4.5 — A Memo on Lazy Efficient
“If there’s an easier, more efficient way to do something, trust a lazy person to find it.” ― Marty Rubin
I’ve always done things the long way. I’m careful to cast the net wide and sift through everything I drag in but sometimes I can’t see the forest for the trees. We create our own rituals and practices, diligently taking the path well worn to the extent that we forget to stop and wonder if there is a different way.
Recently I met someone who had this uncanny ability to turn days worth of work into one day or even hours of work. The first time I thought it was a clever trick but the second, third, fourth… well this is an inherent behaviour.
I started to analyse how this person went about their work. In response to him linking unrelated software to automate what is a long arduous task I asked, “what made you think to do that?” and he said “I really don’t want to have to do this manually”. Simple, so very simple but at the same time life changing. We can tie this back to ‘sharpening the sword’, that is, take the time to think about the work and ready the tools before you begin.
After this conversation I started my own little experiment and on post it notes on my laptop, notepad and desk I wrote the words “What would X do?” For a week I tried to see my work and more importantly how I was working through fresh eyes.
Essentially, I was asking myself, where can I be lazy today?
Trying this approach I found that it’s front heavy. There is a lot of energy that goes into making a processes efficient but once the initial work is done it was like watching a ball roll down a hill.
Laziness has a lot of negative baggage and admittedly might be the incorrect term to use. My colleague was far from lazy he was astoundingly creative at working around jobs he didn’t want to do by automating the whole processes. Being lazy efficient makes you more productive and allows you to focus on the work that energises you.
According to Ronald Poon-Affat being lazy efficient involves the following,
- A desire to make everything simpler and easier
- They avoid pointless meetings
- They don’t micro-manage but delegate
- They focus on the essentials of what’s really required to move forward,
- Question existing processes and look for ways to streamline their work rather than simply getting it done.
Challenge yourself for a week to be lazy efficient and see your work habits through a whole new lens. It won’t change your life but it might give you more time to have one.
‘Progress isn’t made by early risers. It’s made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something.’ — Robert Heinlein
