Laziness as a Virtue I’ve always been a bit lazy. Not lazy like I don’t like to work. Almost the opposite, actually. Lazy like I spend too much time on things that should allow me to work less. Like that time I decided to start learning the dvorak keyboard so I could spend “less time typing.” While I’m not sure my approach to “doing less work” has actually achieved its stated goal, it has made me more efficient at certain tasks....
Background I first started using Excel in 1997 or 1998. I was in college majoring in accounting, so it was inevitable that I would need to learn the program. But I fell in love with Excel during my first internship. I don’t remember much about the job, but I do remember that it involved a lot of Excel (and the “Geac” accounting system if I remember correctly). And there was one part of the job that involved opening a particular Excel spreadsheet, updating a few cells, and pushing a button (on the spreadsheet) to create the journal entries that needed to be posted for the day....
Intro When you get in a car for the first time, you probably have a routine you follow to set all the controls “just the way you like them.” You probably adjust the rearview-mirror so that you can see out the back of the car clearly, you move the seat to the right position so reaching the pedals and the steering wheel feels right, etc. You take all these steps because it makes driving easier once you get started....