Procrastination: Laziness, or Something Else?

“I wish I wasn't so lazy! All I want to do is watch TV.”

“My father would always say ‘You’re a lazy good-for-nothing.’ I’m scared that maybe he’s right! I can’t seem to get anything done.”

“My son is so lazy, he never does anything. I try punishing him, but that doesn’t seem to help.”

Laziness seems to be a catch-all phrase for lack of accomplishment, whether it’s fooling around at the office, missing a college class, or leaving the sink full of dirty dishes. Lazy is the word that we use to criticize others for not getting things done. And lazy is the name we call ourselves when we fall short of our goals once again.

Sometimes I wonder if there actually is a thing called laziness. There is a certain lethargy we get when we are tired, and when we’ve spent a period of time inactive. I call the latter the “inertia effect” - objects in motion tend to stay in motion, and objects at rest want to stay at rest.

But what we call laziness is often a symptom of anxiety (it can be other things, such as attention deficit, as well - I hope to address this in a later post). Procrastination, for example, is often born of anxiety about the task in its entirety. We may be concerned about our ability to do the task, we may fear potential obstacles, or dread the opinions of others. We may be afraid of failure and unconsciously (or consciously) decide that not trying would be a better option.

And so, for all these reasons and more, we choose to stay on the couch rather than pursue our goals. Is it helpful to call that laziness? Wouldn’t we be better served at labeling the issue correctly, and choosing strategies that address the underlying problem?

Let’s put the term laziness to rest.