Slacking off can be hard work, with disastrous consequences. But it can also be very rewarding, alloting a person more free time and enjoyment.
When most people hear the term 'slacking off', they immediately assume that the 'slacker' is a lazy, good for nothing, waste of space. Being a slacker is a lot harder than one might think.
One of Dictionary.com's definitions for a slacker is such: Lacking in diligence or due care or concern; negligent: a slack worker. Ok, cool. We already knew that. But why does a slacker.. slack off? The answer is simple: It's fun.
Procrastinating, doing things half-assed, well, these lead to having more fun! Putting things off until the last minute gives a person a lot more time to do the things they really want to do. Rushing to get a job done, same thing. Slackers aren't always people who simply don't do anything; they're usually folk who just don't do things properly. And these people are everywhere.
Slacking off can occur anywhere, too. Work, home, school, the laundromat; whereever work is done, work can also not be done.
I work in a bookstore. It's fairly small, and is usually only staffed with around 2 to 4 people at a time. I usually work evening shifts, taking over for the manager and the fulltimers when they go home for the day. Before they leave, a list of things for us to do is always left. When my shift starts, the first thing I do is go for the list, and determine how long each task will take, and the feasibility of doing it now or later. Straighten and dust bookshelves? Why do it now? I'll just stand around for the next 4 and half hours reading Entertainment Weekly, and then get to that during the last half hour. If I do it now, the customers are just going to mess it up again anyway!
At school, I can't follow the teacher in my Economics class. Noone can, really. He contradicts himself all the time. So, rather than learning false information from him, I just ignore him. Put in the earphones, lean back in my chair, and play Super Mario World on my GBA for the rest of the period. I'll get the lesson from the textbook. Eventually.
Do my marks suffer? Of course they do, there's always a price to pay for slacking off. But am I having fun? You bet! And isn't that what life is all about?
Slacking off is for the mind and soul. It may not be a lot of people's cup of tea, but it's mine. It's just the way I am. I couldn't not slack off if I wanted to. Who knows what homework or studying I could be doing right now instead of writing this down.
More on slacking, such as advanced strategies, excuses, and how-to-make-it-look-like-you're-working-while-you're-actually-slacking will be covered in the next installment, coming soon: Guide to slacking off 202.
Yeah, sure. I'll write it later.