“Choose a lazy person to do a hard job because they’ll find an easy way to do it.” This quote, often attributed to Bill Gates, holds more wisdom than you might think – especially in tech.

As a Secure Development Lifecycle specialist, I’ve discovered that being professionally “lazy” isn’t about avoiding work – it’s about being strategically efficient. Let me explain why the laziest developers often become the most valuable team members.

The Lazy Developer’s Mindset:

In “Ender’s Game,” Orson Scott Card’s protagonist doesn’t just think about winning the current battle – he thinks about winning all future similar battles. This same principle applies to development: the best developers don’t just solve today’s problem, they eliminate entire categories of future problems.

”How can I or anyone else never have to do this manual task again?”

Rather than rushing to complete a task, a lazy developer thinks: “If I spend three hours automating this now, how many future hours will I save?” This isn’t procrastination – it’s multiplication of effort.

Real Example:

When I joined one of my latest jobs, a simple task required following a 5-minute tutorial that actually took 3 hours to complete due to dependency setup. Instead of moving on, I spent 2 extra hours creating an automation script.

Result:

Every developer after me will save those 3 hours.

Think six developers later, those 2 hours of “lazy” work will save the company 18 productive hours. Moreover, considering how many times you might change projects and potentially set up similar configurations throughout your tenure, those 2 hours represent an even greater saving.

The Security Angle:

Here’s where it gets interesting – lazy developers naturally enhance security. Don’t you believe me?

1. Automation Reduces Human Error When you automate a process, you remove the risk of human mistakes. Each manual interaction is a potential security vulnerability. The lazy developer’s instinct to automate everything actually creates more secure systems.

2. Standardization Through Tooling A lazy developer will create tools and procedures that standardize processes. Example: By implementing a centralized password management system, we eliminated the need for individual password handling. Result? Fewer people knowing sensitive credentials, automated password rotations, and dramatically reduced risk of leaks.

3. Technical Debt Management Here’s another way “lazy” developers win future battles: They keep technical debt low. While it might seem faster to take shortcuts today, truly lazy developers know that accumulating technical debt is like taking a high-interest loan on your future time. When technical debt runs wild, even simple feature additions can exponentially increase the time needed to resolve it, potentially forcing you to rebuild from scratch. The lazy developer’s approach? Do it as best as possible the first time, maintain the code as cleanly as possible, and minimize the chances of a complete restart.

The Paradox:

The best “lazy” developers often work harder upfront to work less later. They’re not avoiding work – they’re eliminating unnecessary work for everyone.

Want to become professionally lazy? Ask yourself:

• Am I applying minimum good development practices?
• Does this task need human intervention?
• Could this process be automated?
• Am I solving this problem just for now, or for good?
• How many future hours will this solution save?

Remember: In tech, the goal isn’t to work hard – it’s to create impact. Sometimes, the “laziest” solution has the biggest impact of all.

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What’s your take on strategic laziness in your field? Share your best “lazy” win in the comments! 🚀