How to Avoid Work & Live Happily
HOW TO AVOID WORK & LIVE HAPPILY
There is this quote by James Masefield “Days that make us happy make us wise.”
For many of us, the idea of happiness is a lot of leisure, and hence we usually dislike work. We all have learnt during our schooling, attending religious discourses or training institutions, parental instructions, how vital the work is in life. People dislike work for the same reason. People with whom this feeling is honest either boldly renounce this or enjoy life happily. A wise investment means to avoid the incidence of work tactfully and also at the same time manage to get away with it, unblemished. However, unlike other techniques, this is rarely known. Those who know this technique rarely part with it to others for obvious reasons.
Let us break this monopoly of the chosen few for the good of the needy (society, in general). But for this aim to achieve, putting ideas on paper could have been avoided. As far as avoiding the work is concerned, the author feels he is partially successful! This topic and disclosing the techniques deserve a full-fledged book, but the author successfully avoided doing that. Hooray!
Perhaps, you are not aware this manuscript remained with the author for several decades hidden but practised, unshared and unprinted. Sheer and successful procrastination! So, you can understand his expertise in this field.
So here it is especially for you!
…. Satish Chowkulkar[Author]1
Before entering into the depth of the technique, the beginners must understand or accept certain principles as accurate. Therefore, it may appear a bit difficult and uneasy to buy initially. Still, one will end up developing solid convictions as practice progresses.
PRINCIPLES
Men by nature avoid work and, if possible, transfer it to others.
Acceptance of work does not prejudice one's natural right to prevent or transmit it.
Working Class does not necessarily mean so.
Efficiency does not always relate to performing work.
The rate of the influx of work is directly proportional to the speed of disposal.
Leisure on hand is better than unread credit lines in Confidential Dossiers (like posthumous merits in heaven).
Unlike many other theories and techniques, this technique has an inclusive and not exclusive list of similar principles. Every practising man may add to the list of these principles as he succeeds when he would own his technique. I will not mind if readers think that I am avoiding adding to the list further by myself.
To avoid any confusion:
Avoiding work being an instinct one should not feel shy or feel embarrassed about it. Tendency to transfer our work to others is only a projection of the primary tendency. In the absence of this understanding, few people develop a guilty conscience and cannot effectively avoid or transfer work to others.
Still, it would be wrong to contend that one's fundamental right to avoid or transfer work to others subsequently is fettered. At times one may fail to prevent work summarily. One may lose many battles and yet win the war.
This principle should be understood and adhered to on war footing. Even after initially accepting a work, inadvertently or through some misunderstanding, one can search for pretexts or methods to transfer it. Question of 'false prestige' and such similar inhibitions should be dealt with appropriately.
In these days of class struggles, management and labour unions always use the word 'working class'. But by no way, the technique of avoiding work is the monopoly of the working class alone. For clarity, one should bear in mind that the method transcends these class limitations.
Because management, trade unions and workers are required to perform some work or the other, so comes the technique. Working classes have gained formidable power and an all-time weapon by avoiding work, delaying work execution, or stopping work altogether. Evenly, managements have to resort to the avoiding techniques in respect of their work such as avoiding transparent decision making, delaying the settlements and agreements, postponing complicated projects & ventures etc., etc.,
So, the power of the working class is not gained by mere working but successfully avoiding it, and technique transcends its limitations of 'classes' and prevails at all levels.
Generally, efficiency is sub-divided as qualitative and quantitative, i.e., capacity to perform with improved quality of work and ability to turn more work in a given time. But when it comes to avoiding work, workers play one branch of efficiency against the other. They will depend on work quality when the amount of work turned in is less and gracefully point out the volume of work turned if the quality of work is under adverse criticism. One will thus observe that efficiency does not relate to performing work alone but can shelter the absence of performance if underlying principles are widely employed.
