There is a common misperception in the workplace that effective and productive people fit into the go-getter, proactive, or highly organized mold. While it may be true that these people are often rewarded for their seemingly productive ways, their productivity levels are actually well below those of the effective slacker.

Go-getters are always busy but they only focus on tasks that get noticed by executives. These tasks are usually highly visible but rarely important to the success of the company.

Proactive types are also always busy but their proactiveness leads to an eventual interference of completing higher priority work.

Highly organized employees waste their lives away inside Microsoft Project and their FranklinCovey weekly planner.

On the other hand, the effective slacker quietly performs all the duties required of him perfectly and quickly. An effective slacker always delivers on time, usually because they had it done months ago and made sure no one else was aware. Regardless, the effective slacker is the invisible engine of Fortune 500 corporations. Without them, large organizations are just a large stack of cards waiting to crumble.

An effective slacker solves problems the easy way. One could argue they are the mathematicians of the workplace. Just as a true mathametician is lazy and searches for the quickest, easiest and most effective way to solve a problem, an effective slacker also spends his very short workday devising the fastest route to the best solution.

Though rarely promoted or given positive feedback, effective slackers are often paid more than the managers above them due to the company's reliance on their knowledge and efficiency. This large salary is usually unknown among other coworkers who make thousands of dollars less, because they are too focused on attaining a "Senior" prefix in their position title.

More importantly, an effective slacker has a very low stress level. Their physical presence may be 30-36 hours a week, but actual work time usually hovers between 20-25 hours per week.

To help others become effective slackers, here are the seven habits of highly effective slackers:

1. Don't volunteer yourself for anything. Whether a request comes via email or in a meeting, don't ever get yourself involved in something that isn't mandatory. If no one else volunteers, they'll eventually assign someone. Until they do, bank on the fact that a go-getter will jump at the opportunity and fail miserably. Getting yourself into non-mandatory activities only threatens to reduce your free time, or even worse, increase your physical hours at work. The one exception is actual volunteer work. Anything that gets you out of the office is ok in the effective slacker handbook.

2. Always send emails when making a request to another employee. Others at the office love to schedule 30 - 60 minute meetings to make sure "everything is covered" or to schedule a "kickoff" or "walkthrough" before handing off an "action item" to another employee. Using these tactics ultimately lead to schedules packed with unnecessary meetings. An empty outlook calendar is the true sign of a highly effective slacker. Emails that end with "if you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me" are basically a legal disclaimer that translate to "I sent it to you. If it doesn't get done and I'm not aware of you not getting it done, or your inability to not get it done, it's your fault, not mine." Many experts disagree and advise personal conversation. 90% of your work does not require personal conversation.

3. Never inform people that you finish things early. Delivering on time is just as good. There's no reason to be over ambitious. Getting things done early is highly recommended but only for your own advantage. For example, when forced into meetings, try to listen closely during the first portion of the meeting. You can usually clue in on what the "action items" are and complete them before the end of the meeting. Highly organized people will be in charge of determining the timeline for your "deliverables". They are usually completely clueless and they'll give you way too much time to complete the item. When you find out they just gave you three days on an item you already completed, it is highly imperative to keep your mouth shut. Finding out you just received three days to do absolutely nothing is like waking up on Christmas morning as a child and finding Nintendo's Rad Racer under the tree.

4. Follow the instructions on How to sneak out of the office early （and often）. Not being at work doesn't make you less effective. You already finished everything.

5. Never skip lunch or eat lunch at your desk. Even eating at the corporate cafeteria is dangerous. Eating lunch at your desk is like landing on Free Parking and not taking the cash in the middle. Your employer is obligated to give you a lunch break. Leave. Staying at your desk could not only result in working during the lunch hour but it may also result in additional afternoon work. The less hours you are present at the office, the less likely you are of obtaining unneeded additional work. Most requests that come during the lunch hour are very low priority items that eventually fall off the map if you're unavailable. If you're feeling lucky, try the 2 hour lunch.

6. Never allow others to take credit for your work. Go-getters and other related types of employees love to take credit for other people's work. As an incredibly lazy member of your office, you need to ensure that all of your work is credited to you. Your deliverables are all you have because it's the only work you do between the internet browsing and coin flips for cold beverages in the break room. Without your impressive deliverables you are the the guy who takes long lunches and is next in line for being laid off. To prevent go-getters from taking credit for your work, CAP them. Sending a threatening email in all caps is enough to scare most corporate employees from bad behavior.

7. On especially lazy days, if your office has wifi, book a conference room with other effective slackers （probably your Work Posse） for the entire day. Bring your laptops in and your workday pretty much consists of vulgar conversation, keeping up on incoming emails, and about 4 hours of determining who can throw a paper airplane the furthest on the FlightSimX Paperplane Game.

在职场，有个普遍的误区，提到高效率、高产出职员的特点，多是精力充沛、渴望成功、积极主动，高度组织等。虽然这些人常常会因这些看似有效率的工作方式而受到褒奖，但实际上，他们的生产力水平，远低于那些高效的"懒人".

