Failure is hard to swallow. It’s something I’ve already posted about, and something I’m sure I’ll post on again. Failure can hold us back in a variety of ways, but it can also help teach us valuable lessons and give us the tools to succeed in the future.

But, we tend to mix up our self-worth, and our self-image with our success. If we fail it means we are weak. But success or failure is not dictated by our strength, or lack thereof. Success comes to those who find the right path.

Too often, I see people responding to failure by simply doubling down on their old methods as if the problem is: they’re just not working hard enough. This can quickly lead to burnout and dejection. Suddenly their failure is a reflection on them – after all, so many others seem to have dealt with their problems and have risen above their challenges.

What many people seem forget in the midst of the failure is that the way we do things is as important, if not more important, than how hard we are working.

In ‘Working Smarter, Not Harder,’ Timo Kinder outlines ways we can increase the effectiveness of our work, without grinding ourselves into non-existence. By taking a moment to re-evaluate how we work, we can find our path to success.

Though it seems like putting things on pause, I really want to encourage you to set aside some time to tweak your workflow. But don’t just do it once, tweaking your workflow is a life-long habit that can help you achieve your biggest dreams.

As you improve your workflow, you’ll realize all that grinding you used to do, all that time you stole from other parts of your life, wasn’t as necessary as you thought it was. And with time to recharge, you are more effective on every level.

Now that’s working smarter!