One reason why it is okay to be lazy is that you can make good decisions if you eliminate distractions. It is hard to think when you hear noises!
I am not the most productive person you will ever meet, which is why I believe it is okay to be lazy. Laziness is okay as long as you don’t overdo it!
There are days when I don’t do anything. But look, my life is okay. I am still alive, and I don’t neglect my responsibilities.
Some people are too busy, and I am not one of them. Even if I am doing a lot of things, I can make time for people. If I like them. *wink*
I have many personalities, and this blog post is written by my lazy self, which is the version of me that enjoys not doing anything.
Here are the reasons why it is okay to be lazy based on psychology:
- Being productive doesn’t mean working non-stop for 24 hours.
- Taking a break means allowing ourselves to be present.
- If you can create systems to make your life easier, why not?
- If there is no need to rush, why rush?
- Living a life you can keep up with lessens mental health issues.
Let’s begin.
5 Reasons Why It Is Okay to Be Lazy Based on Psychology
I am writing this on November 30th. It is a holiday in my country, so I don’t feel like doing anything heavy. People are chilling and I want to chill, too!
I am just sitting in the chair and typing this. Earlier, I finished editing three blog posts, so I accomplished some tasks before I turned on lazy mode.
But I am not totally lazy right now. I am working on this blog post, so even though I am barely moving, I am working on this. I am making progress.
I am a workaholic. I have always been, and I have been praised by many people because of my work quality and my turnaround time.
You can check out my personal website if you want to see what people are saying about me and my work. I have a testimonials section there.
I also do household chores, so I am not a couch potato at home.
But when it comes to my personal projects, I tend to be too lazy to finish what I need to do. I would rather do something else.
Like watching cooking videos on YouTube or reading discussions on Reddit.
I am curious and want to know what people are saying about what interests me, so I enjoy consuming content more than producing content.
But I am not the only one. I bet some of you who are reading this spend more time Google-ing or watching random things than focusing on what you need to do.
Wait, why are you here? Neglecting responsibilities, huh? I am kidding!
Having lazy days will not negatively affect your life if you don’t overdo it. I think we should allow ourselves to be lazy because of these reasons.
Let us talk about the reasons why it is okay to be lazy!
1. Being productive doesn’t mean working non-stop for 24 hours.
The only things I can do for many hours straight in one day are designing anything and building a website, and my maximum number of hours is 8 to 10.
After the 10th hour, I will start feeling tired and my eyes will feel so heavy. Whether I like it or not, I will stop and take a rest.
Anything that is done for so long becomes exhausting.
We can’t even take a rest or sleep for over 10 hours because oversleeping is not healthy, and it will result in headaches or feeling groggy.
Harvard Health Publishing conducted a study about the effects of sleeping too much and one of them is being too tired. Have you experienced this?
All people get tired, especially if they don’t enjoy what they do. This is why it is okay to be lazy. Allow yourself to take a break and recuperate!
You don’t need to “work, work, work” to be successful. My projects are flourishing and expanding rather than failing because I keep taking breaks.
I started in November of 2019, and I am still here years later.
2. Taking a break means allowing ourselves to be present.
One of the benefits of taking a break is that if you pause, you can see things as they are because you are not distracted.
“Lazy” is a negative word, but it allows you to stop and look at the current state of your life: Are you going in the right direction?
During my lazy days, I do things considered distractions like consuming content. But in between those, or at the end of the day, I assess my life.
I ask myself questions: “Why am I being lazy right now? Do I dislike my work? What can I do to solve that? Should I quit the job? Will I survive if I quit?”
I had those thoughts before I quit my most recent full-time job.
Medical News Today has published an article about how to set boundaries, which you can read if you want to not be taken advantage of at work.
I quit my job because it was taking a toll on me. Other areas of my life were being affected by my dark emotions. When I quit, I became mentally healthy!
The point is that you can make good decisions if you eliminate distractions. Maybe there is a deeper reason why you are feeling lazy.
You will not know if you don’t pause. You might be dealing with mental health issues, but how can you know that if you are focused on your to-do list?
3. If you can create systems to make your life easier, why not?
I am organized, so my life is controlled by systems, processes, productivity apps, management tools, and lists. This is why I finish tasks fast.
I have a lot of free time even though I have personal projects and freelance work, so I feel uneasy and restless many hours a day. It is boring!
You can’t blame me if I have lazy hours every day. I am efficient.
Indeed has simple strategies to improve work efficiency, and the first strategy is to take a break! What a coincidence!
But sometimes, in those lazy hours, I am busy watching a movie or TV series. I can also be busy thinking. I have to think to improve my work.
I can also be busy being lazy. As an introvert, there are times when I want to be by myself and not be bothered by anything. I need to recharge!
If you are efficient, they can’t blame you for having lazy hours, too!
4. If there is no need to rush, why rush?
I love procrastinating. I like the thrill of doing something at the last minute. That is unhealthy, but if there is no need to rush, why rush?
Let us take my passion projects as an example because that is the best example.
I am the owner of the projects, so I have no boss to please. I may have readers and they might get disappointed if I don’t update for so long, but I am in charge.
I set deadlines, but they are written in pencil because there isn’t a timeline to follow. I mostly follow my productivity levels.
If you want to be more productive, wikiHow has a guide that can help you accomplish more tasks without being stressed out.
This post in particular is a good example. The original version of this post was less than 300 words because I was not in the mood to write at the time.
I wanted to turn this into a listicle like my other blog posts, and I did it almost nine months later from the time it was published.
There was no need to rush, so why rush? That is why it is okay to be lazy!
5. Living a life you can keep up with lessens mental health issues.
If you believe that you should work, work, and work in order for you to be happy, I have a question: Are you happy or stressed out?
There is nothing wrong with taking things slower than others. Sometimes, it is okay to be lazy because you can regain your energy and clear your mind to think properly.
Money is important because that is needed for us to survive.
But after dealing with a situation that traumatized me, it is better to have peace of mind and be calm than to have a lot of money.
According to Verywell Mind, having peace of mind simply means feeling calm even in the middle of chaos. You are content, so no stress!
In fact, people don’t want the money but the power that having money gives them.
Money comes and goes and then comes again, but some emotional wounds don’t heal and last until our last day on Earth. If wishes come true, I would wish for the pain to disappear even if I had to lose money in exchange.
Money may help you live the life you want, but if you are in deep pain, you will not want to live at all. Having suicidal thoughts is a sign of depression btw.
Last Words
One reason why it is okay to be lazy is that it is part of being human. There are things we are interested in and some that we dislike.
It is natural for us to be lazy to do those things that we don’t enjoy, but need to do. This is why you feel lazy at a job you hate!
So that’s why it is okay to be lazy!
If you enjoyed reading the reasons why it is okay to be lazy, here is a video of me talking about the importance of taking a break:
