Work doesn't have to be tough

Busyness doesn't reflect good work

I had an interesting conversation with Maxime Bayen, Senior Venture Builder at BFA Global. He talked about starting his business, mistakes entrepreneurs often make and lots more.

Listen to the latest episode of The Grinders Table here - Anchor, Google, Stitcher, Radio Republic

Maxime made a statement that stuck with (and also triggered me) -

Work doesn't have to be tough, work should be fun.

This took me to the formative years of my career, where we wrongly equated effective work with staying late in the office every day, continuously working on the weekends and not building a life outside the confines of the job just to give ‘The Boss’ the ‘appearance’ of the hardest worker.

Don’t get me wrong, achieving your/the organisational goals will entail that you put in extra effort at various times but to do this always? A recipe for an unhappy life.

Once I changed industries, I began to feel guilty because I wasn’t working the longest hours and feeling stressed yet I was achieving more.

Effective work ≠ Busy work

I often see employers encourage their staff to be busy, focusing on the mundane things rather than hyper-focusing on the things that bring results.

Busy is not the goal. Results are.

Btw, a key to doing effective work is also knowing how to ‘show’ it. This is a conversation for another day.

Good work ethic means doing what you say you are going to do, putting in a fair day’s work, respecting the work, respecting the customer and your coworkers, not wasting time, not creating unneeded work for others, and not being a bottleneck.

Good work ethic doesn't mean parts of your work wouldn’t suck, it simply means that you will dedicate your time wisely to chasing activities that bring results. These results will eventually elevate your mood, career or bank account. :)

Maxime shared a lot more in this week’s podcast, so don’t forget to listen and share with a friend.

You can also listen via Anchor, Google, Stitcher, Radio Republic