Don’t Ever Stop Being Lazy
Being lazy is a skill to foster not to feel guilty about it.
What do you think about lazy people? You have probably rather a negative opinion about them. They are horrible. They have no energy. They are useless. No wonder they are not successful. Uf. Those lazy people! They should start doing something, seriously.
What if being lazy is not the same as being demotivated, incapable, and bored? Lazy people value their time and their energy. So, why would they spend time on tasks which take too much effort? Bingo! We need lazy people. They save time and build skills. Someone says next time: “I am lazy.” Look at him with potential. This person can be your gold.
Being lazy is normal
I have seen many articles writing about habits that destroy laziness. X number of habits to overcome laziness. Many how-to articles writing about how to stop being lazy. I could not care less. Laziness is not the same as chronic procrastination. Laziness does not have to mean a lack of interest.
Being lazy, on the flip side, shows an important characteristic. A person values his time in and outside of work. This person likes relaxing. We need to rest. Our brain needs to chill. When we are relaxed we use a diffuse mode of thinking. Thoughts are bumping one to another, and they create new ideas and connections.
So, being lazy is normal. Everyone does it more or less.
Being lazy drives innovation
Sometimes we don’t want to do some work. We find it redundant and uninteresting. It is not the task itself, but our feeling about it. The feeling is distracting us from performing the task. It does not matter if it is going out with the trash, writing a paper, or data checking.
The feeling is a powerful thing. I have a lot of colleagues who feel like monkeys as they do repetitive tasks. A lazy person, though, is deeply dissatisfied with it. He is likely to say ‘stop’ and come up with a solution that reduces manual work. The lazy person is invaluable because he thinks outside of the box. Yes, outside of his lazy box. The lazy person brings efficiency.
When a lazy person feels too lazy to work on something, he thinks about a way how to go around it. He is looking for solutions. He does not follow established processes. He creates new ones. Your laziest colleagues are often the most innovative. Lazy people are problem solvers. Is your team unproductive? Ask a lazy person to join. You will see what happens.
I had a team of project managers who did a lot of manual work. It was outstanding. They all complained about it. Then a new project manager joined. She resented manual work. She kept on asking why we had to do this and that. She was also slow with tasks. All changed when she programmed a few macros which solved some manual work. Ah, what a bliss for the rest of the team!
Being lazy is not the same as relaxing
A lot of my friends are incredibly busy. They work so much. The truth is some are married to their job — good for them! Yet, some don’t know how to relax. They are overwhelmed with stress and feeling guilty if they have a few spare hours.
It is all about feelings. If you are tired and you need to relax, then do. It does not mean you are lazy. You should not feel bad about taking a minute, drink your cup of coffee, and switch off. Relaxation is great for your brain. It brings relief and even unexpected ideas. No one can work efficiently under stress, so please relax for a bit. Stop the train and hop off.
If you see some colleague looking outside of the window and not working, don’t judge him for being lazy. He most likely takes a mental break before he rocks again. Same for you, slow down and be more productive. In a fast-paced environment, it is important. You should always change your focused and diffused mode of thinking. That’s effective. Trying to focus all the time is impossible, tiring, and stressful. So, be mindful of your body and cut it some slack.
Final lazy thought
My point is that laziness is not always a bad thing. It can be healthy and lead to innovation. So, allow yourself to be lazy sometimes. You should not feel bad about it. Laziness is simply needed to grow your skills.
PS: Everyone has some tasks which they want to do, they dread the idea of doing them. Feel lazy and find your way around them. Make them efficient and you are done. Simple and smooth. Cheers!
