Evil tip: avoid "easy" things (2016)
6 hours ago
- #productivity-strategies
- #task-management
- #workplace-psychology
- Avoid working on 'easy' tasks because failing is shameful and success is unremarkable; instead, focus on 'hard' tasks where failure is expected and success makes you a hero
- Perception matters more than reality: the best tasks are easy ones perceived as hard, while the worst are hard ones perceived as easy
- Let others fail at tasks they think are easy but are actually hard, then step in only after they've adjusted their attitude—this is 'evil' but effective
- Use the 'postponing gambit' to delay easy tasks until they become urgent, making them seem harder and more important while reducing scope under time pressure
- Maintain plausible deniability when postponing tasks by using excuses like other urgent work or underestimating difficulty, and be nice to those who remind you late to avoid teaching them to remind you earlier