It's just hard because I'm juggling so many different balls at once--the endless job search, my blog, a PT job (which some weeks has FT hours), freelance gigs, networking, etc. Sometimes I just want to tackle the tasks that are easy or give me instant satisfaction first. I mean, is there actually a human being who likes writing cover letters? Or has mastered it? If so, teach me the ways almighty one!
Liza's really good at prioritizing and working efficiently and hard without going overboard. I'm attempting to take a cue from her. For instance, the other week I was approached for a freelance gig for a magazine I would LOVE to work for. (And have interviewed with, a few times, and come thisclose to landing a job at.) The phone interview was super casual, and as soon as I hung up, I went into Ellen-mode trying to brainstorm a special project I could do over the weekend to make myself stand out from the rest of the candidates. And then the strangest thing happened. I didn't have ONE good idea. Not one. What the heck? How can this happen to a self-professed "ideas person"? (Well, I can't disclose what the subject matter was, but that actually does partially explain my brain freeze.)To make a short story shorter, I didn't turn in a project at all. I kept revisiting it throughout the weekend, but nothing was clicking, and I had other work that needed to be done. I didn't get the job (obvi cuz you guys would have been the FIRST ones to know about it!), but I didn't regret not going the extra mile this time. Sometimes doing work just for the sake of it is not the way to go. At least not to me. Plus, I got other things accomplished that weekend, one of which included SLEEP. Ha!
What about your thoughts about working hard vs. working smart? Do you struggle with this?
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