Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.
-Thomas Edison
We’re both here so let’s get after it!
If you’re like me you were taught that a busy person is a hard worker and should be respected for that.
That’s not necessarily true in most cases.
This really hits home for me because it’s a lesson that I’m just now learning.
Most of my life I’ve worked hard to be perceived as a hard worker!
I never wanted to be labeled as lazy so sometimes I would do things that didn’t really produce results just so I wouldn’t be sitting idle!
Only recently have I come to realize that it’s not the mere fact that I’m doing something that is important. It’s more important to be doing something worth while.
In other words I dont fill my day with tasks unless they are directly benefiting me, society, and/or my loved ones.
For this post you’ll read some tell tale signs that you’re being busy just for the sake of being busy!
Doing Things For Opinions
Granted, I bring this up a lot but I think it’s so important!
If you’re at work doing some mindless task because you dont want your coworkers or your boss to think you’re lazy then you’re lazy!
What do I mean by this?
Doing mindless repetitive tasks is probably a part of every job but they dont necessarily have to be.
Think of a better way to do things!
“Lazy Innovation”
Good leaders will usually test out their work processes by having a lazy person do them instead of their “hardest worker”.
This is because a so called lazy person will often find a way to get the same task done in half the time simply because they dont want to work!
Of course you dont want to cut out critical pieces of the job, you have to produce the same result.
Ideally you can find better ways to accomplish the same task or even discover that the task is obsolete!
Dont keep doing tasks at your job that you know are unnecessary…that’s lazy.
Come up with an innovative process to improve your workflow and output.
Related Posts:
Treading Water In An Ocean Of Advice
How To Become A Minority: And Why You Should Want To
Always Running Around
This one is tough because a lot of people I know enjoy always having something to do.
They keep their days filled with appointments and meetings, even in their downtime!
It’s ok to make time for the things you like to do, just make sure you’re not doing these things just because you’re scared of not doing anything.
Sometimes we need to reevaluate our routines and determine whether or not we fill our days because we enjoy it, or if we’re keeping busy to avoid doing something that is absolutely necessary but maybe not so much fun.
If you’re staying busy to avoid doing something in your life that is necessary that is lazy.
Also you could be living with fear and anxiety which is never good!
Multitasking
I’ll let you in on a secret, successful multitasking is a myth.
There’s no such thing.
Humans just cant do two tasks simultaneously to the best of their ability. One task will always suffer, often both will.
Culturally people in our society are usually given props for being good multitaskers.
I’ve even seen it written in some job announcements!
Multitasking is lazy because you’re not taking the time to triage your tasks.
Triaging
Whenever you have more than one task to complete you should be asking yourself which one is more important.
If you’re not sure, pick one!
When people get really good at triaging a situation it begins to look like multitasking because they seamlessly go from one completed task to the next.
However make no mistake, trying to do two things at once is always a bad idea.
Work Example
Think about it. Have you ever been at work, in the middle of something, and your boss or coworker comes in and starts talking to you?
Doing your task and holding a conversation is multitasking. Both of those activities will suffer.
In my case I used to half listen to what the person is saying while trying to finish my work. I would keep getting mentally dragged out of my work because I’m trying not to be rude.
Now I’ll stop what I’m doing and say something to the effect of “I’m pretty busy right now, is there something I can help you with”?
By prefacing the conversation with the fact that you’re busy you let the person know that you acknowledge them but that they should also acknowledge that you’re in the middle of something.
If what they’re saying is more important then you switch tasks!
Trying to do both is lazy because you dont take the time to explain your needs to the person and you’re willing to let your work suffer for it.
Finale
So in this post we went over three busy traps that equal laziness:
1. Doing things for opinions
2. Always running around
3. Multitasking
You might do some or all of these things and that’s natural. I know I did and still catch myself slipping sometimes.
It’s all about recognizing what you’re doing day to day and making a consistent effort to improve and optimize your life.
As always HMU if you want to chat, I’ll be around!