It is a myth that only when you finish your work on hand that you can enjoy leisure. Many people being under this wrong impression meet frustration head-on. They even fail to trace the reason for this frustration because they do not get the required leisure to apply their mind to this problem. These poor brethren neither achieve much longer efficiency nor get a credit line in CR. Because for an onlooker, they appear to be 'keep pending'. Let us see afterwards type people as their tables are always full of papers. The reason for such unbecoming is there cannot be a working vacuum on an operating table. One can apprehend the truth if he would lift his head and look around.
The realisation of the primary principle will reinforce one's conviction because basic ideas are correlated. First, one need not wait for achieving the same in heaven posthumously. Secondly, every passing moment is a part of eternity. Moment transforms itself in eternity depending upon what one makes of it. Like any other project, self-sufficiency is a prime factor in this task as well. Individual's involvement is essential to achieve the desired perfection is assimilating the technique.
Now having gone into the fundamental principles, we are all set to look at the technique provided we are not desirous of "Avoiding the work" of reading and understanding. Here, the author wishes to clarify that these techniques are helpful for office work as also in the social, cultural, political, educational, and domestic sectors. A close look at the state of affairs around us will make the idea appear crystal clear. While detailing the technique, the author has meticulously avoided examples, lest viewers view this work as a mini-autobiography. Enthusiastic readers may even go a step further to invent further details of his 'experiment' to make it a full-fledged biography. The author wishes to avoid the problem by nipping it at the bud stage. Hence no examples. For clarity and apprehension technique is given here in a particular order. But it need not be exercised in any rigid order (as it may undermine the basic idea). Usage of a specific stage at a given situation is entirely your discretion (individual user's risk and responsibility). The author is sans recourse.
So here I start:
Avoid the work in the first place
Do not accept any new work when allotted. Resort to the following tactics:
(a)Pending magnitude theory:
Always point out how busy you are with work already allotted to you (do not attempt to complete that even by mistake). No one, even a spouse at home, will have enough work for you, although the work's fate is quite visible. Moreover, in several social, cultural and political organisations, a person's competency is measured on his capacity to keep the number of things pending for any amount of time. So besides getting leisure, you also stand a chance of becoming a distinguished one in your field. However, one should always have prior preparation for using this theory.
(b)Shifting priority:
Give priority to the job that is not urgent. However, bear in mind that prioritising does not mean finishing that job. You can always procrastinate or keep pending or increase your list of pending work and avoid any new inflow. For example, while at home, give priority to office work. In contrast, at home, show preference to personal work. While at the office, give importance to work relating to cultural/educational or political association or vice versa. In some books on management, fixing priority is considered an efficient technique. Considering the manifold benefits of shifting priority theory to improving priority theory, one need not be a statistician or any such expert to conclude which is superior.
[The author earnestly hopes that the readers are wise enough. Those who are not will become so after reading this].
(c)Modesty:
More often than not, people will unduly praise you for giving more work for you to do. Whatever be their degree of honesty, the fact remains that their objective is to saddle you with some work. Therefore, one must be careful and use his foresight and far sight simultaneously to sense the impending calamity and its far-reaching effects. If: children hail you as their hero, friends call you the most dependable, the wife says that she cannot decide without you being around, a husband telling you that you are the best cook in the world and the boss calls you the most efficient worker, think twice. There are sinister motives behind each of these praises. Immediately, it would be best if you acted very modest and humble without acknowledging the encomiums. Do not let it sink into your head or heart lest they may burden you with work, and you will suffer in the long run.
Practice will groom you to follow modesty as the best policy.
Remember, when you act modest both in thought and action, your head bends forward. It comes out of the line of the heart, thereby restraining such praises entering the heart for their onward journey to head. So be modest when necessary to avoid the incidence of work. You add a feather to your cap simultaneously because one who refuses praise gets double is a time-tested truth.
(d)Shut your mouth & scoot:
We generally grow up in an atmosphere of interdependence. Man is a social animal; therefore, man and society are inseparable.
Though there is nothing wrong in imbibing these teachings in us, one runs a risk of being loaded with an avoidable burden of work due to practising such ideals.
The definition of 'duty' is the work which nobody readily undertakes, grumbles when asked to do but, once done, brags about it at the slightest opportunity.
