How To Be More Productive
Summary
TLDRThe script emphasizes the importance of balancing 'working smarter' with 'working harder' for enhanced productivity. It discusses the idea that while efficiency is crucial, the physical effort of hard work should not be underestimated. The speaker shares personal experiences, including a carpentry project, to illustrate how developing a strong work ethic and learning from others can lead to personal and professional growth. The narrative is enriched with a poetic reference to Robert Frost's 'Two Tramps in Mud Time,' highlighting the joy and satisfaction derived from hard, physical labor.
Takeaways
- 🤔 The axiom 'work smarter, not harder' is appreciated but not entirely resonant with the speaker, as it seems to downplay the importance of hard work.
- 🏋️♂️ Developing a 'work hard' muscle is crucial; it's like an athletic event where you can improve with practice.
- 🛠️ Productivity is key, and it's about finding a balance between working hard and working smart.
- 📏 A ramp project is used as an example where both hard work and smart work are necessary for success.
- 💪 The enjoyment of hard work is highlighted, suggesting that finding joy in the task at hand can increase productivity.
- 📈 Tracking progress over time can motivate and indicate improvement in productivity.
- 📚 The speaker recalls Robert Frost's poem 'Two Tramps in Mud Time' to illustrate the joy found in hard work.
- 🛠️ Using the proper tools for the job is a fundamental aspect of working smarter.
- 🔄 Staying focused on one task at a time can lead to greater efficiency and productivity.
- 👥 Learning from others is essential for personal and professional growth in productivity.
- 🌞 The axiom 'work smarter, not harder' is revisited, with the conclusion that both aspects are necessary for maximum productivity.
Q & A
What is the speaker's perspective on the saying 'work smarter, not harder'?
-The speaker appreciates the saying but feels it undervalues the importance of hard work, suggesting it implies that being smart can eliminate the need for hard work.
Why does the speaker believe that focusing too much on being smart can be counterproductive?
-The speaker thinks that overemphasizing smart work can lead to inaction, as people might spend too much time discussing methods instead of actually working.
What does the speaker consider as the key to improving productivity?
-The speaker believes that developing a 'work hard muscle' and understanding hard work as an athletic event that can be improved with practice is key to productivity.
How does the speaker relate physical work to athletic performance?
-The speaker compares physical work to athletic performance by mentioning the development of muscles, improved timing, and the ability to work harder and more effectively.
What is the significance of the poem 'Two Tramps in Mud Time' in the context of the speaker's message?
-The poem illustrates the joy and satisfaction the speaker finds in hard work, and how external influences can enhance one's appreciation for their task.
What is the speaker's view on the importance of using the proper tools and systems in work?
-The speaker emphasizes the importance of using the right tools for the job and establishing systems to minimize wasted effort and maximize productivity.
How does the speaker suggest one can work smarter on a carpentry project?
-The speaker suggests dividing work into specific tasks and focusing on one task at a time to avoid wasted effort and to develop muscle memory for increased productivity.
What role does repetition play in the speaker's approach to work?
-Repetition allows the speaker to develop muscle memory and improve efficiency, leading to faster and more productive work as tasks are repeated.
Why does the speaker value learning from others in the context of work?
-The speaker values learning from others because it allows for the acquisition of new tricks and techniques, which can enhance one's own work methods and productivity.
What is the speaker's final takeaway regarding the balance between working smarter and harder?
-The speaker concludes that while the axiom 'work smarter, not harder' is useful, true productivity comes from a combination of working both smarter and harder.
How does the speaker feel about their own productivity over time?
-The speaker acknowledges a decrease in productivity with age but still finds satisfaction in being productive and notices improvements over time.
Outlines
🛠️ Balancing Hard Work and Smart Work
The speaker begins by discussing the common adage of 'working smarter, not harder,' expressing a nuanced view that while they appreciate the sentiment, they feel it can undervalue the importance of hard work. They argue that focusing too much on being smart can lead to inaction, preferring instead the idea of working hard and efficiently. The speaker then uses the example of building a ramp, emphasizing that while it's not a complex task, it requires a balance of smart and hard work. They discuss the importance of developing a 'work hard' mindset, akin to athletic training, where one can improve their physical and mental capabilities to work more effectively. The speaker also touches on the idea of tracking one's productivity over time to measure improvement. They reference Robert Frost's poem 'Two Tramps in Mud Time' to illustrate the joy and satisfaction that can come from hard work, suggesting that there is a rhythm and coordination to labor that can be enjoyable and fulfilling.
