Jul 16, 2008
How laziness breeds efficiency
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Laziness and efficiency both come from wanting less work, so the most efficient people are sometimes those most motivated in their laziness.
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© 2012 Abuyo. All rights reserved.
I am one of those people.
It is amazing how much work some of us will do to avoid work. I can work very hard to be lazy.
Hmmmm, in my experience as a factory worker lazy people can be bothered to find efficient ways of doing things. They just do as little as possible without getting fired.
People who work at efficiency generally do it so they can get other tasks done in addition to the ones they’re already doing.
I know the kind of people you’re describing, Michael. And I’d say that those folks aren’t very smart about being lazy.
Back in college, one of my professors said laziness is a good quality for engineers for this reason.
I work in the semiconductor industry at the moment and some of the best techs are the smart-lazy ones. They are smart enough to figure out the most efficient and effect way to do their job so that they don’t have to expel unnecessary energy.
Greed build efficiency. Walmart is efficient and the government is slothful.
I’d agree with Michael that efficient people tend to be efficient so they can get more done, not so they have time to rest. Those who want to rest can do it any time, and if they go to work for the government, they can do it all the time.
I write this while at my government job.
Laziness is one of the three great programmer’s virtues, along with Impatience and Hubris. Search wikipedia’s entry on Larry Wall for “laziness.”
Here’s a quote (from despair.com) that illustrates the dynamic tension between laziness and efficiency:
Dare to Slack:
When birds fly in the right formation, they need only exert half the effort. Even in nature, teamwork results in collective laziness.
I’m guessing that power steering wasn’t invented by a fitness freak.
So is this the subtle reasoning behind only 22 words?
Just kidding, nice discussion starter.
this doesn’t seem true in my experience. truly lazy people, which i’m assuming means they dislike activity and any sort of work (not just the unpleasant kind), are more like Michael Krahn described: they just do less, or poor, work. if a person is motivated to be efficient, i wouldn’t call them lazy (few people WANT more busy work than necessary), just … efficient.
then again, i love efficiency and am so efficient i never have anything to do at work because it’s all done. so maybe i’m just being defensive? :]
I employ many efficient people, and the truly efficient want to be able to do more more, not less. That is, they want to accomplish more.
The truly lazy want there to be less work and more free time.
Yep. That’s why I purposely work a long, hard first week of the pay period, so I get a short, easy second week. Maybe even half a day off. But I usually use that extra time to clean the house or grocery shop, so my desire to be lazy never really becomes more than a desire. Does that mean I’m a workaholic? :)
Speaking of Brett Favre, what’s up with the spelling of his last name? Oh, sorry–wrong post :)
While I’m here, could Brett’s retirement be fueled by the desire to be lazy? Or is retirement a just reward for a lifetime of efficiency?
Yep, there are definately times when the desire to put my feet up is the motivation to find quick ways to accomplish a few tasks and get them out of the way to give time for Zzzzzzz
I’m a strong proponent of the laziness/efficiency theory. I hate wasted motion and energy, so I’m always looking for the easiest, simplest ways to do things.
One of my CS professors in college said something similar to this. He said that he has his “lazy rule.” Anything he finds himself doing on a computer more than three times, he finds a way to automate. I never saw this as lazy, I saw this as smart. The whole “work smarter, not harder” thing. Sure, both ways will get stuff done, and it is often easier short-term to just get something done quickly. I see that as lazy, rather than looking into the issue deeply and trying to find the best way to do it.
Thank you. I just wish someone would tell my mom that.