We often confuse laziness with not working, and hurriedness as being hard working.
Take a moment to think: if you’re lazy about your work, would you do an assigned task hurriedly, or work hard to get better results?
When you’re lazy but are obligated to complete tasks, you would look for a shortcut, a way to get the task done in the least amount of time—in other words, hurriedly, because you just want it to be done with, with minimal concern for the quality of output.
Whereas, on the other side of the spectrum (that is, when you’re not lazy), you’ll plan, spend time, and work hard to get a job done in the best possible manner—a manner that would maximize the end results.
Next time you see someone working hurriedly, don’t easily be swayed into thinking he or she is hard working.
Acknowledge that the person’s hurriedness could be coming from laziness.
Inversely, when you see someone taking his or her own time to get a particular job done, don’t assume that person is lazy and slow. For that matter, the person might be hard working and wanting to give his or her best to a particular job.
Considering this question—Lazily hurried or hard working for the better?—has the potential to give you a totally different insight into someone’s work. Try it!