🔍 Strategies for Working Smarter
In this paragraph, the speaker delves into the practical aspects of working smarter, advocating for a systematic approach to tasks. They suggest focusing on one task at a time to avoid the inefficiency of task-switching. The speaker uses the example of a carpentry project to illustrate how to work more effectively by grouping similar tasks together, such as moving all lumber at once or making multiple cuts consecutively. They emphasize the benefits of this method, including reduced tool usage, a cleaner workspace, and the development of muscle memory, which can lead to increased productivity. The speaker also shares their personal experience of implementing such systems to complete a ramp project efficiently, driven by the desire to finish before the weather changed and the need arose. They reflect on the joy of productivity and the satisfaction of completing tasks more quickly over time. The paragraph concludes with a nod to the importance of learning from others, suggesting that the most productive individuals are those who are open to learning new methods and techniques from their peers.
🌟 The Fusion of Smart and Hard Work
The final paragraph reflects on the speaker's 40 years of work experience and the observation that the most productive individuals are those who consistently strive to work both smarter and harder. They reiterate the importance of the axiom 'work smarter, not harder' but assert that to truly excel, one must also embrace the concept of working harder. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the need to continually seek ways to improve efficiency and productivity, suggesting that the combination of smart and hard work is essential for achieving the most within a day's work. They encapsulate the idea that productivity is not just about completing tasks but also about the ongoing pursuit of improvement and learning.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Working smarter
💡Working harder
💡Productivity
💡Ramp project
💡Systems
💡Athletic event
💡Tolerances
💡Curb appeal
💡Muscle memory
💡Wasted effort
💡Learning from others
Highlights
The axiom 'working smarter not harder' is appreciated but doesn't resonate fully as it seems to downplay the importance of hard work.
Productivity is key, and the video aims to explore how to become a more productive worker.
A ramp project is used as an example of a task that requires a balance of smart work and hard work.
Developing a 'work hard' muscle is compared to athletic improvement, suggesting that hard work can be honed like a skill.
The idea of enjoying hard work and treating it like a competition with oneself is introduced.
Tracking one's work output over time to measure productivity is suggested.
The poem 'Two Tramps in Mud Time' by Robert Frost is related to the experience of hard work.
The physical sensation of hard work is described poetically through the poem.
The joy of hard work is highlighted, even when it's not directly related to monetary gain.
The importance of using the proper tool for the job to work smarter is emphasized.
Wasted effort in tasks can be avoided by focusing on one task at a time.
Developing muscle memory through repetition of tasks can increase productivity.
The speaker's personal experience with a ramp project is shared to illustrate the application of working smarter.
Learning from others is presented as a key strategy for working smarter.
The axiom 'two of a trade never agree' is discussed to illustrate the importance of being open to learning from all perspectives.
The idea that working smarter and harder is a continuous process of improvement is concluded.
Transcripts
there's an axiom that everyone's heard
about working smarter not harder
now i get the point of this i like it
i
apply it
but it doesn't really resonate with me
because it sort of downplays the working
harder part
it sort of implies that if you're smart
you won't have to work so hard
it sort of holds up as an example of
being smart
not worrying about how hard you might
have to work but spend a great deal of
effort worrying about how smart you're
working
i think it's easy to get out of balance
on this i think it's easy to stand
around and talk about how to do
something better when if you simply put
your head down and went to work it would
be done and well done by the time the
discussion on the best possible method
was just beginning to slow up enough for
somebody to begin to pick up a tool
now i'm overstating that
but productivity is important and this
little video
is about how to become a more productive
worker
a ramp is not
a sophisticated carpentry project is it
a ramp is a deck that is inclined
the tolerances don't have to be terribly
tight although
and as much as on this one it's part of
the curb appeal of the house it had to
look pretty good
so i had to put together and utilize
some systems and i had to work
thankfully
once you've developed that work hard
muscle once you've developed that
connection with the labor
once you understand that
working hard is in fact an athletic
event
and you can improve your athleticism and
your muscles can respond more
effectively and with more strength and
your timing can get better as you try to
get stronger and make your timing better
a whole new aspect to hard work emerges
and that is
how can i work hard
and enjoy it
how can i think of
the work i'm doing as if i was in a
competition with myself
how can i keep track of how much work i
did yesterday or last week or a year ago
and know when i have beaten my
time my output how do i know i'm
becoming more productive
now i'm not a
really
literary guy i've read a lot i haven't
had time for that in a few years but i
used to enjoy reading robert frost he's
a poet from vermont i think
jackie kennedy was real fond of his work
and i remember we probably many of us
remember learning his iconic poem
the road not taken when we were in grade
school does that date me
probably
but anyway as i was thinking about being
a productive worker and what it takes to
really feel like you're earning your
