Top 3 Books for Inspiration on How To Work Smarter, Not Harder (By Bianca Z)

Working smarter, not harder! So what else is out there but college, job, debt and working until you die? What other kind of lifestyle is possible?

I love working smarter. And I know this because I started my professional life working HARD. And yes, I got burned out. I "managed" to develop the chronic fatigue syndrome before turning 30. This is why I love working smarter, not harder. And by smarter, I also mean being honest, legal and with respect and dedication for what you do.

So how is that even possible? Where to start?

I was studying for my BA in business in economics, when I was thinking what to do with my life. Pursuing good grades, so I can keep my scholarship. I wanted to be a good student, so I can have good recommendations. Those would help me get a good job, and once I had my own income and not be supported by parents, my life could actually begin. Sounds familiar?

At age 19, I was searching for information on a project I had to finish in the university library. As I was wandering around the isles, I stumbled upon a title that sounded not at all academic. It said "Rich dad, poor dad" by Robert Kiyosaki. Hm! That made me curious. I picked it up and read the back cover. I took it with me and read it in the following days.

Wow! That was the turning point! I was so grateful to have found it so early in life! And a bit sad I hadn't read it at about 12! I dare to say it was life changing! It showed me what else out there would be possible, how to do something else in life, to earn a good living, and not be an employee for the rest of my life! In an honest way, again! After that, I started looking for alternatives. Wondering what else is out there that I haven't heard of. And now of course, simply reading that book didn't mean I read it, snapped my fingers and turned into a millionaire. But I know I am making considerably better life decisions than not having those information.

I will put below a summary of the books that I found so far and have a tremendous effect on me. Specifically those books that teach and show something else than being a good employee.

1. Robert Kiyosaki: Rich Dad, Poor Dad: A book which is worth its weight in gold, for each copy that is being read by someone who has had no financial education. How can I summarize it so you can understand you need to read this word by word, by yourself? Let's see if I can succeed.

Chances are, you were born in a family where one or both income providers (parents, grandparents, older brothers) were employees. We too, have learnt, by imitation, the same thinking habits: get a job, work for others, be there on time, leave on time, get a paycheck (and live paycheck to paycheck). Also think about how wonderful would be if you had another job, with a bigger salary and more perks. This is what the author calls the rat race. Robert Kiyosaki explains very well how people who become wealthy think differently. They educate themselves (financially), take educated, calculated risks, learn what is necessary, not mandatory. Also, they develop a habit of saving, then LEARN to invest. And LEARN how to make money work for them. And all those concepts are very well explained.

On the other side, if I am to notice something that I dislike about this resource, is the fact that it tends to be a bit outdated in offering real-life examples; the business world and entrepreneurial opportunities have multiplied massively with the Internet and his work doesn't cover that area. Of course, the mindset and principles are still applicable, but the examples are of the old economy, primarily regarding physical products and real estate.

2. Choose Yourself by James Altucher. James Altucher is the kind of author that writes a lot about his personal experiences, very bluntly. And very openly, especially about his failures. He writes in blog style; unusual for a book but you'll appreciate his openness. Also, his personal blog is the main source of information and inspiration, because it's always keeping up with developments in the real business world (which is online-integrated).

Specifically in the mentioned book, James Altucher explains that the economy (and society) have already changed. We are now in an idea economy.That is, what is most valuable, unable to copy, unable to outsource to China and always in demand is your own creativity. Working smarter is necessary, working harder is no longer a winning formula. And the ability to reinvent what you do, what you have to offer to the world and the skills you mostly use in your daily life. James Altucher has a radical approach in his views. But we need to hear this, rather sooner than later.

The time of the employee is passing, the time of the artist-entrepreneur is coming. He shows that if you choose to be an employee and to work for a company, you must be aware that businesses change very, very, very fast. And not only that, but their focus is not people (as I'm sure all corporations state on their office walls) but PROFIT. And once the primary business purpose for which you were employed is no longer producing the desired profitability rate, the corporation will change. It will change the product offering, the processes, the assignments of people, they will change people, and the amount of people working.

