Comments on: Balancing diligence and laziness http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/ "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." - Dorothy Parker Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:16:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Hank Delisle http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/comment-page-1/#comment-100450 Hank Delisle Wed, 03 Oct 2007 01:34:06 +0000 http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/#comment-100450 I work as an English teacher in Japan, and I’ve found in my experience that Japanese public school administrators tend to be in the “diligent and stupid” category. That’s why what passes for “education” in this country is brimming with superfluity. And when you look at what kids are rewarded and punished for in a typical Japanese school, you’ll find that diligence and stupidity tend to be rewarded, while laziness and intelligence tend to be punished. I work as an English teacher in Japan, and I’ve found in my experience that Japanese public school administrators tend to be in the “diligent and stupid” category. That’s why what passes for “education” in this country is brimming with superfluity. And when you look at what kids are rewarded and punished for in a typical Japanese school, you’ll find that diligence and stupidity tend to be rewarded, while laziness and intelligence tend to be punished.

]]> By: “balancing diligence and laziness” « the other blog http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/comment-page-1/#comment-3269 “balancing diligence and laziness” « the other blog Thu, 05 Oct 2006 21:15:55 +0000 http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/#comment-3269 [...] UPDATE: Mr. McGee has some good things to say about the topic of creating hardworking idiots, and more intelligently than the fellow at lifehack (my apologies to him, but it’s true). [...] [...] UPDATE: Mr. McGee has some good things to say about the topic of creating hardworking idiots, and more intelligently than the fellow at lifehack (my apologies to him, but it’s true). [...]

]]> By: McGee’s Musings » Being smart about when to be diligent http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/comment-page-1/#comment-1495 McGee’s Musings » Being smart about when to be diligent Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:46:56 +0000 http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/#comment-1495 [...] This is an interesting refinement on my laziness vs. diligence argument a while back. The danger is that it just becomes a slightly more clever way to reinforce the Protestant ethic Properly interpreted, however, Ballard provides a logic for making diligence pay off in compound interest terms. [...] [...] This is an interesting refinement on my laziness vs. diligence argument a while back. The danger is that it just becomes a slightly more clever way to reinforce the Protestant ethic Properly interpreted, however, Ballard provides a logic for making diligence pay off in compound interest terms. [...]

]]> By: McGee’s Musings » Diligence vs laziness - Complexifiers vs simplifiers http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/comment-page-1/#comment-1420 McGee’s Musings » Diligence vs laziness - Complexifiers vs simplifiers Wed, 16 Aug 2006 20:26:46 +0000 http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/#comment-1420 [...] Scott Berkun offers an alternative characterization of innovation than the diligence/laziness issue that I dicussed last month. Life is complicated enough; we don’t need more folks adding complexity just of the sake of complexity (or job security). [...] [...] Scott Berkun offers an alternative characterization of innovation than the diligence/laziness issue that I dicussed last month. Life is complicated enough; we don’t need more folks adding complexity just of the sake of complexity (or job security). [...]

]]> By: /personal » Blog Archive » Lazy = good http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/comment-page-1/#comment-1416 /personal » Blog Archive » Lazy = good Wed, 16 Aug 2006 05:02:14 +0000 http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/#comment-1416 [...] You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your ownsite. [...] [...] You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your ownsite. [...]

]]> By: Take Pride in your Laziness http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/comment-page-1/#comment-1070 Take Pride in your Laziness Wed, 19 Jul 2006 21:16:13 +0000 http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/#comment-1070 [...] Loyal reader WmD sent me a link to an article about the value of laziness in a knowledge organization. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. The article espoused the belief that laziness is undervalued. Laziness coupled with intelligence is a powerful force for new and creative ideas. It is usually the lazy who provide the great innovations. The pursuit of avoiding work is one of man’s greatest passions–at least for those who get ahead, anyway. [...] [...] Loyal reader WmD sent me a link to an article about the value of laziness in a knowledge organization. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. The article espoused the belief that laziness is undervalued. Laziness coupled with intelligence is a powerful force for new and creative ideas. It is usually the lazy who provide the great innovations. The pursuit of avoiding work is one of man’s greatest passions–at least for those who get ahead, anyway. [...]

]]> By: Jim http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/comment-page-1/#comment-1068 Jim Wed, 19 Jul 2006 19:33:00 +0000 http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/#comment-1068 Which reminds me of a very relevant resource for this topic - <a href="http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/" rel="nofollow">Structured Procrastination</a> - which talks about how to use our tendencies to procrastinate about Task A as one motivation to attack Task B. Which reminds me of a very relevant resource for this topic – Structured Procrastination – which talks about how to use our tendencies to procrastinate about Task A as one motivation to attack Task B.

]]> By: WmD http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/comment-page-1/#comment-1067 WmD Wed, 19 Jul 2006 19:25:29 +0000 http://www.mcgeesmusings.net/2006/07/19/balancing-diligence-and-laziness/#comment-1067 I've frequently called it "proactively lazy." If I don't want to put out the effort to perform task A with standard method B, then I'll figure out a better method C, then do that instead. It's not that I don't want to get things done, it's more that I don't want to waste effort doing something, especially if it's a repetitive task. I’ve frequently called it “proactively lazy.” If I don’t want to put out the effort to perform task A with standard method B, then I’ll figure out a better method C, then do that instead.

It’s not that I don’t want to get things done, it’s more that I don’t want to waste effort doing something, especially if it’s a repetitive task.

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