Strategic Productivity: 5 Ways to Work Smarter and Break Free from the Hustle
You know how to work hard. How can you work smarter? Seasoned professionals grapple with finding ways to increase productivity, success, and impact without clocking more hours. Here we explore evidence-based strategies to outgrow hustle.
The Hustle Trap: A Modern Leadership Paradox
Do you fall prey to the myth of constant hustle that's all around us? I can't even count the number of professionals with years of experience under their belt who I work with and who are working longer hours than ever. I can say, it's a good percentage of the 550+ clients I've coached.
And I've seen that the higher up we go on the totem pole, the more responsibilities we have, the more we hustle. And the more we create a culture of hustle.
Breaking the Cycle: From Process to Mindset
When will all the technical progress and advancements rein the workday in to something more balanced? Or will they?
I suggest we need more than tech and processes, which have multiplied along with the number of hours worked. We need to shift our attention away from constantly doing more to doing the right things more efficiently.
As an executive coach with 2000+ hours working with high-level professionals, I've seen that when we narrow in our focus and structure it to make things happen, then things happen. Below, I look at five ways to do just that.
First, let's look at a real-life example of what happens with this shift. Delphine, now a general manager, describes her experience::
"When I started coaching with Anne, I was running after time, exhausted all the time. After six months of work, my days have a very different structure, taking into account everything I need to do and freeing up time for me. I learned a lot about making things happen, testing new ideas, innovating. Today, my energy levels are good and I can achieve whatever I want at a reasonable pace.”
So, it is possible to increase your impact without sacrificing your wellbeing.
The Transformation Blueprint: A Framework for Change
Inspired by a recent blog post from the Knowledge Project by Shane Parrish at Farnum Street outlining types of hard work, I wanted to explore five strategies that can increase impact without tipping the balance into unhealthy hustle.
Outthinking: Your Cognitive Edge
This is about finding better strategies or shortcuts. And it starts with just thinking.
When was the last time you took time to think? It's going to age me, but I still remember when this wasn't a luxury. When it was part of the job. Oh, wait, it's still the job. And all those constant notifications, instant responses, and endless interruptions keep getting in the way.
When you look at your calendar, how much protected (i.e., uninterrupted and non-negotiable) time is dedicated to strategic thinking? FYI, a study published in the Strategic Management Journal found that CEOs who dedicated more time to strategic planning led companies with measurably higher performance.
What are effective leaders actually doing? They are pinpointing the time of day they do their best thinking and setting it aside for their best thinking. They are also learning how to use breaks and mind wandering to up their game and outthink others.
Challenge
Whatever your role, block out two hours this week for uninterrupted strategic thinking. Use this time to question your assumptions and explore unconventional approaches to your most pressing challenges. What insights emerge when you give yourself permission to think?
Effort Calibration: Finding Your Goldilocks Zone
What do you do when the pressure mounts? It's tempting to clock more hours. Don't. Really.
Here's a sobering fact: a study published in the Lancet found that working more than 55 hours per week increases the risk of stroke by 35% and the risk of heart disease by 17%. Well that, and hustle is ineffective. A survey of 10,000 desk workers published in 2023 found that employees who log off at the end of the standard workday register 20% higher productivity scores than those who work after hours.
Instead of glorifying overwork, smart leaders find their "Goldilocks zone"—the sweet spot where effort yields optimal results without diminishing returns. And they create a culture where this is possible for their teams.
Doing so means learning how to make the effort sustainable by understanding flow, focus, and energy management. It's about working smarter, not longer. And it means that you focus on the right things, not all things. And that when you need to put in the pure effort—because yes, sometimes that's what it takes—then we up the exertion strategically not our hours logged.
Challenge
For the next month, track your productivity alongside your working hours. Identify the point where additional time stops translating to meaningful output. Where's your Goldilocks zone?
Opportunistic Agility: Surfing the Waves of Change
There is nothing quite like the ability to spot and seize opportunities, which in a business context goes hand in hand with the concept of "dynamic capabilities" in strategic management—the capacity to reconfigure resources in response to shifting landscapes.
It helps to muscle our ability to switch between different modes of thinking and consider multiple perspectives. When we explore new ideas and network broadly, we increase our ability to connect unrelated ideas and see new patterns.
The operable word here is agility. I'm not talking about adding new things to the to-do list, which will just increase the drive to hustle more. No, I'm talking about applying this key capability to how we approach all our undertakings, consistently reviewing them to be able to shift to those that provide the most value opportunity.
Challenge
Review your current priorities and ask these questions: What is the opportunity here? Is this still an opportunity? How have things changed? What needs to shift? How do I reconfigure my resources (time, energy, focus, teams, etc.)?
Consistency: The Compound Effect
You may recall lessons about compound interest from your school-year math classes or like to ogle graphs related to it. And still, when it comes to consistent daily efforts that have the same compounding effect toward results, they just feel like a grind.
When we get caught up in the hustle, it's easy to lose consistency. With higher stress levels, we instinctively shift our effort an energy away from the grind to focus on potential dangers and novelties.
This is where grit comes in as a key skill [link] to both individual and organizational success. And so you know, a meta-analysis by Credé et al. found that perseverance of effort is a stronger predictor of performance outcomes compared to consistency of interests. Make the effort consistently even if your interests change.
FYI, Carol Dweck's research on growth mindset suggests that individuals who believe their abilities can be developed through effort and learning are more likely to persist and succeed in the long run.
Commitment is key.
Succeed and Thrive — Achieve your goals even when the going gets tough.
Build your grit now. Download this step-by-step playbook:
Building Grit and Perseverance: 15 Practical Strategies for Success and Thriving
Challenge
Identify three high-impact activities that, if performed consistently, would move the needle for you or your organization. Build these into your daily routine for the next week, treating them as non-negotiable appointments with yourself. What changes do you notice?
Focus: The New Scarcity
Attention has become our scarcest resource, lost in hyperconnection. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that even brief interruptions can significantly derail cognitive performance.
Cal Newport's concept of "deep work" offers a framework for cultivating focus in a distracted world. By creating environments conducive to concentrated effort, we can tackle complex challenges more effectively.
Shoring up boundaries, perfecting the Power Yes, and thinking about the larger ecosystem can help.
Challenge
Implement a "focus audit" for one week. Log every interruption and its source. Use this data to redesign your work environment and practices to minimize distractions. Don't forget to schedule time for inevitable distractions in your solution, or they'll overwhelm you again.
Your Smart Work Revolution
The key takeaway? Your most productive self isn't your most exhausted self.
The next time you feel the urge to simply work longer hours, pause. Ask yourself which of these dimensions you could leverage to work more effectively instead.
Your future self—and your organization—will thank you.