Laziness is the lack of desire to act or to work, to stretch one's forces; tendency to rest, to do nothing.

The pros and cons

Laziness is often considered a negative quality (see Seven deadly sins), as being unproductive.

On the other hand, moderate laziness might help to prevent people from spending too much time and energy doing unnecessary things; laziness may be a stimulus for finding alternative ways. Being lazy can also help to unwind a person from receiving too much stress over the course of daily life.

Apathy can sometimes be mistaken for laziness.

Intellectual laziness

Intellectual laziness is a specific form, the tendency not to ask questions, and not to scratch too much behind the apparent, applying a kind of mental routine (availability heuristic) or just following the crowd (herding).

Hyperactivity, the reverse trait

Some people feel unable to relax and do nothing; they always worry about not using time for something useful.  This is often associated with general anxiety disorder.

Laziness humor

Something will get put here eventually.

Literature

• Carl Honore: In Praise of Slowness, 2005, ISBN 0060750510
• Paul Lafargue (transl.: Len Bracken): The Right To Be Lazy, 1883, ISBN 1892355035
• Corinne Maier:
  • Hello Laziness! - Why Hard Work Doesn't Pay, 2005, ISBN 0752871862 (This is for British readers. You can't pretent, that you don't like it, don't you?)
  • Bonjour Laziness! - How to Work as Little as Possible (Just Like the French), 2005, ISBN 0375423737 (This is for American readers. You can pretend to study the French.)
  • Bonjour paresse - De l'art et la nécessité d'en faire le moins possible en entreprise, 2004, ISBN 2841862313 (This is for American readers. You can pretend to study French.)
• Bertrand Russell: In Praise of Idleness - And Other Essays, 1935, ISBN 0415325064

See also

• acedia
• procrastination
• senioritis