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How to Work Hard - Bobby Yan

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We all know people who seem to be working hard all the time. They’re constantly busy, stressed, complaining about their crushing workload. But when you look at their actual output, it’s surprisingly mediocre. They toil away 60, 70, 80 hours a week, and yet, they don’t get half as much done as someone working just a fraction of that time. On the flip side, we also know people who don’t seem to be putting in half the effort. They stroll into the office, take their sweet time on breaks, and don’t seem to give two hoots about deadlines. But here’s the kicker—their output is somethin’ else, somethin’ phenomenal. Just a few hours of smooth, effortless work yields results those other poor souls couldn’t match in a week, maybe even a month. Clearly, raw hours logged is not the best measure of output or productivity. I’ve learned that there are two very different modes of working: the hard mode and the easy mode. In hard mode, you’re sitting down, gritting your teeth, and forcing yourself to wo

A lot of people have a very strange relationship with hard work. They think if it feels awful, it must be good for them. If they’re stressed, behind, sleep-deprived, and vaguely miserable, they assume they’re doing something important. Add a packed calendar and a permanently green Slack dot and now it really looks like work. Maybe even impressive work. But if you’ve been around enough smart people, you eventually notice something awkward: the people who look the busiest are often not the ones getting the most done. You’ve probably seen this type. Always swamped. Always apologizing for the dela

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