The alternative proposed by James Altucher, both in his book, and in recurrent material he is creating on his blog, is the following: The momentum for being an employee has passed; now is the time of the artist entrepreneur. That means choosing yourself: doing what you love, something you love so much that you don't even feel like making an effort when you're working at it. I don't quote much, but I simply need to add this so you'll understand why you need to read this: "Success comes from continually expanding your frontiers in every direction-creatively, financially, spiritually, and physically. Always ask yourself, what can I improve? Who else can I talk to? Where else can I look?". Working smarter means, in this case, doing what you love so that you don't even feel like working!

What I didn't like very much about this author's approach is the sometimes overly personal references. At least, I find he shares too much of his own doubts, negative views or personal experiences. Sometimes this is depressing. That makes me say his content is useful through advocating for originality and entrepreneurship. Still the way he takes one side on some topics doesn't make me feel he offers the wisest advice.

For example, he wrote on why he believes young people should not go to college: investing tens of thousands of dollars, four years and getting a diploma in a field that will soon be outdated. Instead offers 40 different ideas on what to do for really pushing your life forward and gaining business experience. While this might seem like a balanced approach from him, it becomes balanced merely for adults who already have the knowledge and discipline for many years of work. For young people graduating from high school - coming across this kind of advice, I believe it can be causing serious limitation, because an 18 year old doesn't usually have the discipline, sense of reality and work ethic that comes with persisting in achieving something: like a degree, or working to make a living while also studying. Having been through that stage myself not so long ago, I can say that has helped me a lot to build resilience and motivation!

To conclude on this one, I do recommend following James Altucher with his online resources, he offers many different materials on various topics, with a definitely original content. As always, personal judgement is needed to make the best decisions for yourself, irrespective of where you find inspiration.

At the time I'm writing this, I just came back with my feet on Earth after being in the cloud listening to an amazing audiobook that made me every 9 to 10 minutes or so ask myself: "Why didn't I think about this earlier?" or "Wow! I believed common folks didn't have access to such things" or "Why didn't I try this earlier?" and especially "I HAVE HAD THIS EBOOK ON MY COMPUTER FOR MORE THAN 3 YEARS! Why didn't I read it by now?". I believe this is the best resource I've found so far on the topic of working smarter. So here it is:

3. The 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. This is full of incredible tools for a freedom-loving lifestyle. This is full of exact, step by step indications on how to use some tools that you believed are reserved only to the lucky few, born rich. Tim Ferriss is talking about: personal assistants and how to find incredibly educated, dedicated and effective people for a very affordable price (yes, such things do exist!). Also, he is talking about how to make money with you business in the developed markets (like the US) and spend it where they have much more value - like in Thailand, while living on a beach.

It's something you probably haven't heard much until now. A kind of book that hasn't been written before. It is the roadmap from being overworked and overstressed to becoming one of the New Rich. In this decade, this means: having a passive source of income, working a few hours a week and dedicating your time to what matters most to you: your family? Your children? Travelling? Sports? Social volunteering? Talk about working smarter!

If this is to have a downside, it's the following: the information here is not for everybody. Although employees also would find value in it, this is mainly a praise of the entrepreneur turned investor. This is a book full of tools for the courageous ones. So if your personal values are security, predictability and risk avoidance - don't try this; it will only frustrate you and make you believe that like such things don't exist.

For getting inspiration, I do recommend reading this book. eBook, audiobook, you'll want it all in the end, so you can track your progress. Tim is also a former Princeton student and a "rebellious" who has turned his back to the old system of living. He went through the established path of raising a successful young man and he invented his own way.

To sum up all the above, I hope you'll find inspiration in the resources I've mentioned. Each and every one of us is unique, so everything I've mentioned will impress you and apply to you in a different way. However, I hope you'll select valuable ideas to enhance what you already are mixing to create a better life for yourself!

http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-3-Books-for-Inspiration-on-How-To-Work-Smarter,-Not-Harder&id=9834694

The Real Goose That Laid The Golden Egg (Based On A Zen Koan I Once Read And Heard Well)

Once I read a Zen story about a goose in a bottle that got fed until it could not get out except by breaking the whole bottle open including the neck of the bottle. The import of that story is that limitations are what we make them, and when the goose is fed enough to be out, it will be out. The bottle is our circumstances, and the goose represents the consciousness in those circumstances. Before I internalized and understood fully the story, I heard or read it three times: Once from a good friend of mine, hypnotist and author Richard "Dick" Sutphen, another time in a book of Zen stories I took out of the Masao W. Satow Public Library a long time ago which was taken off the active shelves and put into the book sale, which I bought, and the third time before I fully internalized it, I just thought of it the other two times I read and heard it.

