Are your efforts going unrecognised?

Do you aim to do everything well, no matter how small the task? Your work ethic might actually be holding you back from achieving what you're really capable of.

A couple of years ago I was deep in the zone working on something, and as usual I had a podcast on to provide background noise. I don’t remember what it was or who was speaking, but something was said that stopped me in my tracks.

"What’s not worth doing is not worth doing well."

These 10 words didn’t just speak to me; they caught my attention so much they might as well have been yelled right in my face. They really made me think about how much of our time, particularly at work, is spent doing things that aren’t really worthwhile, but we still do our very best to do them well.

Years ago I was stuck in a spiral of working on things that really didn’t matter. I was spending hours of effort on things that ended up going nowhere, predominantly for reasons related to the organisation’s approach to priority and clarity.

The time I wasted on these things was taken from the time needed for things that were genuinely important. The answer to this was to work longer hours, eating into my personal and family time, which eventually led to a burnout and all the things associated with it. As with most experiences, while deeply unpleasant at the time, I learned a great deal; in this case, specifically about where to direct my efforts.

I was stopped in my tracks by those 10 words because until that point, I’d never really questioned how much effort to spend on things that ‘have’ to be done, but don’t deliver much value. Because I’ve always wanted to do a great job (though I’d settle for good) on everything I do, I’ll put in the effort and time required to achieve the best quality outcome.

And I expect you’re probably the same; most of us think it’s important to do everything well - that’s the way we’ve been raised. But the truth is, it’s only important to do things well if they add true value. Everything else deserves the minimum amount of effort and level of quality.

For you and I, the hardworking professionals with integrity that we are, doing the best we can on everything we do is a given. We don’t always need to be thanked for doing a good job, because we know it’s the right thing to do. Still, it’s disappointing when the effort and time you spend isn’t acknowledged because that effort has been directed towards low-value activities.

I know it's hard to change the habits and beliefs that have helped you get to where you are, but which are now holding you back and getting you stuck on the low-value/high-level hamster wheel.

If you’re ready to get off that hamster wheel, the answer lies in changing your views towards time, effort and quality.

If you want to be seen for your efforts and reap the benefits of that visibility, here's three new beliefs that will serve you better.

While I’m still not completely perfect at cutting back my ‘quality at all costs’ tendencies, adopting these beliefs has helped me be better at judging just how much effort it’s worth spending on things that I can’t avoid, but don’t seriously advance my agenda.

I hope that you’re able to adopt these new beliefs to better use your time so you can achieve what really matters to you at work and in life.