Hard Work Vs Drudgery

Hard Work Vs Drudgery

I recently finished reading (or, should I say, listening to) the new Jimmy Carr book, Before and Laughter.

One thing I'll say up front: Whatever you think this book is going to be, it's probably not. It's a bit 'sweary' in places, but it's generally excellent content, and there's LOADS I didn't know about him!

Anyway - one of the things he states in the book is that there's a big difference between Hard Work, and Drudgery.

What does that mean?

It means that we're all told that we need to work hard. Harder than ever before - and for longer than we ever thought. While that's true to degree, it's also missing an important distinction.

If you're working hard trimming someone else's lawn with a pair of nail scissors day in and day out - that's drudgery. There's no progression, no growth, no development, and most importantly you hate it more and more.

If you're up early because you have a fantastic idea about your business, and it enthrals you all day and into the evening - that's hard work too, but with a distinction. When you're working on your own business, your efforts go into growth, development, reward, and satisfaction.

When you're feeling exhausted after a long slog at work - ask yourself the question:

"Was that hard work, or just drudgery?"