When you understand that circumstances and limitations are what you make them, reality becomes fully a game and not a battle, and you do understand how to live sanely without destroying yourself doing it.

What do I mean by destroying yourself living sanely? You see all the "realities" and "facts" of all the suffering, fear, greed, avarice and loneliness in the world, and realize the bizarre and insane game being played by most people, especially the supposed "masters" and "leaders", then realize that it is all nothing really except what we make it within ourselves. What do you think I mean by mentioning that story about the goose breaking the bottle when it is fed too much anyway?

We have a choice. We either outgrow our circumstances genuinely, or we "explode in all the craziness". In short, we either get saner, or go in the opposite direction when we realize what it is all about. I chose to get saner, live in reality, and work smarter, which is a bit of a rarity when you think about all the people who do "go by appearances" weakly instead of genuinely and consciously responding strongly. For, indeed, appearances are just that, appearances. Nothing more, nothing less. So, think of it this way, the reality is within us and not appearances outside of us. Another way to put it: You put yourself in the situation anyway, and with honesty and work, you can get yourself out.

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Real-Goose-That-Laid-The-Golden-Egg-(Based-On-A-Zen-Koan-I-Once-Read-And-Heard-Well)&id=8552978

Are You Destroying Your Dreams

Are you planning to create your very own online venture but don't know where to start? Or maybe you are already managing your online business for a while now but seeing no growth? Well, you are not alone in this. Truth is nine out of ten entrepreneurs will most likely fail in reaching their goals. It's the hard truth but not the one that should discourage you. With this number in mind, you have to find a way that you won't belong to that nine who are on their way to online oblivion.

When Ideas Light Up

You're on your desk job thinking how you wish you also have your very own business to run. Then suddenly a brilliant idea came across your mind! You decided, this is going to be a big hit and you can start marketing it online. Some of you on the other hand manage your own businesses but decide that you want to start promoting it online. So there you are, after a couple of hours of looking at how-to's online, you decide to build your very own online business.

Get a Dose of Reality

I've been where you are so I know how you feel those first few days or weeks or months of putting your ideas into actual plans. There will be times when you are so fired up you no longer know which day it is. Sometimes you no longer differentiate day from night or vice versa. There will be moments when your friends and loved ones already sent you countless messages or give you cold shoulders because you no longer hangout with them. There's nothing wrong in being caught up with your passion... but how long will you neglect yourself?

Stress to Burnout

Most of the time, we can't avoid getting stressed. What we do need is to understand when stress is about to burn you out. Burnout is caused by constant stress that leaves you feeling helpless and disillusioned. This is very common in entrepreneurs and business owners and ignoring it will only result to poor performance and both mental and physical exhaustion. If all these will happen, then it will spill all over the different areas in your life and can threaten not just your career but also your personal lives.

You Are Destroying Your Dreams

The business industry is volatile and no matter how great your idea is or how reliable the services and products you offer, you are not exempted. This is why you have to find ways not to work hard but rather to work smarter. Set your priorities, know your strengths and most especially know your limitations. If you don't have time to do all that you need for your business, then by all means learn how to delegate those tasks. If you keep on going even if you know you need help or if you insist that you can get to all your backlogs someday... you are just destroying your dreams.

A solution is always within reach.

If you don't know where to start or what aspect of your business you really need help the most, reach out. You can't waste another day... another hour... in not finding the solution to your dilemma. Break free from all the work and tasks that's holding you back from your business goal. There's always a sustainable way in managing your online business that can give you the freedom you need to finally focus on moving towards your dreams.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Are-You-Destroying-Your-Dreams&id=9567388

Don’t Work Harder; Work Smarter with These 12 Tips

I imagine that, like me, you say that you never have enough time and that you just cannot cope with 60 dozen things all at once. How on earth do you get out of that spiral? Many people never sit down and look at how to work smarter, rather than harder and even longer hours. Here are 12 tips you should be following:

1. Improve your time management skills

Easier said than done? Well, no actually, because there are a few simple rules that can really help you to manage time better. For example, when setting up a top priority task, you need to switch off the phone and ignore your email first. Then you need to abandon any ideas of multitasking as that will slow you down and ruin your focus. Finally, set a reasonable deadline and do everything in your power to meet it.

