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There’s a fine line between laziness and efficiency. Actually, I’m not sure it even is that fine – I think some people just think the worst!

I’ve made this realisation in two EV-related situations. The first instance has, admittedly, crept up on me over time – and not only with EVs, I should add. The pace of change in technology means that more and more cars are stepping up their connectivity games.

With the invention of apps comes the ability to do all sorts of things that were never possible. One example being choosing when to unlock, lock, or even turn on, your car. The school run – especially in winter – is normally a hectic, last-minute kind of affair here, which means that time is of the essence. The last thing you need when cutting it fine is to find that the windscreen is frozen and the de-icer or scraper are not close to hand.

Therefore, I found myself opening the car’s app that I’ve connected to – in order to get the complete ‘ownership’ experience – and get that heating on. (I should add that it does rely on me being organised and remembering to do it in the first place, which isn’t exactly a given.)

As a result, by the time we’re leaving the house, the cabin is nice and toasty and the windscreen perfectly clear. Also, there’s no engine noise or emissions to annoy people either. Good news all round, plus Challen Jnr arrives at school on time.

The second example of how I discovered ‘efficiency not laziness’ is, unsurprisingly – because so much is – Covid-related. A case within the house meant I wasn’t comfortable attending an industry event that featured the presentation of a new model. In reality, we were meant to have a walk around and a poke about at this new EV, but the situation altered to a Zoom call and a ‘live showroom experience’.

No, clearly it wasn’t the same as being there – I didn’t get to physically touch the materials or see the details of the design. And no, the video quality wasn’t HD-sharp, which meant some of the subtleties might have been lost. But it WAS a very personal experience from Joe, my host, who answered all my questions and showed me pretty much every bit of the new metal.

So there are advantages to being what some people might perceive as lazy. The ability to do so much without even leaving your chair or desk should be praised, not frowned upon. If improvements in productivity, efficiency and work/life balance are the end results of this way of working, then who’s to argue against that?

John Challen Editor