Many people are feeling the stress in these fast-paced times.
Need more stress? Here's 20 different ways to guarantee you'll be
overworked:
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Never ever recognize the talents of others.
Especially never recognize it when someone does something
better than you do. Anytime you recognize the talents of
others, you are in imminent danger of letting that person
do the task instead of you.
-
Never let anyone know what it is you want done and when you
want it done by.
Each time you tell someone precisely what you want, you
are in imminent danger of getting it. Telling them when
you want it only increases the danger.
-
Be sure that when you appoint a person to a position, you
withhold the decision-making authority that goes with
that position.
Withholding the decision-making authority that naturally
goes with a position is your way of ensuring yourself that
you will be doing all the work yourself.
-
Never trust anyone with a position of responsibility except yourself.
You can't trust anyone if you are to remain overworked.
-
Never ever find a kind and gracious way to tell people that
if they are unable to come through and complete a task in on time,
you will have to find someone else to do it.
One of the keys to being overworked is letting people
stay in positions of responsibility when they are basically
doing nothing.
-
See yourself as the only competent human being on the planet.
This is important! By viewing other people as incompetent,
you can almost guarantee yourself that you will be
surrounded by incompetent people.
Remember! There's no better way to overwork yourself than
to view yourself as a brilliant general commanding an army
of idiots.
-
Use meetings to stifle creativity.
As a brilliant general commanding an army of idiots, you
want to be sure to have lots of meetings. Why? Because
meetings are so effective at breeding frustration and
passivity.
Someone in your organization on fire? Douse that fire with
lots of committee meetings. Works every time.
Having doubts that committee meetings can be used to keep
you overworked? Then make a list of the following:
-
All the great works of art created by a committee.
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All the great inventions invented by a committee.
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All the great scientific discoveries discovered by a committee.
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All the great movies directed by a committee.
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All the great books written by a committee.
-
Remember that everyone's responsibility is no one's responsibility.
If you are to remain overworked, it's vital that no one in your
organization take individual responsibility for anything!
That's where committee work comes in. Worked assigned to a
committee is no one's responsibility and can be put off forever.
For this reason alone you want to be sure that no person in particular
is in charge of your committee. This will ensure that your committee
just sort of drifts along and goes no where.
-
Be sure that no tangible result ever comes out of any of your committee
meetings.
Remember! You must keep your committee meetings as abstract as
possible if these meetings are to remain totally ineffective!
They key word here is tangible. As long as your
committee discusses abstract ideals endlessly, you can be safely
overworked.
It's when your committee starts producing tangible results
that you are in trouble. Anything tangible -- written plans,
objectives that are measurable, anything that you can feel or touch --
is a threat to your staying overworked.
It's because like attracts like that you don't want tangible
items produced in committee meetings. Produce something
tangible and something tangible could result. Oh, no!
-
Overstaff your committee meetings.
This is vital to your being overworked! The old saying,
"the more the merrier," applies to committee meetings.
Should your committee be staffed by as few as 3 people, you are in
imminent danger of getting something done.
Avoid small committees as they find it too easy to make decisions and
too easy to implement those decisions.
Small committees are almost as much a threat to you becoming less overworked
as individuals are.
-
Ask for volunteers for important positions at committee meetings.
Nothing could be more important to your being overworked than for
you to ask if someone would be willing to fill an important position
at a committee meeting. This is essential!
Why? Because this is the best way to ensure that you never appoint the
best person to fill the position.
At committee meetings, you can be sure that no deep and profound
thought will ever be given as to who should be doing what.
Furthermore, by using committee meetings to staff important positions,
you are ensuring that the least committed people volunteer for
the most important positions.
Remember! People of small commitment give their word quickly and easily.
These are precisely the people you need in key positions if you are
to remain overworked.
Should you ever stop to ponder deeply who should occupy each position,
you are in imminent danger of finding people who will actually
follow through and do the work assigned them.
-
Make sure your committee meetings consist of nothing but inspirational
speeches.
Better yet, give these inspirational speeches yourself. Best yet,
be long winded.
Remember that no inspirational speech is complete without these three
words -- "We should be." Talking about what "we should be doing"
is the best way to ensure that your committee won't be doing anything.
People who are doers rarely talk about what they should be doing.
Why? Because they are too busy doing it.
-
Talk people into doing things.
Of course, the ideal candidate for any position is someone
who needs to be talked into it. Talking people into positions
ensures that your key positions are staffed by people with
little motivation.
-
Never let people know you need help.
If you never let people know your needs, you are never in any
danger of having those needs met.
-
Never ask someone personally to do something.
If you are to remain overworked, asking people personally is
a real threat.
Why? Because people like it too much. They like being asked
personally and they like the personal attention.
This could over-motivate the person and cause them to get something
done.
Also, it gives you too much leeway as to who to ask.
-
Never check in with the person you've appointed to oversee a project
to see how things are coming.
Checking in is a disaster! It only takes a few minutes, creates
inspiration for the person doing the project, and keeps the
project on track.
If you're serious about being overworked, you'll never check in
with anyone on anything.
-
Treat yourself like a work horse.
While this article is mostly a primer on how to treat other people
badly, you too are a person. You can't truly be awful to other
people until you've learned how to be awful to yourself.
Treat yourself like a work horse that deserves no breaks and no
vacations. How are you ever going to be overworked and over-stressed
if you can't control yourself and keep taking breaks?
-
Never do anything you like to do.
Spend too much time doing things you like to do and your
hobby could become your work.
If anyone ever threatens to pay you to do what you like to do,
your overwork is in real trouble. How are you ever going to
be over-stressed and overworked if your work becomes your hobby?
-
Expect people to be able to read your mind.
When you expect people to read your mind, you are a master of poor
communications. Poor communication will ensure that no one ever
does anything you ask them to do correctly.
Better yet, get angry with people who cannot read your mind.
-
Never take the time to teach anyone anything.
You never want to train people to take over your position. If you
do, they might start helping you out.
This could lead to their taking over your position and you moving
on to a higher position.
You'll never be overworked if you teach people how to do what you
know how to do.
If you remember nothing from this article, remember this --
you'll never be overworked if you teach other people how to do
what you know how to do.
