this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2026
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i'll take the excel, but i'm making some scripts to automate some shit so i can screw around at least half the time
2 smart guys apply for an IT position: do you hire the reliable, hard working guy who never takes sick leave, or the lazy guy?
Always hire the lazy guy. They will go out of their way to find a better way to do the same fucking task so they can go back to being lazy.
If both guys are smart, the hard working guy will find a better way to do the tasks and use the extra time to do other work.
The hard working guy will likely spend more time validating that the automation works correctly while the lazy guy won't. Checking every detail, tracking down the source of any issues and fixing them so they won't occur again is a lot of work. The lazy guy doesn't do that.
What the lazy guy does could be done by an LLM, what the hard working guy does can't be.
So the classic reasoning was the other way around but that was before LLMs so I do wonder if you might be right.
I've automated my self out of most the work on Windows installs. More time to doom scroll youtube or do a lap around the office if I'm feeling ambitious.
Shit gets fixed and users are set up fast so I can go back to doing nothing.
Can confirm. I hate doing things twice, or in some job aspects 50 times.
We had a software and the next step in workflow was outputting the various files to the departments, often same file but multiple output formats.
My coworkers would run the translations manually, set the parameters manually each time, and sit and watch/wait.
I'd be at the coffee machine or chatting to a coworker.
The president stops by "do we need to get you more work, because you are never at your desk"
Me, "My computer is running multiple file translations, it should be done in 20 minutes"
Him: "Oh, OK, maybe we can get these other people setup like that."
You can tell this story is bullshit because the manager was changed their mind.
:) Wasn't my manager, my manager at the time hated improvements. It was president of company, so he overruled my manager.
Isn't that Gates? It's a solid take and one I've kept in mind for years as a lazy man 😆
I remember when I thought being more efficient would result in less work.
The trick is to not let anyone know you're being too efficient. Automate an 8-hour job down to a minute, say you finished it in 7.
you must'a made the mistake of finishing something early or showing-off your 'optimizations'
The trick is to tell absolutely nobody then poke your mouse every few mins to make Teams think you're still online while playing games or reading. Or so I'm told.
place your mouse on a analog watch, trust me
That's pretty genius, and I happen to have one a foot away from where my mouse usually hangs out lol. I'll...tell my friend.
I've made a career of automating excel (and away from excel all together).
I miss it sometimes, but then I need a bit of VBA again, and remember that I don't actually miss it all that much.