This Is How To "Work Smarter Not Harder": 3 Secrets From Research

Top performers definitely focus on fewer goals — but they also obsess like crazy over them, to produce quality work.

That extreme dedication to their priorities creates extraordinary results. 

• Pick one and only one skill at a time to develop.
• Dedicate 15 minutes a day to reviewing your performance on a workplace skill. 
• Isolate micro-behaviors. If you want to give a better presentation, break down what goes into a good presentation and set a goal. 
• Get feedback. Ask people what you can do to improve.

• People think passion has to come from being excited about the tasks you perform. It doesn’t. There are 6 ways to derive passion from your work: Task passion, achievement passion, creative passion, people passion, learning passion and competence passion.
• Purpose is about creating value for others in a way that is personally meaningful to you. It's less about the actual tasks you perform and more about how you frame them.