{"id":27581,"date":"2014-09-22T21:04:16","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T05:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=27581"},"modified":"2016-03-28T21:21:27","modified_gmt":"2016-03-29T05:21:27","slug":"10-times-okay-lazy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Times When It’s Okay to Be Lazy"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Two concepts we tend to lump together are laziness and being unproductive.<\/p>\n

But I don\u2019t think that\u2019s necessarily true.<\/p>\n

I think it is possible to be lazy and be productive at the same time; it just depends what areas of your life you\u2019re seeking to improve.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t believe me? Here are 10 examples of times when it\u2019s okay to be lazy while still improving yourself and your life.<\/p>\n

1. When your spouse wants to spend time with you<\/b><\/h1>\n

I\u2019d definitely say this qualifies as one of my top reasons for being lazy. I might feel obligated to do laundry or get some writing done, but if my better half would rather watch anime and play our WiiU instead, I\u2019m game for that too.<\/p>\n

The time you spend with your significant other can drastically impact your relationship, so make sure that you put it higher on your priority list than paperwork or household chores.<\/p>\n

2. When you\u2019re stressing yourself out<\/b><\/h1>\n

I\u2019m a chronic busybody. If I\u2019m not doing something productive for my writing, there\u2019s a good chance I\u2019m trying to clean everything and anything in sight. But I\u2019ve found that all this frantic movement really does is stress me out, and that I don\u2019t get much productive<\/i> work done when I\u2019m in my must-fix-everything mode.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re stressing yourself out about managing bills, work or your home life, take an hour or two to chill out. You\u2019ll be doing something beneficial for your health<\/a> and you\u2019ll also find that when you return to the tasks you want to get done, you can focus on them a lot more calmly, thus making your work more productive.<\/p>\n

3. When you\u2019re missing the little things<\/b><\/h1>\n

Trying to study for finals or finish some paper work as the sun sets? Take a few minutes to watch the sky change colors and then get back to work.<\/p>\n

Watching the sun set, or just making time for the small pleasures in life in general, is thought to have a number of healthy benefits<\/a>. Plus, they can serve as a great source of inspiration and motivation for future productivity.<\/p>\n

4. When you feel a cold coming on<\/b><\/h1>\n

With the seasons changing, most of us are likely to experience a slight onset of sickness. However, if you handle the early signs of a cold by allowing yourself a lazy day, you\u2019re much less likely to get an all-out illness<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some people actually try to work harder when they feel a cold coming on, believing that they\u2019ll be able to get all of their work done before they start to feel truly awful. However, there will always be more work to do; nipping your cold in the bud is the best thing you can do to keep your health and productivity maxed.<\/p>\n

5. When you\u2019re no longer being productive<\/b><\/h1>\n

Sometimes we confuse productivity with simply doing things. And that\u2019s an oversight. Just because you\u2019re working on something doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019s productive work.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re no longer interested in what you\u2019re working on or you\u2019re experiencing a mental block, your time may very well be better spent taking a nap or grabbing dinner.\u00a0 That way, your mind gets time to recharge and you can resume your task later and with better results.<\/p>\n

6. When you\u2019re feeling exhausted<\/b><\/h1>\n

There\u2019s a difference between simply not wanting to do something and actually being exhausted. Whether you\u2019re exhausted mentally or physically, it\u2019s wise to listen to what your body is telling you.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re physically exhausted, take a night to veg out in front of the TV or plan a relaxing evening playing board games. If you\u2019re mentally exhausted, just the opposite may be true for you. Exercise is a great way<\/a> to let go of stress and release some extra endorphins to make you feel good.<\/p>\n

7. When you\u2019re spending too much money<\/b><\/h1>\n

While soup and sandwiches might not be ideal for dinner every night, they can definitely be ideal if you\u2019ve been going out to eat often. Eating at restaurants is fun if you do it once in a while, but if you\u2019re eating out almost every night of the week you\u2019re spending tons of money and likely eating less healthily than you could be.<\/p>\n

Having a lazy meal at home can be a nice change of pace \u2013 for both you and your wallet.<\/p>\n

8. When you\u2019re planning too aggressively<\/b><\/h1>\n

Much like my busybody syndrome, I\u2019m also a chronic planner. But trying to plan things too far in advance becomes pointless quickly.<\/p>\n

