Gone are the days we worked hard. And what is striking to this day and age, with all the knowledge and smart tools we have, we still see those job ads saying things like: “sweat, hard-working, long-hours, fast-paced” …

No! We say “No!” to more long hours, “No!” to unending emails waiting to be answered, “No!” to countless processes and approval hierarchies.

We say “Yes!” to trust and autonomy; “Yes!” to working remotely.

Will you rather add days into your life, or add life into your days?

This question pretty much sums it up – how about… working so that you get the sense of living. Create your own job which suits you. Be happy. A happy employee is also a more efficient one. So, if you want to organise your work around other things in your life, like family, your dreams or passions, nature walks or mid-day movie breaks, think different. Get into the alternative. Take the leap of faith and be the other option. Now, it’s possible.

We are doing it at Digital Smart. We are a network of masterminds, collaborating cross-borders and cross-sectors to deliver and implement best-in-class digital and social media campaigns. We chose to think glocal. We challenge status quo, we find shorter ways to be more efficient. We hire talent who is smarter than we are, and we put the people in the places they want.

How we do it? We did not invent the wheel, rather we got inspired by others. One of them is Ricardo Semler and his LeadWise Academy. Check it out!

Besides creating a space where people trust each other and have autonomy, there are also plenty of tools on the Internet that allow for smooth collaboration between team members, whether they’re seated directly across you or, on the other side of the globe. Among others apps and software we love:

• Slack for internal communication
• Zoom for conducting online meetings
• Canva for graphic design and animation
• Buffer for publishing content
• Trello for our project management needs
• the Google suite of apps to create our docs, articles, presentations, live broadcasts
• iCloud for storage
• Sysomos for web and social media media analytics

It’s in plain sight that it’s possible to run things with wit, bright minds and the help of a set of carefully chosen tools. You just need to discover the unique mix of tools that work for you and your team.

And don’t forget to follow your gut instinct and improvise!

By Andreea Zaharia, Digital Director