自告奋勇者总是很忙，但是他们只致力于那些能够引起主管注意的工作。这些工作往往是明显的，但对公司的成功作用很小。

积极主动者也总是忙碌，但他们的积极主动最终会带给他们更多亟待完成的其他工作。

喜欢规划安排的员工则将他们的生命浪费在Microsoft Project和FranklinCovey周计划编制软件上了。

相反地，高效"懒人"会迅速、完美、毫无声息地完成他们承担的所有工作职责。他们总是能按时上交工作，往往是因为在几个月前就已经完成任务，而不让其他人知晓。不管怎样，高效"懒人"是世界五百强公司的暗藏动力源，没有他们，大型企业或组织，只不过是一大摞将会散落的纸牌。

高效"懒人"可以很轻松的处理问题。他们可以称之为公司的数学家。就像一名真正的数学家会很懒，以至他们总是寻找解决问题最快、最简洁、最有效的途径。slacker也是如此，他们能够利用工作日短短的时间，想出一条最快的途径让问题得到最佳处理。

虽然"懒人"很少得到职位提升或是给予积极反馈，但他们会因公司对其知识和效率的依赖而给予比经理们更高的报酬。而那些挣得钱比高效"懒人"少数千美金的同事们，往往对此毫不知情。因为他们醉心于在职称前加一个"重要"的前缀。

更重要的是，"懒人"的工作压力小很多。他们一周的出勤时间可能在30-36小时，但一周的实际工作时间维持在20-25小时。

以下有七条高效"懒人"的习惯，可以帮助你成为和他们一样的人：

1. 别自愿做工作。当有任务通过电子邮件或会议传来时，别让自己插手那些非指定性的工作。如果没有人自愿去做，那这些任务自然会被分配给其他人。坚信这个事实，当工作机会出现时，总会有自告奋勇的人跳出来，如果他们接手，自然是惨遭失败。你自己插手这些非指定性工作，只会减少你的自由时间，或更遭的是，增加你的实际工作时间。不过有一项是例外，那些当你下班后所作的真正的义务工作是被写入高效"懒人"手册的。（译者注：比如加入译言翻译文章，^_^）

2. 当给其他职员发送任务请求时，请使用电子邮件。一些办公室员工，喜欢时不时开个30-60分钟的计划会。会上，他们确保"所有事情已经考虑到",或者安排"开干"或"进行"的时间，然后他们才会将"工作项目"交给其他员工。这些技巧的使用，只会最终使得计划安排充斥着无必要的会议。一张空的Outlook日历才是一名的高效"懒人"的本色。以" 如果您有任何问题或疑虑，请随时与我联系"结尾的电子邮件，本质上是一句免责声明，可以理解为"我只是把任务请求送达了，我并未告知你不要去做它，而且我并不知道你是否胜任它。如果任务没有完成，这是你的错，而不是我的。" 许多专家对此不以为然，而是建议个人之间的对话交流。但你的工作的90%并不需要个人之间的交谈。

3.绝不要告诉他人你提早完成任务。按时上交就足够好了，不要太过雄心勃勃。当然，为了你自己，将任务提早做完是值得提倡的。例如，当被迫参加那些计划会时，在会议的第一阶段，试着仔细聆听。你通常会发现那些"工作项目"的具体内容的线索，然后在会议结束时确认之。高度组织的人会负责决定你提交任务所需的时间表。他们通常完全无法合理安排，并会给你足够多的时间去完成任务。当你发现他们给你三天时间去完成你早已完成的任务时，你必须提醒自己别说漏嘴了。当你发现你有三天时间完全不用做任何工作，那感觉就像是小时候在圣诞节早晨醒来，发现树下有个任天堂的"Rad赛车".

4.按如下说明"如何悄悄早点离开办公室（并经常地）".离开工作并会使你低效，因为你已经完成了所有任务。

5.绝不在午餐时间工作或者在你的职员桌上吃午餐。即使在公共食堂吃饭也是件危险的事情。在你自己的桌上吃午餐，就像在所谓的免费停车场停车，等到收费时发现手上没现金。你的雇主会给你午休时间。当你待在自己的位子上时，不仅会导致午餐时间也要工作，还会引起下午额外的工作。你出现办公室的时间越短，得到不情愿的额外工作的机会就越少。大多数午餐时间发出的任务请求，是不紧急的。如果你不在，它们就会往后顺延。如果你觉得运气不错，可以试试2小时的午餐。

6.绝不让他人抢了你的功劳。自告奋勇者和其他类似的职员，喜欢抢他人的功劳。那么像你这样一位极度"懒散"的职员，就必须确保所做的工作都挂在你名下。因为你上交的工作，便是你在上网冲浪和翻转硬币去休息室购买冷饮的间隙里所做的所有工作了。如果没有这些给人留下印象的上交作业，象你这种午餐可以吃两小时的家伙，就等着被解雇吧。要防止那些抢你功劳的家伙，可以写一份全文大写的恐吓信，这应该足以镇住大多数同事的抢功劳的不良行为了。

7.在特别懒散的日子里，如果恰好你的办公室有WIFI无线网络，可以跟你的同志们全天订下一间会议室。带上你的笔记本，那样这个工作日很可能变成这样：无关紧要闲扯，处理刚收到的邮件，以及花4小时的时间玩FlightSimX纸飞机游戏以决出谁能将扔飞机扔得最远。