An Open Letter to Laziness


lazinessDear Laziness,

Long time, no see!

It must seem odd to hear from me out of the blue, considering that we barely crossed paths at all from, oh, 2003 to 2013.

The truth is that I spent the past decade purposefully steering clear of you. You were like turning down chocolate or waking a sleeping baby—a situation to be avoided at all costs.

It’s because I thrived off of productivity, or at least I thought I did. Doing, doing, doing. Going, going, going.

No one could ever accuse me of mingling with you, Laziness, which was exactly how I liked it. I resisted your siren calls, your temptations of couches and trashy novels and 30 Rock on Netflix. I refused to be branded, God forbid, a couch potato. The Energizer Bunny was more my style.

It got bad when I got a smartphone. Now even spare minutes here or there became opportunities to send a few work emails or update my to-do list.

It got worse when I had a baby. The exhaustion of caring for an infant practically necessitates regular dates with you, Laziness, and yet—like many moms—I continued to give you the cold shoulder.

Want to see productivity at its best? Watch me the millisecond my now-toddler goes down for a nap.

I fly into action faster than a superhero flies toward a pretty blonde in need of rescue. I make the most of every moment of my little guy’s shut-eye.

That is, except last weekend.

You see, my son’s head hit the sheets and I suddenly felt like I missed you, Laziness. I tried to sit down at my computer and work, I really did, but your call was just too strong.

At the urging of my husband—ever the wise one—I gave myself permission to spend just one nap time with you. It wasn’t just the two of us, of course. I invited my couch, a stack of magazines, and Liz Lemon along too.

I was no more than a lump on a log, and it was glorious.

The best and most surprising part? I easily woke up early the next day and finished a ton of work before the sun was up. Despite my fears, my date with you didn’t actually hurt my productivity at all; indeed, the quality time spent doing “nothing” made me feel stronger, calmer, perhaps even better able to handle my responsibilities and commitments.

Let this be a lesson to me, Laziness, and to all the other moms who cringe at the sound of your name.

In small doses, you are not evil, not even harmful. Rest assured, we can embrace you every now and then with no ill effects on our children or ourselves. A date with you, Laziness, is probably just what we all need.

What’s your favorite way to be lazy?

image via stylesr1 on sxc.hu


25 responses to “An Open Letter to Laziness”

  1. Oh, Katie, think of it as watering yourself. We all need it to grow. Maybe you needed a heavy storm aka deep nap.

    For me it all depends on what’s going on and where I am. It usually involves a comfy blanket and a bottle of water. Anything else is a variable.

  2. Oh my goodness, laziness and I are best pals. And just yesterday I found out that The French Chef (all ten seasons) are available on Amazon Prime! I think is only going to make us stronger!

  3. This speaks to me SO much!! Doing doing doing going going going…. I absolutely struggle with measuring my worth with my productivity. Laziness is something I have always fought with everything I had!

    With age.. I’m getting a bit better at allowing it to come meet me as I relish in it!

  4. Oh this has been a hard adjustment for me as well. I now know I am better for everybody around me when I just slow down and rest.

  5. Oh, I am a good friend to laziness. If we’re apart for too long, I do not like it. My favorite lazy days involve staying in my jammies, a book,and Netflix at some point. Oh, and someone who will bring me chocolate. –Lisa

  6. I like to say that I’ve become a human doing instead of a human being. I haven’t even had the time to brew beer! I definitely need some laziness in my life. My last rendez-vous with Mr. Lazy was in, oh, 2009?

  7. I have trouble being lazy, but if you consider cuddling up with a book and letting housework and my to-do list go for a few hours, than that wold be my favorite way to be lazy.

  8. I’m like you, I love to be active. However, I really enjoy sitting down with a good book to refresh myself. Especially now during tax season!

  9. Taking time for ourselves to recuperate and recharge is anything but lazy. It’s essential ‘me’ time that every mama needs to indulge when she can. I love to sneak a nap when my girls are sleeping on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.

  10. I am starting to allow my relationship with laziness grow a bit… I have to have the break or I’ll go bonkers. Don’t call it laziness – “self care” is so much more positive of an outlook! 🙂

  11. Love it! 🙂 Such a good reminder… I have to constantly give myself that permission, especially with lots of health issues currently happening. I forget that half the time, I’m not actually being “lazy,” but just don’t have energy to do more.

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