Mastering the Art of Laziness
This morning I was up at 7am and did a workout – a core strengthening pilates video on YouTube posted by Lilly Sabri. I put on some washing, wrote in my journal, and hung up my washing to dry. Breakfast was banana porridge and then I left for university. I had a two hour lecture, before heading home, having lunch, and popping back out again…walking through the sunshine to do a food shop. After that, and after putting my food away, I spent a couple of hours doing all of my university reading for the week. Suddenly it got to 4pm and I asked myself “what is next”.
Sometimes I have more work to do, sometimes I find myself wracking my brain for an article to write, or probing the web for an essay to read. I gaze at my bookshelf, searching for the motivation to pick up a novel. Bottom line is, I find it impossible to not be ‘productive’. But sometimes productivity means resting. Productivity is watching Netflix with a cup of tea, or taking an hour to phone your family or a friend. Sometimes being productive is simply laying in bed and staring at the ceiling as you listen to your favourite music or a podcast. Yet I find it so difficult to master this art of rest. I know it is essential for our bodies and brains yet I find it a challenge to be lazy. I am not saying this to brag or boast about my organisational skills and motivation (believe me, I am not always motivated to do the essentials), but to confront my understanding of productivity and what this really means. Being lazy is an art, and an art form I want to excel in.
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Here is what a particular day of “rest” looked like for me:
Sunday 6th February:
Wake up without an alarm (this ended up being 8:30am)
Lay in bed until I want to get out of bed
9:30 - go for a run through the village and along the beach (yes I know exercise isn’t exactly rest but I enjoy working out!)
10:30 - come home to stretch, shower and have a cuppa
11:00 - make pancakes with my boyfriend
12:00 - sit on the sofa under a duvet for a few hours with Toy Story on in the background as I flick through magazines and scroll through TikTok, and cuddle the dogs, of course
14:00 - head to Tesco for fruit and dinner
15:00 - more flicking through books and scrolling on TikTok and planning my meals for the week ahead
18:00 - dinner - a classy microwavable chow mein ready meal
20:00 - boyfriend drives me back to Brighton for me to lay in bed watching The Apprentice, telling myself I will sort out my books and university notes in the morning
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Waking up without an alarm is such an underrated experience. If like me, you thrive off of routine and schedule, simply schedule a lay in for some point during your week. Take a look at your calendar and instead of cramming in extra work for yourself on the morning you have off, just do not set an alarm. It is an amazing chance for your body to really get the rest it needs and communicate with you what time it desires to start the day. On the occasion that you wake up earlier than anticipated, make sure you spend some time just laying in bed in a daydream. No social media or any other sort of media consumption, just you and your airy thoughts as you feel the weight of your body sink into your mattress and slowly you will know when it is time to clamber out from under the duvet and wash away the sleep. And if that hour never arrives, a day in bed must be what the doctor prescribed. You can still have a productive day from your bed – reading a book, watching a new series, or even getting work done on your laptop. All of these activities are equally as “productive” regardless of what we have been conditioned to believe. If your bed is your comfort spot, there should never be guilt for spending time there.
I think the key to productivity is not always doing something academic, meaningful, or material. Being productive is simply doing something that makes you feel good; something which benefits your mental health or body. For me, that is exercise. Exercise in the mornings wakes me up and gets me feeling ready for the day, but I know when not to exercise too. Sometimes my body is tired or achey and working out on these days is far from enjoyable and so even though ‘moving your body’ is deemed essential (and yes fitness is important), it is also essential to not burn yourself out. When you are trying to be productive, ask yourself if you are doing that task because you want to, or if you feel like you should. Feeling like you should do exercise will not be productive for your body. Feeling like you should create art when you are uninspired will also not be productive. It could just lead to stress or disappointment. Learn to listen to your body and do the things you enjoy when you actually want to do them to reduce the risk of your hobbies and loves becoming chores.
What then, is the difference between rest being productive and pure procrastination? According to a guide by James Clear, “procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing a task or set of tasks” (see https://jamesclear.com/procrastination) so procrastination is related to time. Putting off a university assignment with a deadline is procrastination because you are delaying that task. The science behind this, James continues, is because we “value immediate rewards more highly than future rewards”. So the fix to this is to practise time management for your future self. Before you procrastinate doing that university assignment you have due, ask yourself if that ‘rest time’ really is going to be a form of productivity? Have you already had a busy day and is your deadline not for a few weeks? Do you have time to be a little bit lazy? Or is your assignment due tomorrow and instead of concluding an essay, you are considering what series to watch next on Netflix?
When it comes to productivity, I believe self-care is the finest form. On our worst and downest days, a shower might be the height of productivity. Of course, self-care looks different for all individuals but I truly believe that looking after yourself externally can help you feel internally good. When I told my friend that I was writing this article, or at least had started formulating the ideas, she asked “can you ever truly rest though if you have things that you need to do on your mind?” and she is right. Even though you are physically resting, you may not be mentally relaxed. But I would argue that self-care is a bloody good way to at least try to relax and distract yourself from those often far too busy thoughts. With a face-mask spread across your cheeks to cleanse your pores, a ripped open bag of sweets on the go, and freshly cleaned sheets on your bed you will be reminded to slow down and enjoy the simple moments away from the chaos of your everyday life. An activity like a quick ten minute walk or watching the sunset may be enough for you to unwind and reground yourself to feel a bit more human amongst life's demands to constantly be active and working.
So far in this article, I have not actually defined productivity. James Clear says productivity is not “getting more things done each day” but rather “getting important things done consistently” (https://jamesclear.com/productivity). Getting enough sleep is important, as is making time for and enjoying your hobbies. Eating and looking after your physical and mental health is important! Completing all of your work and tasks is also important, but a balance of all of the above is the key to being productive. The art of laziness is essential to having a productive lifestyle. If being productive and having this balance is something you want to improve, Clear has a list of strategies including avoiding technology and making to-do lists (referenced at the end of this article). Strategies we have heard oh so many times because they work. Sunday afternoon, I enjoyed planning my week ahead because it gave me something to look forward to. In that moment, making that plan felt productive because it instigated that I could actually be productive (balancing uni, work, ‘me-time’ and socialising) throughout the week. Monday morning I woke up motivated instead of moody.
As I twiddled my thumbs at the dining table at 4pm this afternoon, asking “what should I do next” I realised I had time to empty my thoughts, journal for a bit, and write this article. Now I am going to read for pleasure and try to gather some more ideas on productivity before I enjoy more reading that I need to do for my university classes this week. It is essential reading, but reading I will enjoy because I allowed myself this ‘me time’ to write and conserve my academic energy. And before I go to bed tonight I will unwind with a skincare routine and watch The Apprentice, knowing that today was a productive day because I scheduled in laziness.
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Photography submitted by Christo Viola (@christomosca)