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Sunday, February 03, 2008

Sunday Doodles: Shun Laziness at the Workplace

As I was reading The Bible sometime this week my eyes fell on a verse that set my heart pumping hard. My lips went dry as I tried to ruminate over what I had just read.
The words in Proverbs 18:9 were very clear in my mind:

"He who is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys."
(Slack means not willing to work; lazy; not work well; slothful)

These are the very words in the verse that I read. (My aim is not to preach here but to give you insights of how we should conduct ourselves at the workplace to maximize what we have worked for so hard).

The words hit me like a thunderbolt. Why? Well, I have been guilty of being slack in my work sometimes. I know you have too. The writing on the wall is clear: if you are lazy or slothful then there is no difference between you and a person who destroys or wastes.

The more we 'encourage' ourselves to be slack and lazy by camouflaging this stark reality in well-meaning words and clichés such as 'relaxing', 'all work with no play makes Jack a dull boy', and 'entertainment' then we're distancing ourselves from the brass tacks of the game. Therefore, the first high wind that comes will destroy our ship. A ship that has, maybe, taken years of toil and moil to build.

People who are slack will generally find that they have so much time on their hands to do other things but the work they ought to plan for and do. They are time wasters. We must never forget that time is one of the most priceless things that all people possess in equal measure. What sets people apart is how they utilize the time they have.

How do you use your time? How do you use your working time? Do you steal time from your employer? (This gives laziness a 'legal' hold on us). Do you always give flimsy reasons for not achieving what is expected of you? If so, outline the reasons and try to find out why you give those reasons. You'll be surprised at how some of these reasons are puerile.
Our vision is clear in our minds. We want to achieve a higher high and sharpen our unique 'stocks-in-trade'. But we've got to set things in clear perspective before we think of anything else.

We should learn how to manage the time at our disposal and make sure that we measure work output against the backdrop of the time we've used to do it. This way we'll curb time wastage and be on our way to better workplace performance.

As a bottom-line, when work is a pleasure, life is a joy! When work is duty, life is slavery. (If you are reading this on stolen time, please get ways and means of compensating for the stolen time – I am serious!)

Wanna speak to Ritch? Drop him a line at thisEmail Address.

8 comments:

  1. Ritch,
    You have the right message but giving it at the wrong time.
    Which people are you telling not to be slack, the 500,000 who are homeless and have lost their properties? The hundreds who have lost their jobs because they are the "wrong" tribe? The ones who have several people to bury? The Landlords whose tenants have taken off due to insecurity? The drivers whose vehicles have been burnt? The industrialists whose premises, machines and stocks have been broken, burnt or vandalized? The Pastors whose Churches have been been burnt with ashes of humans still in? The hoteliers who have to close the hotels and send away thousands of workers?
    This is not the time to tell Kenyans to work hard. It is the time to bring about justice, peace and reconciliation, It is about restoring faith in the Kenyan voter. It is about setting up a new constitution that will seal all loopholes for thieves and ensure fairness, dignity, transparency and patriotism. Since you have turned spiritual today, please read Ecclesiastes 3 the whole chapter which says for everything there is a time and a season. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to build and a time to pull down. A time to embrace and a time to restrain from embracing. etc. IN KENYA IT IS NOW THE TIME TO PUT WRONG THINGS RIGHT. IT IS TIME FOR WRONG DOERS TO ASK FOR FORGIVENESS. IT IS TIME FOR THIEVES TO RETURN WHAT THEY HAVE STOLEN AND PAY BACK FOUR-FOLD ZACCHEUS' STYLE (Luke 19)

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  2. Kenya opposition is calling for peace keepers in Kenya (google news articles) now that the govt appears to be unwilling or unable to stop the violence.

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  3. Are you people talking to your families back home, especially those not living in Nairobi?

    There is so much that is not reaching formal news networks or that they are unwilling to report.

    YOU WILL BE SURPRISED at just how massive the scale of the destruction is; it is Kenya's best kept secret a la Ethiopian govt. hides 1985 famine.

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  4. I spend the cream of my time in the office on the net. That is 8-9 in the morning when I'm freshest. And yes, mostly on Kumekucha.

    And a few minutes just before I retire to bed. Therefore I stand accused as a thief of employer time. But I do deliver on work. Or so I hope.

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  5. Ritch nice one albeit akin to preaching to the bereaved. The message is apt and useful but doesn't serve its purpose. Going religious is good for a burdened soul but is also escapist. Turning your back to problems at your doorsteps seeking divine intervention amounts to seeking the presidency via deception ya kupita kati kati. Kenyans remain unrivalled in the field of clever deception - panda na utavuna. Realists call it escapicism and the faint hearted call it exhaling, where do you belong and what did you mean? Just curious.

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  6. Ritch,
    The behavior of our church leaders has been disgraceful. I think church pews are going to empty soon.
    And, I have been talking to my people and they say the situation in rural areas is one where law and order are a thing of the past. Society is breaking down. I spoke to my friend who came from Kenya yesterday and he had a damning report to give me. He might be biased and bordering on exaggeration. Since I depend on I depend on the web and kumekucha for news. Can anyone fill me on the real situation.
    Can someone in Kenya give readers a really low down version of what is going on the rural areas?
    Ritch you preached to choir, the congregation left long ago

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  7. ritch,

    I love your message, best so far here on kumekucha...

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  8. Ritch, well put. But in view of the prevailing circumstances, your message is ABSOLUTELY IRRELEVANT!!

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