Can Lazy Be A Good Thing?

Experts agree that laziness and boredom have a vital role to play in society.

10:51 31 May 2016

Laziness, a word defined as “an unwillingness to use energy”, has been, in many times, considered a negative sign. However, experts said that laziness, as well as boredom, can be a symptom of an active mind.  

 

Professor Gail Kinman, director of the Research Centre for Applied Psychology at the University of Bedfordshire, said: “It’s common for children who are gifted to come across as bored or underachieving – and they require more stimulation.”

 

She added: “We need to see [boredom] as an important human state. If we know more about what makes us bored, we would perhaps learn more about what we find satisfying. If we didn’t experience boredom, we wouldn’t be able to appreciate engagement in activity that we find stimulating and consider how to make our lives more meaningful.”

 

Dr Isabelle Moreau, a reader in French early modern studies at University College London (UCL), concurs. “We should go for slow work as we go for slow food: quality over quantity, with spare time left to rest and think, not just to produce,” she said. “Boredom and laziness should be used as a means to regain control over one’s own body and one’s own time.”