tl;dr: People commonly use “laziness” as a way to stop investigating reasons why a person is not doing expected work. Similar to procrastination, “laziness” is often caused by emotional or executive functioning problems. It also causes and is made worse by idleness. You can improve “lazy” behaviors and procrastination with techniques like cognitive reframing and by improving task initiation.

If you deal with executive dysfunction, you know the feeling of being called lazy. When people struggle to complete tasks, they are often considered lazy by default. Unfortunately, this tends to cause of a large amount of guilt and shame both in the moment and into the future. Why does this accusation happen? What else might be going on? And what can we do about it?

1. What is laziness, even?
2. Procrastination and I can think of a better section name tomorrow
3. Idleness and Laziness
4. One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy

What is laziness, even?

Let’s start by recognizing what laziness is. It is not a term from psychology, but one from society. One of the first versions of laziness was “Sloth” of the classic seven deadly sins. People have verifiably used “laziness” to label others as far back as the 17^th century. At the time, colonizers of the Americas regularly used it to degrade native populations and slaves. The colonizers referred to these groups as useless and needing to, quote, “be compelled and forced to do anything that means work”.

People still use “laziness” in largely the same way today: as an accusation. Technically, “lazy” describes a person who chooses not to put effort into some type of task even though they are believed to have the physical or mental ability to do so. However, people tend to target others experiencing difficulty doing a given task or suffering from social problems, such as unemployment or homelessness. This isn’t by accident – it is a way of deflecting from the major role of circumstance in success or failure.

This deflection is most obvious by the lack of interest in causes for a “lazy” person’s behavior. The actual causes are a lot more understandable. Emotions are very common causes: Hopeless, despair, depression, and fear tend to be the most common. In general, these emotions cause people to see the perceived effort of a task to not be worth the value they get by completing it. External factors are also common causes, typically resulting from social structures. For example, many tasks involving other organizations require waiting or needing to schedule time that is often impractical or potentially even impossible for the “lazy” person. When this prevents success, people are typically still seen as lazy regardless of their efforts or desire to succeed.

Procrastination and I can think of a better section name tomorrow

It’s surprisingly easy to mistake other problems for laziness, as well. For example, procrastination is commonly seen as a symptom of laziness, but it is actually a distinct challenge. PsychologyToday defines procrastination as a choice to postpone tasks. This contrasts strongly with “laziness” being a choice to do a task poorly or not at all. Procrastinating means wanting to do a task but choosing other easier or more pleasant tasks instead. This poor planning and task prioritization causes extra stress, guilt, or some other personal cost as a result.

Executive dysfunction often aligns very strongly with procrastination. Difficulty with task initiation inherently contributes to procrastination and can even lead to a type of “task paralysis.” This task paralysis is typically caused by excessive stress and comes with a feeling of being overwhelmed. In this case, easier tasks can become the only task possible despite wanting to do something more. Not only that, but the desire to do more often becomes an additional source of stress, creating a painful cycle.

Idleness and Laziness

It’s tempting to think that being able to spend time leisurely and relax idly without having any work is good. In fact, one major reason people accuse others of being “lazy” is because they are jealous of the other’s idleness. It turns out that this… simply isn’t true. Instead, people tend to feel stressed about “wasting time” or “wasting their life” when staying idle for long. Studies have even indicated that being “chronically idle” is mentally and physically harmful, causing stress through boredom, anxiety, and even increased depressive symptoms.

Oddly enough, choosing to remain busy instead of idle helps improve the emotional causes of “laziness”: Hopelessness, depression, and fears. This is because feeling a lack of control over one’s life is a major cause of these emotions. Being busy allows a person to feel a sense of control over their situation, even if it is relatively minor.

Procrastination in executive dysfunction is a bit more complicated. When it stems from task paralysis, it can lead to extended idleness and compound mood problems like depression or burnout. Worse, extended idleness can lead to habits that make it more difficult to return to being busy later. Often, these habits are turning to addictive and numbing behaviors that distract from difficult emotions and stress. Breaking this cycle can be very difficult without external support.

So, what can we do?

One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was punished for cheating death by being forced to struggle rolling a boulder up a mountain for eternity, only for it to slip and fall every time he reached the top. If simply “remaining busy” was the solution to “laziness” and procrastination, then Sisyphus rolling his boulder would be rewarding rather than punishing. While being busy is better than idle, pointless busyness still tends to feel like a waste.

The real solution is to be busy in a way you find valuable. This value can come from multiple things, such as novelty, social interaction, or creating something tangible, such as art. Some tasks can be more difficult to find engaging, such as chores or work. They often seem like a perpetual task, like the Sisyphean boulder. Fortunately, there are two ways to help.

The first way is through cognitive reframing, or simply “changing your mindset.” In general, the goal is to find value in seemingly less valuable tasks. For example, washing the dishes or taking a shower can be good times to either plan out your day or reflect on it. Try looking at these tasks as the foundation for other, more valuable tasks. Eventually, the tasks themselves can become rewarding. As Albert Camus said about Sisyphus, “The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

The second way is through generally improving task initiation skills. Fortunately, there are a variety of strategies which can help you improve at task initiation. If you would like personal support improving task initiation or breaking out of habits keeping you idle and procrastinating, I would be happy to help! You can get more information here, or you can directly schedule a free 15-minute consultation here to see if it would be a good fit for you!