Smart And Lazy Are Not Synonyms

As a productivity consultant to small business people and managers, people sometimes look at me as if I were promoting laziness and slothful behavior when I guide them to have more free time.

Seeking to have more free time doesn't make a person lazy. It might, however, be a sign that the person is smarter than average. Smart enough to separate from the mentality of the herd and think for him or herself. The herd mentality is what causes us to work harder and longer in order to make a living and supply our family's needs.

Can you name a true fact that indicates that working hard and long is an accurate measure of a person's attitude?

What is the basis for which we are paid? Isn't it our production? Therefore, my consultations focus on leading a person to produce more with less time, and enabling him/her to earn their pay for the required production, just as the person who works longer to achieve the same level of productivity does.

At the end of the day, I would suggest that the person who produces more in less time is far from lazy. He or she is, in fact, more productive, smarter and less lazy than his or her counterpart who just shuffles along all day to produce requirements that can be done in much less time.

Another consideration, as we compare working more for equal or less results, is to note that all the extra time spent working, or just being present, making excuses to yourself and avoiding the work, until there is no other choice, is that this excess busy-ness reduces creativity. Working just to fill time is also unnecessarily stressful, a waster of time and restricts creativity because it is unbalanced.

Look all around you, as well as within yourself, and you will observe that life is cyclical. We go through cycles of work, rest and recreational activities. All these are necessary for happiness and fulfillment. If you always work, you become ineffective and counter-productive. If you rest all the time, you're sure to become lazy and a sluggard. If you play all the time you will likely get bored and come to despise your excessive hedonism. The obvious evidence clearly shows that life needs all three elements.

When our work requrirements are accomplished quickly and effectively, we can find time for more relaxing activities. During these periods of rest and relaxing and doing things we enjoy is when we are most likely to be inspired by things in our surroundings that move us to credative action. Who knows, we may invent something, paint or photograph a stunning picture, write or sing a song, enjoy our family more, etc. This non work time is most likely to stimulate our creativity.

I must be sure to clearly state that when it is actually necessary to work longer hours, it has to be done, but, again, remember that our value, our pay and our perks are, in the end, based on our production, not the time we hang around our place of work. Think about your dentist. Should his pay to depend on how long and hard he works on your teeth? Wouldn't you rather he finish quickly and effectively? Would you tell him he needs to work longer and harder for his fee?

We need to reject the idea that working less is indicative of laziness, unless, of course, the person under consideration is shirking his overall responsibility. Remember that we all work for incentives. That's basic economics. If there were no profit, the businessperson would not operate a business and if there were not a favorable combination of life needs provided, the businessperson wouldn't be able to find people to work and make it possible for him to produce more and make more profit.

When we realize that people work for incentives and do other things for fun, doesn't it make sense to reward those, including yourself, who produce more in less time with extra time off, without a reduction in pay? I pose this question assuming that you want a work force of cheerful, motivated people. If we only produce more only to enable us to work longer and harder to produce more with the time saved, we are losing our balance and getting back into the vicious cycle that may lead us to join 26% of American workers who have had or are about to have a nervous breakdown.

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