hard Worker

P.S. (links)

• This is Enough.
• This is How much you actually need.
• Oh, and in case I was being too cryptic – that precious, priceless coin? – [It’s] Life.

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