Work Smarter, Not Harder
What does it mean to work smarter vs. to work harder? Let’s first look at what it means to be a hard worker. Typically, it means that a person spends a great deal of time dedicated to a specific task, which gains them a high proficiency in that subject. A hard worker is diligent, relentless, and persistent. These are all great qualities to possess in any arena, but at some point working hard as we know it gets exhausting.
The Godfather
Twentieth Century industrial engineer, Allan F. Mogensen, is known as a pioneer in office management and is considered the father of “Work Simplification” in the 1930’s. In his book, “Time and Motion Economy in Business” (1938), he introduced the theories behind working smarter in the workplace to streamline workflows and simplify processes. He is the first person on record to use the phrase, “work smarter, not harder”.
So, Working Hard is Bad?
Working smart doesn’t mean being lazy, and working hard doesn’t mean being ignorant. Working smart represents a proficiency that can only be accomplished once someone has identified and removed wasted efforts within a workflow that they already know well. Inherently, he or she needs to be educated enough in whatever they are doing to reconfigure a smarter way to do it.
A “know the rules before you break them” sort of approach.
It is widely understood that repetition plays a major role in success. In martial arts, regardless of style, there tends to be a systematized structure that establishes a student’s level and comprehension in training…belts, ranks, patches, sashes, etc. These achievements represent the amount of work (i.e. time and effort) a student has put towards his or her accomplishment.
There are a lot of clichés in martial arts, but arguably one of the most famous is, “A black belt is simply a master of basics”, followed by some version of “Now your training truly begins.” In over 35 years of martial arts training, I have yet to meet a black belt who hasn’t been told some version of this phrase. It’s an ominous concept that sounds good but what does it mean, and why is it such a universally shared sentiment?
In short, it means, “Now that you’ve worked hard to get down the essential fundamentals in your training, it is time to learn how to use it better” (aka, smarter).
Learn Early, Hone it Over Time
Throughout my formidable years in training, I was always the youngest student on the floor. (I started taking adult classes at 11 years old because I was taller, stronger, and higher ranked than most other kids). This meant I was always getting thrown, tossed, and smashed by people 2-3x my weight. It was intimidating. Even scary at times. However, my competitive spirit eventually turned it into a series of challenges to improve my skills. I remember the first time I [knowingly] knocked the wind out of an adult and it unlocked in me an insight I would later identify as a “smarter” way to throw my kick.
Being the kid on the floor with a bunch of grown [mostly] middle-aged men, I also saw how much their bodies were breaking down regularly. Some injuries just happen, but many were directly related to their inability to pay attention to what their bodies were doing at various moments in time. This lack of self-awareness always struck me as counterproductive and further fueled my desire to do things better…smarter. I figured that if I could train myself to be more aware of the technicalities of specific skills, scenarios, and applications, I could help myself avoid unnecessary injuries while also improving the result of my practice.
“By focusing on my economy of each movement, I instantly saw results in how to gauge my initial positioning, when to move, how to react, and what to do with it all.” It wasn’t obvious to me at the time, and I would fall trap to neglecting the thought process off and on, but I was already building awareness to the bigger lessons I would eventually learn many years later.
The Evolution
In my late 20’s, I was invited to work with a group that had decades of training in various combative arts. Once again, I was the youngest in the group and what stood out most was that they all were really, really good at distancing and timing. I was always pretty quick and skilled, but I had difficulty feeling accomplished in our combative training because they were just better at recognizing how to move around me…they were simply fighting smarter than I was. It felt like I just entered the Matrix (movie reference), only I wasn’t reading the code correctly. I wanted to be as calm and collected as they were, executing every move with precision and ease. Even though not everything went to plan, they were still so good at adapting and finding new paths to accomplish the goal of the drill: find safety as best as you can.
Economy of Movement
I watched every move, studied each tendency, listened to every comment, and asked questions. Lots of questions. And it all came down to the very same concepts Mogensen introduced in the business world: economy of movement.
By focusing on my ability to minimize effort for maximum results, I instantly saw improvements in how to gauge my initial positioning, when to move, how to react, and what to do with it all. Addition by subtraction.
Keep It Simple Silly
Simple is seldom easy. But it eventually becomes the key that unlocks everything. Only move how and when it is necessary, and be proactive in approach rather than reactionary. This can be true for just about any aspect of life.
In a self-defense context, stand slightly off-center rather than head-on to reduce your opponent’s options. As they close distance we move, stop, or crash in… and then get out right away. If met with resistance, pay attention to where that resistance comes from. Be adaptable to that energy rather than forcing something to happen that actively doesn’t want to. One cannot apply force in two different directions so consider the push/pull philosophy: “When you push, I pull. When you pull, I push”. Many encounters can be quickly subdued simply by letting the attacker’s intentions work against them in your favor.
Of course, this all still needs repetition to become effective and proficient. Nothing comes right away and there is no “get rich quick” scheme to learn. Channel the simple things in our mind and body and everything will fall into place much easier and quicker. Practice slowly at first, with deliberation and flow. Feel for the body’s responses to tell you what to do next. Even try speaking out loud what you are physically doing so you create a mind/body connection.
Practice
We often find ourselves out of tune with what our body tries to tell us. If something isn’t working or feels awkward, it is usually because we aren’t properly aligned or positioned. In slow practice, we can adjust accordingly and get a better sense of efficacy. We can also identify what we are doing better. When we practice at live speeds, let the body do its thing. With enough repetition our bodies will act appropriately so let it work or fail. You can consider what worked or didn’t, and why, once the drill is complete.
So keep it simple, folks. Identify the smarter way to accomplish your goal. Go with what works. What works might very well change with more practice but until then, be smart. Don’t spend too much time getting fancy when the real purpose is to be safe. Work smarter and you’ll eventually find that you won’t be working as hard as you once were.