Let today be one of smart action, and not hard work alone
The world is becoming extremely complex. Very high inflation, growing expectations of family members, and drastic reduction in the real wages, will all keep us so much engaged with whatever work we do --- even if we do not like it, we are already part of the rat race.
Be that as it may, we should always remember that time management is a very important thing. The most important thing to remember is that with every single passing day, we have lost that single day, and we have only today to work, to hopefully live another day.
Yes, the glorious uncertainties of life are taking a heavy toll too. So, we need to be ever on our toes.
However, even then, there is this very important question: is only hard work the answer?
The answer to the aforesaid question is that smart work is as important as hard work. We can go on endlessly working in jobs that are hugely repeatable. Yet, we would never achieve anything, except wait for the time-bound promotion, that would come to us in every four or five years and enjoy the increase in salary and perks and yet remain where we are -- in terms of knowledge and skill.
If some one to be trapped in such activity traps, simply quitting the job and taking up another one where the nature and content of the job would be in line in market situations, would be a very smart move.
For, he or she would have avoided the activity trap and would have moved on to something better. Even assuming that a bit of the long term perks like superannuation pension would be lost, the massive increase in salaries in the new job, would effectively off set all the disadvantages of short term loss in salary. The individual would have done justice today, for a better tomorrow.
Dead end jobs are the worst diseases. They can ruin entire careers. So, the youngsters of today, need to wake up, and then do things that would demand huge hard work, and smart work, in tandem.
For instance, acquiring higher qualifications in cost accountancy or chartered accountancy or company secretaryship demand a huge investment in terms of time. "Today" means three continuous hard working years. Yet, the results are there for all to see.
Similarly, those engaged in skill-oriented mechanical jobs, in cities like Coimbatore, soon become entrepreneurs. They invest a huge amount of time today --- often up to eighteen hours -- to hone new skills. They start in a small way, learn about small new products, and grow from strength to strength. They also develop a loyal team of people, whom they can trust at any point in time.
They take a few days rest in one calender year, but their investment in time, pays off handsomely.
What we should learn from such people is that it is fine to be very hard working, but smart working is a must too. We cannot and should not do the same thing again and again. We would fall into activity traps that will do us no good, that will make our lives miserable without any significant change in skills or competencies.
Effective time management, with both the hard work and smart work messages, should be taught to the young children, even when they are just ten years old. At least fifteen days of their annual holidays should be productively spent on acquiring some small skill, however small that may be.
Be it painting, or singing, or dancing, or develop a taste for art work, the world will only welcome versatile people. The rat race is on, and what we need to understand is that only the very smart who use today very productively will even survive.
For instance, the jobs associated with the power of the internet are all going to those with huge creative skills. The very young people, simply find a vacant slot, tie up all the loose ends and get going. There have already made huge money, thanks to their productive use of time. The hundreds of start ups that have survived, are all stories of smart action, coupled with hard work.
What exactly is smart action? The answer is very simple. It simply means developing a new idea, or acquiring a new skill that can be made commercially viable. For, in this complex world, we need to take care of ourselves.
Everyone around us will talk philosophies, but if we are not successful, none will help us. This is one important lesson that we need to learn, more so, as we try to acquire new skills, take up jobs, or keep updating ourselves to face tomorrow.
The future will go to the brave, to the innovative and to the risk-taking people.
The future will also be reserved for those who can combine smart work with hard work. Mere hard work will not work, and will never ever produce the kind of results that will sustain us for a long time.
The time to wake up is now. For, it is now or never.
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