Studies indicate that if you brag about your capabilities or indulge in others' affairs, the work will find a way to reach you. You will discover such scapegoats in social, political and other spheres of public life. Office and home environs are no exceptions. These guys indeed have a myopic vision; else, they would sense where they are heading to or their fate. Alternatively, they may be hearing challenged lest they would have listened to what their loose tongue is committing. Just avoid bragging. Plain and simple. Preventive measures are -
Let others solve their problems unless they are going to be your problems shortly;
do not think or speak on behalf of others. People are likely to ditch you to save themselves;
if even the slightest verbal or physical involvement sucks you into their problems;
do not give unsolicited suggestions. When asked, provide them from a safe distance.
If you practice this tactfully, you will keep yourself out of work. You will also be famous as "non-interfering man" or "straight thinker" and by similar such adjectives which are not wrong in taste.
(e)Alternative Suggestion:
Whenever you are approached by a 'thinking organism' and a gruesome work problem for you to solve and perform, receive him warmly. Please give him a patient hearing (apparently, though), show your earnest readiness to complete the work despite your deficiencies (take enough pains to paint your imperfections in brighter colours). Your opponent will be somewhat pleased as well as open enough to be caught unaware. Underlying your earnestness for executing the particular work, offer suggestions for better results. Please note to make such recommendations which, if accepted, will not involve your engagement. Your aim should be to:
Find a more suitable person than you for the particular work;
Find a new process for getting better results than the one currently followed. It is necessary to ensure that the new system will prevent your responsibility and performance when implemented;
Find innovative ideas to simplify the procedures (in fact, to eliminate your role in the work/procedure). Before resorting to this sophisticated method, one should possess requisite job knowledge. If not, one should create a feeling in the minds of the superiors and his sycophants. Your aim should be to earn accolades for suggestions and to achieve your fundamental objective.
Having acquired this skill, you should be careful enough not to give even the slightest indication of your reluctance to do the work. Else, the opponent may see through your plans, and you would not stand a chance of avoiding the work. If successful in your showdown, you will be hailed as a resourceful, thoughtful, innovative and imaginative person. Hurray!
(f)Equal distribution of work or revolt :
Make a hue and cry about your existing burden and say there is an unequal distribution of work and demand judicious distribution. There are two approaches for this theory –
(a) Mobilise the opinion of your colleagues and represent their demand for proper distribution of work. Keep on harping on the tune that the magnitude of specific results cannot be adequately measured and make the distribution of work difficult. They would prefer not to bother you. Thereby, chances of your becoming a leader or a saviour for the people of your tribe are bright. Provided, of course, you practice well the art of turning deaf or blind to your opponents' reaction.
(b) Oppose new work blatantly. Point out at others who are loitering without work and ask for equal distribution of work. But be cautious; people of your tribe may hate you. You will have to select between your welfare and the sympathies of your colleagues. If your imagination fails or produces any instant theory, then and only then you should adopt this theory. Because here you have to come out clearly with your intention of avoiding work. Even at such a stage, you are not without the praise of words from such a career. People may term you as a courageous, lone warrior, fighting against odds alone etc.
(c) Transfer work to others: It is quite likely that despite all the efforts, you may fail to avoid work in the first place – one should always be ready to take the second line of defence without losing heart, i.e., transfer the work to others. How to pass on our work to others is a simple question. The first phase is to follow the techniques of avoiding work detailed earlier from the opposite side. It is a sort of corollary because avoiding work arises only when somebody tries to transfer it to you. However, imaginative minds need not limit their thinking on these lines.
Here the author elucidates some of the representative theories of the second phase for successful transfer of work.
1. Scapegoat – Escape-goat theory:
It is necessary to make somebody else a scapegoat to escape some responsibility or work in our day-to-day life. While some are skilled at abdicating their duty, others always become scapegoats, as if they were born to be so. Once you have identified such scapegoats around, you can conveniently become an escape-goat by approaching and beneficially dealing with them. But, of course, it all depends on the facts & circumstances at that time.
