The Working S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Framework
If you love working harder, this probably isn't for you
You’ve likely heard me say it before, but it’s a drum I’ll continue to beat…Excelling in your career is much more a function of intention than a function of effort. Especially in the corporate world.
But what does intention look like? How do I work smarter and not harder? These are questions I’ve heard over and over. So, I decided to build a framework to walk people through it.
First, let’s talk about what it means to work smarter using an acrostic.
S – Strategic Alignment
“What’s our company goals and is my work contributing to those goals?”
M – Multiply Leverage
“How can I turn my efforts into something that pays off again and again?”
A – Attention Audit
“Am I focused on what really matters?”
R – Ruthless Prioritization
“What’s the most important thing to get done?”
T – Time Investment Check
“Is my calendar a reflection of my priorities?”
E – Elevate Through Learning
“What could I learn that would make me more effective and efficient in my role?”
R – Relationships & Reach
“What relationships can I create or build on that will make things easier for me?”
Now that we know what it means to work smarter, how do we do it? In thinking about the how, I wanted a check in I could do with myself at the beginning of every week. A set of questions to start me off on the right foot of being intentional, owning my time rather than being reactive, and working on things that matter. Following the same structure as above, but with more tactical questions for each part of S.M.A.R.T.E.R. to help me build my work week.
Each Monday for the last several weeks, I’ve set aside an hour to go through these questions, and the result has been just as I hoped: higher production with less effort.
Below are the questions.
Strategic Alignment
What are the top 1-3 goals for the company right now?
What outcome can I personally own that ladders up to the company goals?
Multiply Leverage
What work this week has long-term payoff?
Where can I build systems or templates that eliminate repetitive work?
Attention and Energy Audit
What is likely to steal my attention this week?
What can I ignore, delegate, or defer?
What tasks or commitments should I eliminate that drain my energy without proportional returns?
Ruthless Prioritization
What are the three most important things to get done this week? Prioritize them one through three.
Do all three things work towards the outcome I listed above? If no, should it be high priority?
Time Investment Check
Does my calendar reflect my priorities?
What do I need to reschedule or cancel?
Do I have blocked time for deep work and strategic exploration?
Elevate Through Learning
What knowledge or skills, if acquired this week, would enhance all my future outputs?
Where can I get feedback to quickly learn what I can’t see?
What assumptions do I have that could be challenged this week?
Relationships & Reach
Who can I check in with, support, or thank this week?
Is there someone I need to unblock or update?
Which coworkers could I build stronger ties with to speed up decision-making and execution?
I go through these questions at the beginning of the week, then each day I find it’s helpful to revisit them for 5 minutes, to remind myself what the plan is and make any needed changes.
You can find both the SMARTER Framework and Exercise in a Notion template at alecfullmer.com.
Whether or not you decide to start your week off with the SMARTER Exercise, it’s crucial that you start your week off with some sort of planning activity. I can’t stress this enough. If you don’t start with intention, dictating how you’re going to spend your time and energy, then others will do it for you. Meetings will fill your calendar. Slacks and emails will steer your focus. Urgency will replace strategy. But a few minutes of clear-headed planning at the start of the week can shift you from reactive to proactive, and from busy to effective. Own your week before it owns you.
This is amazing and is helping me so much ❤️