This is Signal vs. Noise, a weblog by 37signals about design, business, experience, simplicity, the web, culture, and more. Established 1999 in Chicago. Visit the Product Blog for more information on our products.

I would use that when my boss asks my why I’m not working hard, but somehow I don’t think it would help. Which is why working hard is often the safer route if you’re not running your own show. Bad metric, but too often the only visible one.

Give me a bunch of smart, lazy programmers and I could make anything. Smart, lazy programmers automate repetitive tasks so they become more and more efficient over time.

And it’s also important to remember that working hard and looking like you’re working hard are too different things.

When someone is really good at something, they usually make it look easy. Doesn’t mean they aren’t working hard.

Confusing, I know…

All too true.

By “hard” work I assume you mean a high level of activity. Because often “hard work” is actually copious easy work being done in lieu of a more difficult task that could be done with less physical activity or time.

Doing the hard thing means facing the potential for failure. But defining productivity as keeping busy allows anybody to be successful.

How do we know that we work on wrong or good things ? It’s the main problem here…

this reminds me of Jack Handy

always been a problem in a world where you have to log in 8-10 hours of “work” everyday. some people can do a task in 4 hours, other the same thing in 8 hours but yet the guy who’s done after 4 hours and do “nothing” is perceived as lazy, when the one who works overtime 12 hours to do the same is perceived as hard worker

@Pierre I agree with you although it would still be yet one better to have someone that doesn’t just subscribe to the classic “Work smarter not harder” but rather the “Work smarter AND harder” since there is really no need to make it a false either/or scenario as someone smart enough really can get done in 4 hrs what some take 8 hrs to get done and then yet still work on other things just as hard for the next 4 hrs – or the next 8 hrs :)

Sounds absolutey ridiculous, but I watched this while tinkering with / working on a hobby project after dinner. Had to roll back a couple of times, but directly led to some fundamental changes in look / feel & therefore usability of what I was working on … talk about good timing!