3 Mar 2003

My Guru of Laziness

No matter what I do in life; no matter how good my intentions are when faced with a new job; no matter how often I have ‘come a cropper’: I always befriend someone who is going to distract me and get me into trouble.

As Wordsworth said, the child is father to the man, and at school I was always the bright kid who was easily distracted and ended up being a little John, rather than Robin Hood. I could have been somebody. I could have been a contender; instead, I have decided to arse about.

In the Call Centre, it has been no exception. For the first eight years I distracted everyone else. Now I have my own Guardian Angel of distraction: Tony.

In many ways Tony is the complete opposite to me. He is a family man who loves football passionately. I’m bookish and have no kids. What we have in common is a sense of mischief and a self-destructive streak.

What Tony has taught me is that good people make it look easy.

Laziness is truly the mother of invention. My most distracted years have been my most productive.