Working less but better

Eventually, we become experts at whatever we practice consistently. Writing, skateboarding, learning a new language, you name it. The more hours we invest, the greater our abilities become. There is no shortcut. Expertise takes significant time and effort to develop. 

Before you exit this page, let me assure you, this is the article you clicked on. It's the one about working less for greater reward. However, working less is more complicated than simply cutting your workload in half. To work less, the quality of your work must be better than the average. You must be an expert at your craft.  

Perhaps I should have been clearer. I am merely pondering my thought, that only once your skills are better than good, producing for quantity rather than quality may be more detrimental than beneficial. If you work great under deadlines, imagine what you could do without them. Unfortunately, most people are not disciplined enough to work without instruction. Therefore, this theory is only applicable to a minority of people. And for that minority, working eight, ten, dare I say, twelve-hour shifts, is the unfortunate reality we live in. 

Notice the above placement of only — an adjective of strategic design. Skills develop through hours of hard work. Without them, do not expect to be blessed with the opportunity to write, design, or email, not only less but from the comfort of your kitchen table. You must be loyal to your craft, and those who would be affected by your work must trust your discipline.

Even more trust is required for those who wish to work less from a remote location.

 Although hard work may not result in immediate financial gain, it will indirectly build your: reputation, skills, resourcefulness, networks, and knowledge. If your goal is financial freedom, for instance, a consistent work ethic will likely lead to the opportunities essential to achieving this goal. There will only be good choices, and you must ponder these decisions and choose the one that best matches your trajectory.

That said, if an inexperienced employee, or simply anyone other than the best — a veteran in their industry — was gifted with the opportunity to work remotely, I guarantee the quality of their craft would not be up to scratch. To produce great material, you must spend hours around those who already do. You are a product of your environment, and diving straight into remote work, I think, will not notch you the plethora of skills required to work less but more efficiently.

Last month, I volunteered at the Western Australian Media Awards. I was privileged to interview the winner of the WA Freelancer Award, senior journalist Victoria Laurie. Victoria has been playing the game for a long time. She has many interests, interests in which she has intertwined into her long-form pieces. However, writing long-form as a freelancer is a practice, I think, only possible with an undeniable stack of evidence that proves your ability.

I believe Victoria, being the best, is much more suited to long-form freelancing. She has the skills to write thorough and impactful pieces. Articles that would typically be impossible to produce under the stressors of a daily news environment. Although there is a unique skill in writing several news stories a day, long-form is a different beast. For the benefit of the readership, I would much prefer an experienced journalist who writes passionately for their gratitude as well as society’s, not only have the pick of the litter within the newsroom environment, but when it comes to long-form — idea-based pieces — they work under self-implemented restrictions. Only, however, if they attain the discipline essential to abide by their rules. Nevertheless, years of professional endurance are required to win a trustworthy reputation. And fortunately, endurance compounds. 

For those who are willing to endure, I beg you, throw yourself in as many uncomfortable situations as you possibly can. As a result, you may find yourself working from the comfort of the kitchen table much sooner than you believed possible.

Anybody who knows what it means to endure knows that dreams don’t happen overnight. Those determined become comfortable with discomfort. They dream about sleepless nights. They pray for early wakeups and early workouts. And they hope to be humiliated for making mistakes. Many would not suffer through a routine like this, but those dedicated need to. 

After all, suffering is a choice. Suffering is for long-term-orientated thinkers, people willing to sacrifice the now for the future. You may have to sacrifice love, friendships, and family. Only you can decide if it is worth it or not. To endure you must suffer.

A note to the reader

I am aware I often contradict myself. In the past, I have written about the routines that I believe make somebody wealthy, rich, and wise, but often, I don't practice these routines myself. The way I want to live changes fortnightly. Phases pass me by like the world outside my window, and I feel inspired to write about it. At the time, I hoped a behavioural change I made could potentially improve the life of somebody else. So, although when I hit publish my writing corresponds with my thoughts, a month later my perspective may be completely different.

I know I should be living the lifestyle I preach — and I try to as much as possible — but still, I regularly don’t. I fall victim to another way of living despite knowing the benefits of what I discuss.

“Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life,” weightlifting world champion Jerzy Gregorek once said.