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The 10 excuses that unproductive people use

The 10 excuses that unproductive people use

March 29, 2024

It is usual for some employees, usually those who have a worse attitude towards their work, to spend the day complaining and complaining. They wander around the office trying to sneak candy or making jokes to classmates. They are not the only ones who do it: we have all noticed that there is many intermediate positions and even managers of companies that, although their responsibility should be maximum, do not give or strike during their workday .

They are a minority but with their null work ethic or their insecurity can contaminate the good environment and the productivity of the entire office.

Unproductive people and their justifications

The following phrases are the ones that this type of workers use to throw balloons out on their tasks and their unproductiveness.


1. I have too much work

Unproductive people do not realize that the vast majority of workers in the world have a lot of work .

Unfortunately we live in a time that comes hand in hand with a frantic work rate. The difference between the unproductive subject and the good worker (or boss) is that the second one does not complain about his burdens, he simply does his job.

2. That's not my job

Each worker must know what is your role within the organization and know how to achieve the objectives . Now, there are times when a worker, whatever his position in the company, should pitch in. It is curious that unproductive people are the first to realize that they are working more than necessary or that they are doing a job of helping a partner who theoretically goes outside the limits of their duties.


They tend to pay close attention to their role and what others do or do not do. Productive people do not worry about these issues, and try to contribute what they can to make things work, in a more efficient way. flexible and generous .

3. I'll finish it tomorrow

Unproductive workers waste a lot of time living in a permanent state of incongruity. They end up always extending their tasks , postponing them for a recent future.

They open a document word, write a paragraph, then start another document powerpoint... This constant opening and closing of tabs supposes a disastrous management of time and energy. It is what is known as Procrastination.

4. I do not have all the information yet

Retail people can also be unproductive . They wait until all the stars align to begin any task. And when this does not happen, which happens frequently, the jobs are falling on deaf ears. In this way it is impossible for them to move forward with an acceptable rhythm.


Productive people do not wait for the exact moment but they work on their projects and polish or modify the course when necessary.

5. I will wait for the boss to tell me what I have to do

The lack of independence is a factor that minimizes productivity , especially in small businesses. When someone is waiting for someone else to tell them what to do, the common project can falter: the lack of rhythm spoils the good dynamics.

The productive person analyzes the needs of the group and gets down to work, while the person who expects to be told every little detail is probably can only provide a mechanical and reduced function to the project .

6. I do not understand all the variables

There are workers (and also many bosses) who do not start a task until they do not know exactly how to act , or until they do not know all the answers to each problem. Nobody has all the answers beforehand, and it will be necessary to face the challenges in order to acquire the necessary experience.

Without going any further, projects like Airbnb or Uber they would not have gone to the market if their creators had waited to have all the legal regulations perfectly verified. Sometimes, technology and human projects are ahead of slow legislation, and this point is key to understanding the progress , both in business success and in the development of societies.

7. I do not take any advantage of this

It is not unusual to meet narcissistic people who spend the day taking pictures of themselves or tweeting about each step they take. The problem underlying these attitudes of unproductive people is that, when working, they usually examine each action based on whether it gives them a direct benefit or not .

Productive people, on the contrary, contribute to the project because they feel that they are part of it, and this is precisely their main motivation, the can contribute to improve .

8. They will not value my contribution

Another point that buries productivity: the need to be constantly valued and praised for the tasks that one carries out .

The process of oversizing your own contributions, demanding valuation and getting noticed so that everyone can realize how much you contribute, sows a land for unproductivity because, as is obvious, other people are not constantly attentive what another worker does or does not do.

9. I am concerned about the quality of my work

L productive people know how to translate good tasks into a constant stream of skill and creativity. They care about quality, but they are also aware that sometimes a push is required to maintain productivity. If the main objective is to always achieve perfection, Productivity plummets .

You have to know how to combine quality and productivity without one of the two factors constraining the other.

By the way: sometimes it can be quite efficient if you get carried away by the minimum effort law . We explain in this post:

"Minimum effort law: 5 keys to understand it"

10. I will fail

An immanent characteristic of every unproductive person is the worry about failure . If the worker never has his own initiatives and projects, obviously he should not worry about failure at all.

When you fail from time to time, it is a sign that you are trying to improve yourself, you are trying new things and therefore, is contributing to the project giving the best of himself . If you expect all your initiatives to be resounding and indisputable successes, it is likely that you will stop proposing others that would have been very positive as well.


The Science of Laziness (March 2024).


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