“When you’re born, you’re born with 30,000 days. That’s it. The best strategic planning I can give to you is to think about that.” -Sir Ray Avery

2. Speed up your typing and use shortcuts

These days we’re all keyboard slaves. So, why not speed up your typing and try to get rid of the two finger syndrome. This is exactly what I am doing now, so I cannot honestly say I am practicing what I preach! But help is at hand. One of the best sites is Typing.com, which gets you going with free tutorials.

Using shortcuts on the keyboard is another time saver and can speed up your work. For example, press F2 to rename a selected file, while CTRL + Iwill put selected text in italics. There are so many of these; if you make the effort to learn them, they really can be helpful.

3. Learn how to use MACROS

It is well worth downloading this program because when you have to do a long series of boring repetitive tasks (especially with programs like Excel), a MACRO will do it with one click. Now that is really a great way of working smarter, not harder.

4. Use the phone more often

             

Instead of writing emails, it is often much better to pick up the phone and talk to the person responsible. It saves time. If that colleague works in the same office, it is even better to go and talk to him or her. It gives you a break, you get some exercise and you actually make human contact which is becoming quite rare in this electronic world.

5. Keep a tab on your tabs

If you are like me, you might well find that you have a ton of tabs open at the top of your browser. In order to find the one you want, you have to search for them as they are off screen. Having all these tabs open slows down your browser too. One solution is to use OneTab which can keep a neat list on the screen of all these tabs when you want to quickly get to one of them or you want to remind yourself which ones you have open.

6. Use a “to don’t” list

We all know about to do lists and I find that they are generally great. They give me a great sense of achievement as I cross off the tasks done. But often we find that we are doing nonessential tasks or ones that can easily be postponed. That is why many people recommend the to don’t list. Some people prefer to savagely prune the to do list while others prefer to have two separate lists, to do and to don’t. You just have to work out what works best for you when you are trying to save precious time to become more productive.

7. Expect failure and fight paranoia

When failure rears its ugly head, some people get a bit paranoid and fear that this may become a trend. Projects will go wrong and failure should be expected rather than feared. Learning lessons from failure and analyzing what went wrong is the best way forward.

“Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.” -Richard Branson

8. Be concise

Rambling on at meetings, in emails and even when introducing yourself to new clients can waste a lot of people’s time. One way is to practice and sharpen your “elevator speech,” which tells people in 30 seconds or less why they need your skills and how they can benefit from doing business with you. Just think of the many situations where this could be useful:

• Making new contacts
• Talking about yourself at a job interview
• Meeting people at conferences or parties
• Phone calls to new clients

9. Ask the right questions

“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.” -Naguib Mahfouz

How do you get feedback? The secret is to ask the right questions at the right time. When you do this, you are gathering the information you need to help in decision making. This will save you time and you will be able to cut meetings to a minimum.

Forbes magazine reports on research that they carried out on asking the right questions. When that happens, the positive effects are increased by 400%. There are also other benefits in staff motivation and a positive impact on the company’s bottom line.

“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I would use the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.” -Albert Einstein

10. Learn as much as you can

      

You should always be on a steep learning curve. Look at your skills profile and determine where you need to fill a gap. Talk to important connections and network in your niche. Keep up to date on trends and developments. It is a fact-changing world. When an opportunity arises, you will be the best equipped to seize it because you have never stopped learning. Just another way of working smarter.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” -Mahatma Gandhi

11. Look after your greatest resource

No, your greatest resource is not time. It is YOU. If you do not get enough sleep, exercise and relaxation, you find that you become less and less productive. You begin to work longer and longer hours, which is the exact opposite of what you want.

What you should be doing is making sure you are in the best shape. It is useful to remember that you need a break of 15 minutes after every one and a half hours of work. Taking breaks and getting fresh air and exercise is one of the best ways of working smarter, not harder.

