Work Hard vs. Work Smart - What the Difference Really Means

I hear this phrase at work often and I also often hear it being misused.

Let me give you two scenarios if work A-E needs to be done. One guy will finish work A-E working long hours, skipping time with friends and family, maybe even doing it over the weekend making sure he accomplishes everything. The second guy will ask people to do it for him and will have his weekends free for family and friends but also making sure A-E is accomplished.

Who is working hard? Who is working smart?

Truthfully, Guy 1 is working hard but Guy 2 is NOT working smart. That’s the greatest misconception of ‘working smart’. People use it as an excuse to do work with less effort. But what working smart really means is accomplishing MORE work.

In the same scenario, working smart would be to work on A, train yourself for what it…