How To Work Smarter, Harder, Faster And Better To Stay Employed (Part 1)

by Connie Podesta

In today's challenging economic climate, your employability depends upon your determination to work as diligently as possible using the staff and resources available. With so many organizations evaluating who should stay and who should go, now is not the time to demonstrate poor work habits. Sometimes the security of a job with sick leave, paid vacation, and co-workers who can pick up the slack when someone is having a "bad day" lulls employees into thinking that their jobs will always be there. But this is no longer the case.

Pay based on performance is definitely the wave of the future. What this means is that employees are ultimately responsible for getting their jobs done, even when they cannot be there. And when they are there, it means they should be 100 percent committed to doing the best job possible. If they are, they should expect raises, promotions, and bonuses. If they are not, their jobs could be in jeopardy.

It's true that organizations today expect employees to work harder, faster, smarter, and better. They want employees to get the job done in less time and with fewer people. While that may sound like bad news to some people, there is some good news. When you learn how to work smarter and harder, the faster and better usually follow right behind. Here are three of six ways to improve your productivity to ensure your employability.

1. Utilize Technology to Your Advantage

If computers are integral to your job, then you already know that they can and do help us work smarter, faster, and better (and all of you can move right on to #2). There are, however, some people who know that computers are important and they have begun to learn how to work them, but they are not going at it "full steam." If you are one of those people, don't wait any longer. Take the time to learn now, because when your organization does incorporate computers into your job in a big way, you may not have much time to learn what you need to know. As computers become a bigger part of the picture, having the necessary skills already in place will give you a definite advantage over those who don't.

When employees are not willing to change unproductive time wasting behaviors, a supervisor may have to make a change for them by removing them from that job and/or letting them go. Today's organizations need employees who can honestly evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses and who are willing to change the traits and habits that are keeping them from getting the job done faster, better, and smarter.

2. Use Your Time Wisely

Time management is a familiar phrase but a misleading one because none of us has the power to manage time. We can, however, manage our response to time and how we use it to our best advantage. Organizational tools, strategic plans, and priority lists are simply devices to help us manage ourselves, not time. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we'll be able to work smarter and better.

The fact is that none of us can create more hours in the day. All we can do is work more efficiently in the time that we do have. If we focus only on not having enough time rather than on how we could better utilize that time, we can sabotage our own efforts to be more productive. Needlessly focusing on our lack of time often results in one main time-wasting trap: procrastination. Comfortable with the fact (or the excuse) of putting things off, many people claim they procrastinate on purpose because they work better under pressure. While some procrastinators have had a lifetime of success putting things off that happens not because they work better under pressure, but because others have always been there to pitch in, cover up, pick up the slack, and do what it takes to get the project completed on time. They continue to procrastinate because it works.

3. Use Positive Energy

Negativism keeps us from focusing on what needs to be done and how to do it. In addition, it saps our creativity, impairs our objectivity, and weakens our excitement and enthusiasm for doing a good job. In short, our attitude about ourselves and our job plays an important part in our ability to get that job done.

People who are unhappy with their jobs are often tired, even though many of them are not expending any more energy. In fact, some are actually doing less at work than usual. When we're unhappy, we tire more easily, give up sooner, and overlook the many possibilities that might help us get the job done better or faster. We lose our energy and creativity and tend to feel more like a victim than the person in charge of our time. Negative attitudes and feelings have a direct impact upon our energy source. To work smarter we have to have a positive attitude about ourselves and our jobs.

4. Be Creative

Organizations are crying out for employees who can be creative, see new angles, envision new strategies, and motivate others to do the same. However, when employees are worried about the possibility of losing their jobs, they often become more structured and less creative. Not wanting to do anything out of the ordinary to call attention to themselves, they sit tight and wait it out. But this is not the time to be run-of-the-mill, lackluster, and ordinary. It's critical to stop saying, "I can't," and focus on doing things that send the message "Yes, I can."

When your organization is in the middle of a staff reduction, it would be to your disadvantage if you try to blend in with the crowd. Instead, you need to shine. But don't charge ahead full-throttle without thinking and make a serious mistake-or a fool of yourself. Concentrate instead on creative ways to do you job faster, smarter, and better.

Aside from computers, what else are you doing that could be done faster and better with the use of technology? For example, how is technology being integrated into your communications? Are you making good use of e-mail, cell phones, pagers, fax machines, and modems? These can all be very effective as long as you incorporate "high-touch" (strong interpersonal skills) with your "high-tech" skills and don't forget the need for individualized communication and personalized service.

5. Have the Confidence to Delegate

Because many lean, downsized organizations have fewer people to do the work, quite often there is no one to whom you can delegate, as much as you would like to do so. Nevertheless, it is an option that many people overlook.

Learning to delegate appropriate work to the appropriate person is a necessary skill that will enable you to work smarter, faster, and better. In fact, many people work harder than they should have to because they are uncomfortable or unwilling to use the resources and staff available to help them. By delegating some of our workload to others, we can concentrate on dong what we do more efficiently and creatively.

Are you confident enough to ask for help? Are you trying to do it all and finding you're too tired to do anything well? If so, be careful. There are lots of people around with the skills and the energy to do your job and, perhaps, do it better.

6. Learn to Enjoy Your Leisure Time

Those who control their jobs, instead of allowing their jobs to control them, recognize that they need to take time to enjoy life, friends, and family. Their jobs provide the income and resources to do just that. A healthy balance between our personal and professional lives can bring us great satisfaction and contribute to our physical and emotional well-being.

Although organizations are looking for employees who work hard, they also want people who are able to create balance and harmony between their personal and professional lives. Studies show that people who have strong personal commitments to family and friends are happier, healthier, and live longer-obviously benefiting themselves, their families, and the organizations that employ them. An important part of learning to work smarter, harder, faster, and better is to stay healthy in mind and body so we can meet the challenges of today's workplace more efficiently and effectively than ever before.

Working harder and increasing productivity are absolutely necessary if we are to avoid the alternatives: cutting staff, reducing wages and benefits, or decreasing the quality of products and/or services. Since employers today are most concerned about employees who are not working to the best of their ability, if you want to stay employed, it's imperative that you learn the skills behind working smarter, harder, faster, and better.