20d • General discussion
Why “Working Harder” Can Make You Less Effective (and What to Do Instead)
Most of us were taught this rule:More effort = more results.
But here’s the problem. In today’s world, that rule breaks down.
At a certain point, working more hours doesn’t create more progress. It creates brain fog, mistakes, and “busy work” that makes you feel productive… without actually moving the needle.
A simple story
I once met someone who worked like an absolute machine. Long days. No breaks. Always “on.”
And yet they kept saying:“I’m doing more than ever, but somehow I’m getting less done.”
That’s the paradox:The harder you push, the more your results can flatten.
Why this happens
When you overload yourself, a few things kick in:
1) You start context-switching all dayThat’s when you bounce between tasks like:
- checking messages
- starting something
- getting interrupted
- switching tabs
- jumping to another task
- trying to remember what you were doing
It feels like work… but it’s actually mental drain.
2) You dilute your focusYour brain works best like a spotlight, not a floodlight.When you spread yourself across 10 things, none of them get done properly.
3) You rely on force instead of designYou train yourself to solve problems by pushing harder, instead of stepping back and building a smarter approach.
What top performers do differently
They don’t win by “doing more.”
They win by doing less, but doing the right things.
They ask better questions like:
- What is the 1 or 2 things that creates most of my results?
- What is the one bottleneck slowing everything down?
- What should I stop doing this month?
That last question is huge. Because removing the wrong tasks often creates more progress than adding new ones.
The “One Move” habit (this is gold)
Every Monday, write down:
“What is the ONE move that would make the rest of the week easier?”
Examples:
- Setting up one simple system so you stop repeating the same steps every day
- Creating one reusable post template instead of rewriting from scratch
- Fixing one part of your funnel so leads stop falling through the cracks
- Batch-creating a week of content in one sitting
Then focus on that before you get pulled into the small stuff.
The shift: from hustle to leverage
We live in a leverage economy now. That means:
- Systems beat hustle
- Clarity beats busyness
- Precision beats brute force
- Good decisions beat long hours
- Tools (including AI) reward people who work smart
Your job is not to do everything.Your job is to choose the right things.
A quick self-audit (save this)
Look at your week and ask:
What am I doing that drains my energy but doesn’t produce a real result?
If it doesn’t move you toward:
- leads
- content
- sales
- skills
- or a working system
…then it might be “noise,” not progress.
My new mantra (and maybe yours too)
Stop increasing effort.Increase precision.Increase leverage.Increase clarity.
Because the people who win are not the ones who grind the hardest.
They’re the ones who build the smartest.
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Why “Working Harder” Can Make You Less Effective (and What to Do Instead)
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