{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-post-js","path":"/blog/working-smarter/","result":{"data":{"mdx":{"body":"function _extends() { _extends = Object.assign || function (target) { for (var i = 1; i < arguments.length; i++) { var source = arguments[i]; for (var key in source) { if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(source, key)) { target[key] = source[key]; } } } return target; }; return _extends.apply(this, arguments); }\n\nfunction _objectWithoutProperties(source, excluded) { if (source == null) return {}; var target = _objectWithoutPropertiesLoose(source, excluded); var key, i; if (Object.getOwnPropertySymbols) { var sourceSymbolKeys = Object.getOwnPropertySymbols(source); for (i = 0; i < sourceSymbolKeys.length; i++) { key = sourceSymbolKeys[i]; if (excluded.indexOf(key) >= 0) continue; if (!Object.prototype.propertyIsEnumerable.call(source, key)) continue; target[key] = source[key]; } } return target; }\n\nfunction _objectWithoutPropertiesLoose(source, excluded) { if (source == null) return {}; var target = {}; var sourceKeys = Object.keys(source); var key, i; for (i = 0; i < sourceKeys.length; i++) { key = sourceKeys[i]; if (excluded.indexOf(key) >= 0) continue; target[key] = source[key]; } return target; }\n\n/* @jsx mdx */\nvar _frontmatter = {\n  \"title\": \"Working Smarter\",\n  \"date\": \"2020-02-04T00:00:00.000Z\",\n  \"tags\": [\"30-lessons\"],\n  \"banner\": \"banner.png\"\n};\n\nvar makeShortcode = function makeShortcode(name) {\n  return function MDXDefaultShortcode(props) {\n    console.warn(\"Component \" + name + \" was not imported, exported, or provided by MDXProvider as global scope\");\n    return mdx(\"div\", props);\n  };\n};\n\nvar layoutProps = {\n  _frontmatter: _frontmatter\n};\nvar MDXLayout = \"wrapper\";\nreturn function MDXContent(_ref) {\n  var components = _ref.components,\n      props = _objectWithoutProperties(_ref, [\"components\"]);\n\n  return mdx(MDXLayout, _extends({}, layoutProps, props, {\n    components: components,\n    mdxType: \"MDXLayout\"\n  }), mdx(\"p\", null, \"At the beginning of 2017, I had just left a job of 5+ years, I was exploring new\\nopportunities, and I decided to spend some time building things \\u2014 all those\\nideas sitting in the closet to be taken out, dusted, and put out bare in front\\nof me. But that led me to a realization about the amount of time necessary to\\nspend working before you hit diminishing returns. It taught me the value of\\nworking smarter and not harder.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"So I worked. And then I stopped to eat and drink. And then I worked again. And\\nthen I stopped to go to sleep. And then I worked again. And this pattern\\nrepeated until I felt \\\"burnt-out\\\" \\u2014 that is, like I had mentally and physically\\nexhausted myself to the point of zero motivation to carry on.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"But I did. I kept working \\u2014 writing code, designing, building \\\"things\\\". But then\\nI eventually realized my output was not matching the input. In other words, I\\nwasn't getting out as much as I was putting in (in terms of time).\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"Fast-forward a bit and I found a new job working remotely as a developer for a\\nnew company. I slowed down some, but I pushed forward on a few lingering\\nproducts I had started before the new gig. But they were wearing me down.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"And then I read a book called \", mdx(\"a\", _extends({\n    parentName: \"p\"\n  }, {\n    \"href\": \"https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G1J1D28\"\n  }), \"\\\"Essentialism\\\" by Greg McKeown\"), \".\\nThis book drastically changed how I thought about the things I was spending my\\ntime on. The book's primary point is we need to focus on the most essential\\nactivities \\u2014 those activities that provide the most value.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"That's when I realized how little I was doing that. Sure, I was creating a lot,\\nbut I wasn't creating and spending time on the things I really cared about.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"I'm not going to lie, though. It was hard. It was hard because it meant saying\\n\\\"no\\\" to things. It meant telling people I cared about that I can no longer do\\nthis. It meant dropping some things I believed in, but just didn't have the time\\nor energy for.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"It changed everything for me. \\\"Essentialism\\\" is now a Core Value of mine.\\n\", mdx(\"em\", {\n    parentName: \"p\"\n  }, \"Every\"), \" task or thing I work on needs to be of the most value (within reason),\\nand tied to something larger that I care about. Time is far too short to focus\\non anything less.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"And that's why it's more important to focus on working smarter than harder.\\nDon't brute-force a solution to your problems. When you hit a wall, don't just\\nkeep walking into it. Think about how you can spend less time doing things to\\nnet more value. How can I take one step forward to reach this goal I've set for\\nmyself? How can I do more with less? These are the questions I ask myself now,\\nand it's incredibly freeing. Yes, it means that you will have to say \\\"no\\\" to\\nthings, let people down, and miss opportunities.\"), mdx(\"p\", null, \"But, as Steve Jobs put it\\u2026\"), mdx(\"blockquote\", null, mdx(\"p\", {\n    parentName: \"blockquote\"\n  }, \"\\\"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But\\nthat\\u2019s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good\\nideas that there are. \", mdx(\"cite\", null, \"Steve Jobs\"))));\n}\n;\nMDXContent.isMDXComponent = true;","frontmatter":{"date":"February 04, 2020","title":"Working Smarter","banner":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.5,"src":"/static/318623669b0f1dd83e8548062a3a2d65/d456e/banner.png","srcSet":"/static/318623669b0f1dd83e8548062a3a2d65/8005d/banner.png 188w,\n/static/318623669b0f1dd83e8548062a3a2d65/49959/banner.png 375w,\n/static/318623669b0f1dd83e8548062a3a2d65/d456e/banner.png 750w,\n/static/318623669b0f1dd83e8548062a3a2d65/130bf/banner.png 1125w,\n/static/318623669b0f1dd83e8548062a3a2d65/52e98/banner.png 1500w","sizes":"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px"}}},"tags":["30-lessons"]},"timeToRead":2,"fields":{"slug":"/working-smarter/"}}},"pageContext":{"isCreatedByStatefulCreatePages":false,"slug":"/working-smarter/"}}}