check i thought of a poem of his and i
looked it up and sure enough there's a
couple stanzas that i want to apply to
this little deck project
and the athletic
experience of working hard it's called
two tramps in mud time and the setting
is a fellow's out in the yard splitting
some blocks of oak
and he likes it he's having a good time
and then two strangers come down the
road
and it changes the dynamic for him and
these two stanzas go like this
out of the mud two strangers came and
caught me splitting wood in the yard
and one of them put me off my aim by
hailing cheerily hit them hard
i knew pretty well why he dropped behind
and let the other go on away
i knew pretty well what he had in mind
he wanted to take my job for pay
the time when i most loved my task
these two must make me love it more
by coming with what they came to ask
you'd think i never had felt before the
weight of an axe head poised aloft the
grip on earth of outspread feet the life
of muscles rocking soft and smooth and
moist in vernal heat
if you've had the experience of working
hard you felt that
rocking of muscles
and of the coordination that grows and
the fatigue that
begins to set in but the determination
to keep working even though you're tired
there are times
i have to admit
when i've gone ahead and shoveled the
gravel off the trailer just because it
felt good to shovel
now
that's not a money making thing in every
case but it's nice to be able to do that
but let's not stray too far from working
smarter one of the key pieces of working
smarter especially on a little carpentry
project like this
is to use the proper tool for the job
try to eliminate wasted effort
incidentally wasted effort can lead to
an entire discussion about allowable
tolerances can it how much of a perfect
fit in a different in different jobs is
in fact wasted effort and how much of it
is vitally important but using the
proper materials and working conditions
and everything but
the item that really separates the
productive individual
is the system that the individual puts
in place to get the work done
one way to work smarter is to divide
your work into specific tasks
and then stay on one task as long as
possible instead of jumping back and
forth between related tasks when you're
moving lumber move all the lumber when
you're making cuts make as many cuts as
possible
if you can arrange it cut the pieces in
place instead of measuring and cutting
and putting them in place
when you're drilling holes drill
all the holes or at least all that you
can right now
hopefully you can see why this is so
much better
you can generally work with fewer tools
laid out means a cleaner workspace
you develop a little muscle memory as
you do a task 30 to 40 times
or three to four hundred times and then
the next time you get a chance to do
this task you will have the advantage of
having done it a lot
earlier and your body knows that action
and your productivity is gonna be
respectable from the first
moment you will almost always get faster
at the task as you repeat it
so repeat it
so i was trying to do this wait a minute
i guess i wasn't trying to do this i was
trying to get this ramp project built
i was trying to initiate a few systems
that would minimize how long i was going
to be out here doing it because i didn't
know how long the good weather was going
to last
and mom was going to need the ramp soon
so i was in a race with myself
and i'm not as productive as i once was
but i still enjoy working it feels good
to be productive
and it's really nice at the end of the
day to look back and say i can remember
when this would have taken me a little
longer i must be getting better
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do
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so
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if you are
concentrating on the work smarter piece
rather than the work harder piece
there is nothing that you can do that is
smarter
than learning from the people around you
now one of cs lewis's
quotations that has always
stuck in my mind as a warning
is
quote two of a trade never agree close
quote
so what that's saying is that two people
who spend their lot time their lives
doing the same type of work are never
going to agree that the other way other
guy's way or the other woman's
perspective or
the other
method is anywhere near as good as
theirs because that's the way i do it
therefore it's superior the smartest
thing we can do is decide before we ever
get to work in the morning that
everybody we meet that day is going to
have something that i can learn from
them if i want to learn it this axiom
has the bonus of being true in all cases
so the best thing you can do if you want
to become a more productive hand if you
want to experience the joy of getting
more work done in a day than anybody
thought was humanly possible
is make it a point to learn something
from everyone around you every day
pay attention to the way they handle
material pay attention to the way they
stage their work pay attention to the
way they put their boards in place and
you will add that to your repertoire of
tricks and techniques and after a while
not only will you be working harder
but you're going to be smart
and people are going to wonder wow
how did you learn all that stuff
and you won't feel like you have to
mention that it was all learned just by
keeping your eyes open
while you were earning your living
producing good work
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so as i think about 40 years
of work
and the people i've worked with
the people who've made the biggest
impression on me for their raw
productivity
and then i circle back around to this
axiom about working smarter not harder
i'm convinced that the axiom is good as
far as it goes
but to really become a top hand the
thing that must always be on your mind
is
how can i work smarter and smarter
and harder and harder
in order to get as much work done
as i possibly can
by the time the sun goes down
you
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