I know the mantra. We should all work smart. I mean, who doesn’t want to work smart? Who doesn’t want to work shorter hours, be less stress, work more effectively, be more productive, etc. It sounds like it’s the only way to work! Working hard is just stupid. There should be just one type of work, and that is work smart. And yet, we all still work harder than ever…
I initially encountered the concept of working smart through the office world, where most managers / supervisors / bosses etc preach it. It’s like they all read the same book, or were manufactured by the same factory. Regardless of the source, it’s so prevalent that I think working smart does not mean much any longer. It becomes another phrase in urban speak, just like “honestly speaking” and “going forward”. It sounds good, but does not mean much in practical terms.
Today, I encountered this in a different context – when training Tai Ji.
Every week, I go to my class to test my progress (the physical process), and every week, a little bit is altered. I should move my hands further apart, I should do a lower stance, the hand should go this way, the leg should go the other way…
Today, we went through the thought process. I asked my teacher, should the muscles feel the pain? He said that if done correctly, the muscles should be relaxed as well. Now, whenever I do Tai Ji, I sweat profusely. These days, I bring 2 shirts to change just to go for one class. I seem to be using all the muscles except the one that truly matters… the brain.
So here lies the conundrum. I know I want to work smart, yet most of the time, I’m working hard (or not working at all!). It’s not easy to be aware when you’re working smart and when you’re working hard. I asked my teacher, and he said working hard might be the necessary route before you can work smart. However, there comes a time when you have to check whether you’re working the right way. Left uncheck, you might be working hard all these while when you actually think you’re working smart!
What’s the point of all this?
I think working smart is over-rated. I think the point is to work sensitively. The point is to work soft. Great, I’ve just introduced another non-word. It’s hard to make a point on this. It’s hard to comprehend working soft. How do you actually work sensitively? Does that actually mean anything?
I think working hard, working soft, working sensitively, all try to say one thing… work. There’s no avoiding work, no matter how you do it. But “work” itself is one-directional, it’s toward a goal. The soft / smart part comes in when you listen. You listen to your work, you listen to feedback. Working smart / soft / sensitively actually means more work but you see how you work at the same time. Listen to how you work. Get feedback so that your work is no longer one directional. It’s a constant feedback. You can get external feedback, but the external feedback will not take into account what you feel, how you feel. The internal feedback is a stronger message than the external feedback. The external feedback can be a useful guide. The internal feedback is key.
Work hard, listen harder, then work harder based on what you hear. That’s working smart / soft /sensitively. What do you think?
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5 Comments
Very interesting blog post!
Whenever I’m working on my Tai Chi, I’m looking to work mindfully … to make sure I’m not simply going through the motions but am constantly listening both externally and internally. The hard work comes from putting in the time (I’m fast coming to favour training for extended periods of time rather than doing a little every day), and the smart work comes from training with purpose and from listening.
This is a very insightful post. Thanks. It gives me plenty to think about.
Reflection?
People say “work smart” so often that the meaning is lost. And how to work smart when you don’t start off with working hard to truly understand what it is you need to streamline on to eventually get to the point of working “smart”?
Definitely a good point on working sensitively/ softly, though I think a better terminology is required!
Most of the time we just aim to complete the tasks given to us within the tightest of deadlines without much regard to how we get there. The constraints placed on us have blinded us to the path taken and the learning we’re required take away from the whole exercise, until we do a post-mortem. But by then, there will be more tasks to do…
great post!!
i can share my experience with you..
first i started out by working very hard. great fire in my belly, great desire to be a good taichi student/practitioner. my teacher would say..”you are thinking too much, trying too hard.. there is a natural rate of progression, dont be in a rush” but i kept going because it was the only way i knew.
slowly i learnt to relax the body and the mind (thats what the masters probably mean when they say you have to put in 100hours or 200hours of zhan zhuang practise.. i must add that standing exercises and meditation helped the most in this) and one day the penny dropped. and i stopped trying so much and my mind relaxed and my body relaxed. and i stopped sweating so much when doing lao jia yi lu. things felt softer. the mind was “half empty” as cxw puts it. i stopped trying to be perfect, i would just watch what was. i was paying attention but it was without tension. i think thats what you are trying to express when you say ‘work sensitively’.
the state of consciousness is one of “just observing”.. alert, vigilant, equanimous but without tension.
as a part of this process i have learnt to trust myself, my body, my teacher, the universe and to trust the process of taichi training. so i think less now. i study to understand the principles of taichi (e.g. the posture points or some movements) but when i move i try to just move.
cheers!
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