12. Don’t fall into the trap of working smarter and harder

As a society we are obsessed with doing everything smarter so we are more efficient and we save time all around. Great! The most important thing to remember is to accept when we are ready to switch off that computer and not fill up the time with even more work.

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/dont-work-harder-work-smarter-with-these-12-tips.html

WORK SMARTER NOT LONGER

Forget long hours at the office. Use these six rules to work better, get home on time – and still impress the boss

You work too hard. We suspect you knew that, but in case you didn’t, here’s some sobering statistics: work-related anxiety led to 10.4million lost working days in 2011/2012, with 20 percent of us grafting more than 45 hours a week, according Government figures. Yikes!

Yet a study at Harvard Business School found employees who left the office on time increased productivity, by working more effectively. (We bet they felt a damn sight chirpier too.) The lesson: work less, accomplish more.

Here, we reveal smart tactics to help you avoid last-minute panics, steam through your to-do list and have a life.

1/ DON’T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS

Which should come first, the chicken or the egg? When it comes to cracking the career game, they’re level pegging, says Magdalena Bak-Maier, author of Get Productive!. “Think of yourself as a chicken and the eggs as the results you get,” she says. “Trying to produce too many eggs is counter productive – your chicken will burn out. Only happy chickens produce eggs, so maintaining a healthy balance between the two is important.”

To-do lists are useful tools to stay focused on goals, but be aware that, on average, we underestimate how long a task will take by 50-70%. Bak-Maier suggests choosing one result you want to achieve each day and breaking it down into bite-sized chunks. Use a minimal computer program such as Google Docs in full-screen mode to keep you focused solely on the job in hand.

2/ ESCAPE THE NET

Surfing the web can be a huge time-waster – as you may discover to your horror if you register at Rescuetime.com. The service tracks your website usage, giving weekly graphs to show where all those lost minutes were spent. (Our bet’s on eBay.) The solution: the site blocks your access to any sites you request, for however long you need to stay distraction-free. Plus, you can set up reminders to keep projects on track. How did we do without it?

3/ CUT YOUR CUT-OFFS

Parkinson’s Law, from a wise old bird called Cyril Parkinson, states, “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” You can apply this adage by setting yourself shorter deadlines, which forces you to work more efficiently. Time management consultant Claire Tompkins recommends breaking projects into clear stages. Asking a colleague to proof-read your work at a specific time will ensure quality doesn’t slip either.

4/ HIRE A VIRTUAL AIDE

Outsourcing isn’t just for banks. At AskSunday.com, you can hire your own PA to 10 hours of work, such as setting up meetings or doing research for reports, for £60. “It’s easy to justify the cost,” says Dr David Spencer, senior economics lecturer at Leeds University. He argues doing such jobs yourself dilutes your earning power. Good point.

5/ GET A CUNNING PLAN

Investing two hours each week to go through your calendar and to-do list can save you up to five hours the following week, according to David Allen, author of Getting Things Done. “Do it towards the end of your work week, ideally Friday between 2pm and 4pm,” Allen says. “Look at new projects and make decisions about forthcoming issues so they don’t blow up in your face.” The easiest way to do this is to make a list of all the tasks you need to have completed by the following Friday.

Also take time to look at what’s gone wrong over the past week. Reflecting on and learning from those experiences can stop the same thing happening next time you tackle a similar job. Which means come Monday, when it’s time to clock off you’re slinging your bag over your decidedly-more-relaxed shoulder.

6/ KICK THE HANDHELD

“Don’t use your smartphone for processing email,” says Allen (sending shivers down the spines of countless addicts). A survey by software firm NeverFail found that 94% of us use our smartphone to check email after work or over the weekend. But, as Allen points out, “unless it’s from abroad, it’s highly unlikely an email will come in that you have to deal with there and then.”

In fact, checking email out of hours can be counterproductive, since if can’t deal with the issue immediately, you may well have forgotten about it by Monday morning – leaving that message to disappear down your inbox. To avoid temptation, deactivate your phone’s push email setting as you head out of the office. Then you can switch off and get more out of your free time too.

http://www.womenshealthmag.co.uk/life-skills/career/255/work-smarter-not-longer/