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Work Smarter & Harder

Work Smarter & Harder

It's not just one or the other.

Matthew Larsen
October 09, 2024

Work Smarter & Harder

I think that one of the dumbest things you’ll ever hear (and you’ll hear it frequently) is some variation of “you don’t need to work long hours. You just need to be more efficient.” Another dumb version is “work smarter, not harder.”

Don’t let yourself get psyopped by either of these.

First of all, it is not one or the other. You can work smarter, and harder.

This is what I would consider to be an “ideal” working “smarter” setup:

Work in a small room with zero distractions
Ear plugs in
Phone in another room
An exact plan for what you want to get done
Using a 60 minute timer
Fill out a form at the end of 60 minutes about what you did

You could work smarter like this, and you could do so from sun up to sun down, 12-16 hours per day. One of the most harmful things you can do is create false dilemmas for yourself, and you should avoid people who create false dilemmas for you.

The reason that I am writing about this subject is for those who have ambitions to really climb the ladder and “make it” to the top.

I have been in the top 0.1% in several different businesses at this point.

Once you hit a certain level, everyone is smart. That is not an advantage for you. Everyone can prioritize and delegate. That is not an advantage for you either. Everyone has a good enough product or service. That is not an advantage that you can rely on.

Everyone is smart, has their priorities straight, has a good team and product...AND also works all day, every day.

If you don’t have the ambitions to get to the top, you can ignore this warning. You are not obligated to want these things, and it is perfectly fine to just want to make a good living without trying to be the very best.

But, if you do have these ambitions and have not trained yourself to work extremely hard, for long periods of time, without getting bored, then you are going to get absolutely smoked once you hit that certain level. You won’t even know what hit you. The competition doesn’t truly start until you are in the top 0.1%. Before then, you are not even playing the game.