Slacking off like a boss

It started off as just another normal day at the office. Hectic. Unproductive. And definitely boring. Not that there wasn't a lot to be done and papers to be signed and articles to be written. And truth be told, hell definitely hath no fury like that of a boss on D-Day. Then in sweeps Mr. Perfect Hair, churns out two 1000 word articles in a matter of an hour, takes care of all the loose ends and he is gone. Not to be seen again for another week.

Regardless of the degree of truth in the story above, we all know that one colleague who is always late for work – if he actually shows up that is. He is the bane of the boss' existence, the bin for every verbal abuse imaginable and always on the verge of getting fired. But he never does, somehow. Because you see, this slacker knows how to get the work done. While the rest of us are busy showing up on time, browsing Reddit, and then with our attention span already mutilated, sit down to work, this colleague will get to the most important tasks at hand before riding off into the sunset.

Now, most office environments would not really allow one to be this unsung hero. Even in jobs where this flexibility is allowed, there is always a possibility of pushing it too far. But that is not to say there isn't something to learn from him. Enter the highly regarded and esteemed, pseudo-scientific law of MIT (Most Important Task). In laymen terms, it states if it is important, you should probably close that YouTube tab and get it done first thing. We tend to leave off the most important (and usually the most complex) task till last. So by the time we get to it, we are already drained by the lesser, more simple to-dos and the output is shaky. When we are done with the MIT, there is more space to get to that oh-so-important article about Miley Cyrus that you kept bookmarked.

Another thing that our slacker friend is constantly seen doing is running around. While we, the normal people, keep minute details of to-do lists and constantly keep expanding, if he has something to do that takes only a minute, he will do it right then. So by the end of the day, he can sneak off from the office with no worries about the growing list of un-finished menial tasks.

Slacking off should not have to be about being bad at your job. As long as you get the work done at a reasonable (open to interpretation?) time, you are free to binge on entire seasons of Jersey Shore for all most bosses care. Being a little smart while planning the day goes a long way towards giving you a chunk of free time to just be.