Many unexpected things will likely happen to you in the next few weeks, so don\u2019t waste your energy trying to plan and organize everything in advance. Be lazy and go with the flow. You\u2019ll be less stressed and the weeks ahead of you will seem more interesting.<\/p>\n

9. When you\u2019ve run out of ideas<\/b><\/h1>\n

New ideas and boosted creativity come much more easily to a rested, lazy mind<\/a> than to a frantic, overactive one.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got some serious mental blocks about an upcoming project or task, play a mini-game on your computer or browse your favorite websites for a while until you feel nice and rested. Then go back to brainstorming and see what new and creative ideas you can come up with.<\/p>\n

10. When you\u2019re done<\/b><\/h1>\n

Our society places a lot of value on the number of hours we spend working each week<\/a>. But the number of hours you spend working at your job shouldn\u2019t matter nearly as much as the quality of work you produce.<\/p>\n

If you can produce high quality work in less time than the next guy, I say well done. If you need more time to achieve high-quality work, I still say well done.<\/p>\n

The point is that it\u2019s useless to work towards a time-centric goal when you should be working towards a quality-centric goal. Working for quality and not hours can not only improve your career, but also your satisfaction with yourself and the options available to you later in life.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re done with your to-do list, you deserve some lazy time. You just need to hold yourself accountable for the quality of work you\u2019ve produced.<\/p>\n

I hope this list has given you a new perspective on what it means to be lazy<\/strong>, and the ways in which it\u2019s okay to be lazy in your own life.<\/p>\n

When do you need to be lazy? You can tell me your thoughts in the comments section below.<\/i><\/p>\n

Image by\u00a0Ales Krivec<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think it is possible to be lazy and be productive at the same time; it just depends what areas of your life you\u2019re seeking to improve. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":27583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[17],"tags":[1562,3806,66,4634,251,4629,3731],"yoast_head":"\n10 Times When It's Okay to Be Lazy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I think it is possible to be lazy and be productive at the same time; it just depends what areas of your life you\u2019re seeking to improve.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Times When It's Okay to Be Lazy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I think it is possible to be lazy and be productive at the same time; it just depends what areas of your life you\u2019re seeking to improve.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-09-23T05:04:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-03-29T05:21:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/okay-to-be-lazy-460x304.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"304\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erin Falconer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/okay-to-be-lazy.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/okay-to-be-lazy.jpg\",\"width\":4928,\"height\":3264,\"caption\":\"10 Times When It's Okay To Be Lazy\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/\",\"name\":\"10 Times When It's Okay to Be Lazy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-09-23T05:04:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-03-29T05:21:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5\"},\"description\":\"I think it is possible to be lazy and be productive at the same time; it just depends what areas of your life you\u2019re seeking to improve.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"10 Times When It’s Okay to Be Lazy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5\",\"name\":\"Erin Falconer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1173c63284b173ff225e5f87a1af5028?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1173c63284b173ff225e5f87a1af5028?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Erin Falconer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/author\/erin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"10 Times When It's Okay to Be Lazy","description":"I think it is possible to be lazy and be productive at the same time; it just depends what areas of your life you\u2019re seeking to improve.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"10 Times When It's Okay to Be Lazy","og_description":"I think it is possible to be lazy and be productive at the same time; it just depends what areas of your life you\u2019re seeking to improve.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/","og_site_name":"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain","article_published_time":"2014-09-23T05:04:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-03-29T05:21:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":460,"height":304,"url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/okay-to-be-lazy-460x304.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary","twitter_creator":"@pickthebrain","twitter_site":"@pickthebrain","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Erin Falconer","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/","name":"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/okay-to-be-lazy.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/okay-to-be-lazy.jpg","width":4928,"height":3264,"caption":"10 Times When It's Okay To Be Lazy"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/","name":"10 Times When It's Okay to Be Lazy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2014-09-23T05:04:16+00:00","dateModified":"2016-03-29T05:21:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5"},"description":"I think it is possible to be lazy and be productive at the same time; it just depends what areas of your life you\u2019re seeking to improve.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-times-okay-lazy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"10 Times When It’s Okay to Be Lazy"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5","name":"Erin Falconer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1173c63284b173ff225e5f87a1af5028?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1173c63284b173ff225e5f87a1af5028?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Erin Falconer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/author\/erin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27581"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}