For a long time, being busy meant you were being productive.
You were paid directly for your time in the office or factories.
But times have changed.
You are paid directly for the results you achieve with your efforts.
Your work performance is measured based on the outcomes you get, not the amount of time you spend doing your work.
The new way of work is about getting results. Not about spending more hours.
That's why people enjoy working from home.
They can do the same work in 2-3 hours compared to the 8 hours of office routine.
Before, people used to get paid for their mundane routine of low efforts.
Now, they get paid to solve crucial problems. The more creative, innovative and effective you are, the more you earn.
Minimum Effort Mindset
Most people do their job with a minimum effort mindset. They put in minimum effort and do just enough things to survive at their job. Putting minimum effort into your work means low growth and low-quality results.
Only a few people put 10x the effort required to do something.
And that's why the top 1% in any field earn more than the remaining 99% combined.
Suppose you upload a video on youtube, putting minimum effort into creating it.
Your video won't stand a chance because of the thousands of videos people upload every minute.
You won't get any views.
However, if you put effort into making it funny, work on your headlines, and share some good knowledge, you stand a chance.
If you do the bare minimum, you will get minimum returns
When you write a post on hive with minimum effort, it won't succeed.
Nobody will read it or upvote it.
It won't have good ideas, sentence flow, or fluency.
However, the more effort you put into it, the more attractive it becomes.
If you improve the readability and flow of your content, you put in more effort and make it more appealing.
If you engage with other people's content, it will bring more attention to your profile.
Little by little, your efforts make your content engaging.
However, most people choose the minimum effort mindset. They create content with the least effort. And that's what their results are.
The thing is, when you choose the path of least resistance, you won't push enough. You won't put enough effort into your work to be good at it.
After a while, you will lose interest because you can't progress.
Maybe you will try your luck in a different field, but the story will repeat itself.
Low effort->low results->Less interest->You give up.
How to not lose interest?
Some people find joy while relaxing on the beach, watching sea waves.
Others enjoy solving the most complicated math problems.
Someone can find joy while clicking wildlife pictures or writing a 2000-word article.
You tend to focus more when you enjoy what you are doing, even if what you are doing feels boring or hard to most people.
When world-class athletes train for hours in the gym and practice their skills by pushing their physical limits, they enjoy it.
They are not working out; they are enjoying it out.
The topmost lawyers enjoy reading lengthy articles about the law.
The top economist enjoys reading hundreds of pages of statistical reports.
Developers who enjoy writing code can code for hours without getting numb because they appreciate their work.
Sometimes, when I write down my thoughts, it's relaxing. And I can write thousands of words or multiple articles in one go.
Writing becomes a fun activity when I am in a flow state. It's not something I am forcing myself to become good at.
Work becomes a joy when you become good at it.
You become good at your work by understanding its fundamentals, practising it for years, and being consistent.
But most notably, it's about mindset than knowledge or practice.
For example, an excellent software developer can become a good writer or graphic designer because work ethic follows every part of your life even if you change your career.
A person who puts below-average efforts into his work will put below-average efforts into his hobbies/side hustle.
Someone not disciplined to do his job correctly will probably fail while making videos on youtube or creating an online business.
When you are disciplined enough in your work, it will show. You will start improving. You will start seeing signs of growth.
When you enjoy your work, you understand which rules you can bend to achieve better results. When you have a deep understanding of the fundamentals of the system, it becomes a fun game that you want to get good at.
Take writing, for instance. Once you understand the basics of writing, you can write articles, fiction, books, poetry, etc.
You can use fiction to describe business concepts.
You can use poetry and rhymes to write articles and have fun.
When you understand coding fundamentals, you can create apps, build websites, and have fun with your ideas.
But to create something, you have to be good at the fundamentals. And you have to practice it long enough to understand it deeply.
Maybe that's why the 10,000-hour rule is so famous.
When you have practised something for that long, you have built the discipline to practise your skill for hours. You understand the basics.
You have built a strong mindset of practice.
So, now you can create things very few can.
You can build things very few can.
When you practise that long, you won't have to put effort into concentrating on your work. Instead, you can smoothly enter into the flow state. You can spend hours without draining your energy.
Your mind won't drift away from your task.
You learn to enjoy your work.
You will deliver maximum value in your work. That's when you move away from a minimum effort mindset. Now you move up to a maximum value mindset.
You focus on providing value to others.