2. Learning Work Theory:
When the work cannot be avoided, accept it cheerfully. After some initial study of work, admit to the authorities concerned that work is new to you and show your desire to learn it under somebody's guidance. Then misguide[encourage/praise] the guide to take up the work as a project for himself and do it all by himself. Your work will be more accessible if you can fish an overzealous guide to guide you. Wherever the guide lacks the zeal, you can argue on some fundamental work systems. By any chance, if he also turns to be an argumentative type and would not give in, escalate your doubts to the seniors. On making such repeated references, the senior will get frustrated and transfer your work to somebody else who would do it without bothering him.
3. Teaching Work Theory:
When entrusted with unavoidable work, harp on the need of training a few of your junior colleagues to dispense with the indispensability of chosen few. (Drop a hint about your prospective extended leave programme, if necessary). Once such colleagues join your team, talk of practical learning and objective teaching and transfer your work one by one to them. However, please take care to avoid argumentative type and doubtful character; otherwise, they may turn tables on you. Nevertheless, if all goes well, you will earn leisure as well as respect from your trainees.
4. Specialisation & Expertise Theory:
Despite your best efforts to the contrary, chances of work knocking at your door are not ruled out. In which case, put on your thinking cap and invent a need for some specialisation and expertise that is not available to you. Try identifying a person who possesses it so that you can smoothly transfer the work to him. If such expertise is not available in your department or section, try to identify if the same is available in any other department or division. You are likely to earn laurels from your boss as you will be helping him to solve his problems as well. Develop a reputation in this line of activity. You will be your boss's most trusted trouble-shooter! Then your position will become invulnerable as far as avoiding work is concerned.
5. Team Spirit Theory:
Whenever work is allotted to you, declare it as a task. If necessary, arrange to make it a prestige issue for a group of people around you and set the idea of teamwork. Rest will take care of itself. After this, your only job is to supervise and revitalise their zeal by throwing some motivating phrases now and then. This theory can be used more effectively by people with leadership qualities. One should have an appealing sense of approach, the capacity to convince the people and keeping them in the dark about your real intentions at the same time. This theory has played wonders in social and cultural fields and, to some extent, in political areas.
This works well at home, too. If your spouse tells you to make biryani on a Sunday, declare it as a project. Get your kids to clean and peel veggies, show them a trick of dicing it, praise your spouse that they are good at portioning and seasoning. While they are at it, tell them you will go out and buy ice cream or sweets. Take your time, and when you return, the delicious biryani is ready, right?
Many of my friends tried some or all of these tactics yet felt that it is easier to work hard and excel than practising this rigorous discipline to avoid work. But then, like any other skill, this is a particular skill.
The author does not ridicule them. However, to understand and practice the techniques of avoiding work, one should have an undivided love for idleness and should be committed to the cause.
As far as avoiding work is concerned, one is never at the 'point of no return'. You can always revert to the arduous life of perfection and efficiency (though with a thorough misunderstanding of the terms). Unfortunately, however, history is replete with instances of felling of men of convictions.
By the way, many people who were not rugged enough to avoid work have subsequently changed their path and are now doing well in quality and competence. Most of the distinguished people in this field belong to this category of ex-avoiders. If you cannot win on one side, try it on the other.
Guys, the choice is yours. After all, the concept of happiness is variable from person to person.
Satish Chowkulkar
Satish Chowkulkar, my brother, was snatched away by cancer in the year May 2013. A voracious reader and geologist aspirant abruptly left his banking career to join as a Life Worker with Vivekananda Kendra, Kanya Kumar[Tamil Nadu]. He wrote several books on meditation, yoga and learnings from Shri Bhagvat Gita, published by Vivekananda Kendra.
Unknown to me, he left behind a huge cache of his writings, poems which were written from the age of 17, in English & Marathi [His poems in Marathi have been recently published]
The manuscript of ‘How to avoid work & live happily’ was found after his demise. I suspect, he experimented with many of his theories on me.
Would you prefer reading or listening to his poems, please write: