Investing Hard Work in Meaningful Pursuits: 3 Key Steps

Ever since college, hard work has been my main way to succeed.

From acing exams to completing my thesis, I’ve spent countless sleepless nights studying and working to get the results I want.

Most of the time, I achieve my goal: passing with above-average marks.

Satisfying!

This made my classmates think I was smart because I got good grades, but I can’t tell you how many times I wished I were naturally smart. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have to spend so much time on things I didn’t enjoy, like studying.

When I started working as a software engineer, I brought my hardworking attitude with me. I used it to overdeliver, and it became the main way I impressed my bosses.

On top of what I mentioned earlier—working long hours, even on weekends—I also took on extra tasks that weren’t part of my job to help improve things around the office.

Some of those tasks came from my bosses, but many of the important ones were ones I took on through self initiative.

From teaching new hires, which pushed me to study way more than I knew, to improving project management, I’d say I pulled off some pretty impressive things for someone just starting their career.

But… Did my hard work and dedication pay off?

For the companies I worked for, definitely. Thanks to me, one of them got some automations and streamlined processes that could lead to faster, more positive results.

But what about for me? The short answer is no.

Honestly, the results really challenged the idealism that I guess I got from college—you know, expecting the same satisfying rewards after hard work.

Did I get more time to rest after automating parts of my work?

Nope. Instead, I ended up with more work because my manager saw that I could finish tasks faster.

Did I have fewer tasks because I taught new hires how to do our job?

Nope. Instead, I ended up with even harder tasks because the new hires took the easier jobs I used to handle.

I was promoted and got a small raise, but it just didn’t reflect the hard work and dedication I poured into my work…

I thought about protesting, but then I quickly realized it was pointless, especially since I had agreed to be paid just for my time as an employee.

Frankly, I could only be thankful for the raise I got.

This made me realize that no matter how hard I work in a corporate job, I’ll always end up feeling frustrated since I’m really just getting paid for my time.

Yeah, tell me what it’s like to feel stuck in an archaic system born from the Industrial Revolution!

Tired of the 9 to 5 grind, I started looking for something more fulfilling, where my hard work would directly pay off and bring me closer to the life I’ve always dreamed of.

No way I could do the 9 to 5, so I started thinking about freelancing and building my own business.

But I never found anything that fit me better than blogging.

With the passive income that blogging could generate, I knew it was the perfect job where my hard work wouldn’t go to waste because it directly promised the life I wanted: travel and freedom.

Having the freedom to do what I want whenever I want, spend quality time with my loved ones, and take control of my life makes every bit of hard work worth it.

Now that I’ve chosen a new profession (blogging) worth my hard work, my next step is to make sure the effort I put into it doesn’t go to waste.

How am I going to do that? By building my blog the right way.

This means starting with a solid foundation rooted in authenticity and purpose, and aiming for a goal that genuinely helps people.

This approach ensures that my blog will thrive because it has value to offer from its early stages all the way to when it becomes a fully recognized space on the internet.

(When there’s value, people will always be reading it because they get something in return for their time. And when there are readers, that means there’s potential for income.)

How can there be value?

• Well, authenticity creates the connection we all crave as humans.
• And purpose and goals? That’s where the results come in—like making a change; saving time and resources; improving lives.

On another perspective, there are important reasons why investing hard work in authenticity, purpose, and goals really matters.

• Authenticity ensures that the hard work I put into my blog (content or blog post) genuinely connects with my audience. It fosters a loyal following, which is very important for a blog’s sustainability.
• Purpose and goals, on the other hand, give people a reason to come back to the blog for utility. Not only do they encourage people to discover and read other parts of the blog where I’ve also poured in hard work, but they also help enable profitability.

Ultimately, a solid foundation helps handling any challenges and changes that come my way, like shifts in the algorithms of the traffic sources I rely on.

It’s like building a structure—having a strong foundation makes it more likely to survive any earthquakes that might hit.

If my blog survives, it means my hard work hasn’t gone to waste.

During my first three years in blogging, it was this step that I forgot to take; thus, my first two blogs never really took off, although through them I proved that blogging could really provide passive income.

You can find a quick summary of my experience with my first two blogs in my post titled “Reasons Why I’m Starting a new Blog.”

After choosing a career or a goal that’s worth the hard work and knowing the right direction, it’s now important to focus on which specific tasks need hard work and which don’t.

Knowing these, anyone can free up a lot of time and focus on doing more important tasks well.

Yeah, let’s talk about how working smart can save us both time and energy instead of just grinding away at hard work!

It’s simple:

• Low priority for hard work: tasks that can be automated or delegated typically fall into routine, repetitive, or administrative categories.
• High priority for hard work: tasks that involve critical thinking, creativity, personal involvement or anything that demand personal attention, experience, and judgment that are difficult to hand off to others or automate.

If you’re in blogging, too, I’ve identified some tasks that we can automate, delegate, and those that require hard work that we can’t automate or delegate.

Here are the tasks that require hard work (can’t be automated, delegated, outsourced to AI):

• Defining Blog’s Voice and Tone – Establishing and maintaining personal style and unique perspective.
• Building an Authentic Connection with Readers – Engaging directly with the audience through personalized responses and genuine interaction.
• Creating Original Content Ideas – Coming up with fresh topics, new angles, and unique insights.
• Developing My Brand Strategy and Vision – Deciding the direction of the blog, setting goals, and aligning it with long-term vision.
• Sharing Personal Stories – Writing posts that reflect personal experiences and opinions.
• Networking with Other Bloggers or Influencers – Building meaningful partnerships and collaborations in the blogging community. Don’t ever use AI!

If the budget allows, automate and delegate tedious tasks that contribute little to the overall value of the blog. Here are some tasks that I think we can automate:

1. Content Scheduling – Use tools like WordPress or Buffer to automatically publish posts at specific times.
2. Email Newsletters – Automate sending blog updates and newsletters using services like Mailchimp.
3. Social Media Sharing – Automate the sharing of blog posts across social media platforms using tools like Hootsuite.
4. SEO Audits – Use software like Bing Webmasters Tools to automatically check for SEO optimization.
5. Comment Moderation – Use spam filters or moderation tools to automatically manage comments.

As our blogging business grows, some tasks are better to be delegated for quicker progress. For example, tasks that demand personal involvement to maintain authenticity, vision, and audience connection.

1. Content Writing – Delegate blog post writing to freelance writers or content creators.
2. Graphic Design – Hire a designer to create images, infographics, or thumbnails for blog posts.
3. Research – Have a researcher gather data, sources, or insights to include in your posts.
4. Editing and Proofreading – Delegate final edits and grammar checks to an editor.
5. SEO Optimization – Outsource keyword research, meta descriptions, and backlink building to SEO experts.

Note: Before delegating, though, it’s important for the blog or business owner to learn how to delegate effectively.