We know working hard is how we achieve what we want, but it’s not the only way.

mark-cuban-vanity-fair-event

Photo Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

Simply working hard isn’t a guarantee of doing well. Nothing is, but working smarter  can get us there as well, and that sometimes means being more productive and profitable without adding more effort and work hours than necessary.

Sound impossible? It’s all about strategizing and effective use of our time

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs quote on listening to your heart - Don't let the noise of others opinions drown our your inner voice

Steve Jobs once said in an interview: “This is how I do it. I take a sheet of paper, and I say, ‘If my company can only do one thing next year, what is it?’ Literally, we shut everything else down.”

Jobs believed in prioritizing and not wasting time on things that weren’t likely to meet the ultimate goal.

Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett quote - Withou passion, you don't have energy. Without energy, you have nothing

Buffett believed in the “5/25 rule,” where you write down 25 goals, and then circle the five goals that are most important to you. That way you know the priority, and all the others are secondary. Much like Steve Jobs, don’t even think about that other stuff until you take care of the stuff on the top of your list.

Mark Cuban

mark-cuban-vanity-fair-event

Photo Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

Mark Cuban knows how to make the best use of his time, and that’s related to ONLY doing email. He wastes no time on phone calls or meetings unless it’s to get paid. That helps him maintain control of his schedule and have no interruptions.

Bill Gates

bill-gates-quote-success

Bill Gates suggests that you get two monitors, one to use for whatever you’re working on and a second dedicated solely to your email. That way when you do have emails you need to look at, you don’t lose your place on what you are working on.

Jeff Bezos

tech-ceo-jeff-bezos

Photo Credit: Drew Angerer / Getty Images

Jeff Bezos has a two-pizza rule when it comes to meetings. He never attends a meeting that has so many people that two pizzas couldn’t feed them. Why? Too many people talking and shouting at each other leads to nothing actually getting accomplished and a lot of time being wasted.

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark-Zuckerberg

Zuckerberg is actually doing things a little differently than the other masterminds of business. “I think a simple rule of business is, if you do the things that are easier first, then you can actually make a lot of progress,” Zuckerberg said. He believes once you get the simple things out of the way, your list is shorter of remaining tasks and you have a sense of accomplishment from what you’ve already done!