Work Smart, Not Hard

While in the Mississippi Delta, I work alongside a man named Jake. During the week, Jake asked me, "Have you ever heard of the code?" Shaking my head, I gave him a puzzled look. I was still getting used to his southern accent so I was unsure of what he was asking me about. I honestly thought he was asking me about colds. "Well you see," Jake replied, "we have a code for the work we do around here. It's work smart, not hard."

What Jake told me has been in the back of my mind ever since.

At first, I was unsure of how to take the code. Did it mean to take it easy in life? Or to work only as hard as others push you? I really wasn't sure. It wasn't until I came back to school after Agora Days that it finally made sense to me. Not only that, I began to believe in it as fervently as Jake.

You see, the few weeks after Agora Days was a nightmare. There were countless papers, tests, and assignments due. Teachers didn't seem to care that some students may not have necessarily had the time to do homework over Agora Days. Then the last week of third quarter rolled by. I've never understood why teachers feel so inclined to push every important due date to the end of the quarter. Yes, I understand that they need to give grades but they really should know that work piles on fast. And that truly compromises the quality of what we do and what we learn.

I can hardly remember the past weeks. I remember staying up late and taking Melatonin almost every night so my five hours of sleep would feel more like eight. I was determined to get through those weeks with the highest quality of work possible. I figured that if I was going to work, then I would do it damn well. Now that we're in the calm after the storm, I'm really not sure if that was the best idea.

Lately, I've been very reluctant to work. Even with study halls, I'm still up late each night trying to finish my assignments. Everything is taking exponentially longer. I'm becoming increasingly apathetic and that honestly terrifies me. At first I thought it was a bout of senioritis but now I'm not so sure. I would classify it more as a temporary burn-out.  You see, I worked hard but not so smart.

At first glance, the workers code I learned must seem like more like a slacker's code. But really, there is so much truth in what Jake told me that day. Jake wasn't telling me to slack my way through life. He was trying ascribe the value of endurance in life. So often we are so focused on "getting the job done." We have developed a work ethic that prioritizes the present. Too little do we actually work with the future in mind. Too little do we work on a task and think, "Okay, I'm happy with this. Now, I need to focus my energy on the next tasks." I'm not advocating for half-assed jobs but I do believe in the importance of pacing oneself when it comes to working. Going 100% all the time may make you look good for a bit but all it does is set you up for a burn-out.

During those weeks, I made the mistake of not making enough time for myself. I kept pushing and raising the bar and I reached a point where I simply wasn't being smart about it anymore. My friend loves running analogies and she once told me that life is so much more about the miles we run than the sprints. Rather than worrying about the quality of each stride for the rest of year, I want to make sure I reach the finish line in the most satisfying way possible.

Thank you Jake.