Hard work doesn't get you the result. You know this and I know this. From your own experience, there are many proofs to back this up. Why would that be?
The problem is that the disappointment hits you even harder when we fail to get the result after all that work. Does this mean, we need to disregard the notion of hard work ethics and slack off for the rest of our lives?
No.
Then, how can we work so that we do start to see the anticipated result as we pour our sweat and tears?
Let's find out.
If effort doesn't pay why do highest achievers always talk about going extra miles and being the hardest worker?
Most things in life, you'll not see the result because you took one action. It's like boxing. Most likely you'll not knock out a person with one punch. It's possible but less likely. It's the consistent action carried out over time that gets you to a place where you longed for.
The thing is that consistent action has to be aligned so that the work is accumulated, which shapes the result. Most people do not pour consistent action. They might have sacrificed time to do the work for a few months but that doesn't mean they were consistent.
The result is produced only if there's a domino effect of action. In dominoes, you have these blocks of which one block knocks off the adjacent block. If the last standing block at the end of path is your goal, you'll fail to hit it, if one of the blocks in the midway fails to knock off the next block. Every block in the path has to be aligned so that it knocks off the block right next to it.
The principle is the very similar. Your action is consistent only if sufficient number of blocks are aligned so that it hits the last standing block. To draw a clear analogy, the last standing block is the anticipated result, path is time, the blocks in the path are the efforts you put day- in and day-out. Notice that if the blocks are not narrowly or evenly spaced apart you cannot hit the next block. This means your effort has to take place frequently and periodically. It's a MUST to put your work on a regular basis.
Now, here comes the essence of today's post, alignment. How do you align so that you do see the result? How can you make your effort you put in everyday to actually count?
I'll illustrate the exact how-to in the following paragraph.
I've talked about how to plan your day in the previous post, How To Be 10X PRODUCTIVE (even when you have ADD). What I haven't dealt in this post was that daily planning might get you started to have a productive life but there needs to be a single drop added so that you start to see the real result. You don't want flurries of productive activities, rather you are shooting for those productive activities to stack up and produce result.
Set up a weekly goal
What is the one thing you want to master this weekend? Be brutally honest to yourself, do not start listing 10 things that you would like to conquer this weekend. If you do that, all those 10 things are just wishful thoughts. The high achievers generally set 1~3 things to nail down in a week. The highest achievers like Warren Buffet usually lay down one thing to achieve in a year. So, it's not about having numerous things you work on that keep you busy, instead, it's how you can manage so that all your work is focused and funneled down to produce one result. For the time being you and I, we will be going for 1~2 things to nail down in a week, not a year, because we are not at the level of Warren Buffet yet to look and plan that far ahead.
Again, what is the one thing? If it doesn't pop up right away, grab a pencil and a piece of paper. And try this idea bubble drill. What is the one thing that gives you the most resistance to work on but if you have the super power to take care of it, you would use it instantly. Now, things will start to roll, you probably have generate 4~5 things or even more.
Among those 4~5 things from the idea drill, we need to filter, and reduce to 1~2 things. What is most immediate? What needs to be done right away? List up the most immediate two things.
We are almost done but we need go through one final stage. The why test. Ask yourself three why's to see if the 1~2 things that you are planning to tackle is indeed what you want to do. Sometimes it turns out that, it's not something that you really want to achieve. Then, go back to the drawing board and choose the next immediate thing from your bubble drill.
Other times, after you run the why test, your one thing for the week is actually a method but not an objective and there's other way of reaching your goal (objective). If that's the case, all you need to do is come up with more sensible method to achieve your objective in a quicker fashion.
Once your weekly goal is in place, plan your day in accordance with the weekly goal using the methods illustrated in How To Be 10X PRODUCTIVE (even when you have ADD)
Final Words
To recapitulate, although the title reads, "Hard work doesn't pay", it does not mean your effort is unnecessary, rather, you need to put daily effort over long period of time. But the catch is, consistency only works if it is aligned with one thing you are trying to establish. Or else all your effort will not add up to engender any result. A magnifying glass that absorbs sunshine and cast light on a single focal point can burn a piece of paper. But the same sunlight that shines on broad area is never strong enough to burn.
Always, keep that in mind.
On to the next one.