Why am I so lazy - and is that a bad thing? - CrowdScience podcast, BBC World Service

Lazy. Unmotivated. Procrastinating. If those are words you’re used to hearing from your inner critic, you are not alone.

Take CrowdScience listener Laurie. On her days off she loves to relax on the sofa, watch TV, put off chores and generally do as little as possible. Meanwhile, she sees other family members and colleagues apparently buzzing with energy: Going the extra mile at work, taking up hobbies and going to the gym. Why, she asks, is she so lazy?

CrowdScience turns to experts to find out whether or not so-called "laziness" is a fundamental part of biology or psychology and why some people have more energy than others. We offer a few tips for boosting energy and motivation. Or maybe Laurie is just being a bit too hard on herself?

0:00 Meet CrowdScience listener Laurie Douglas, an intensive care nurse in the US
0:32 Laurie wants to know: Why am I so lazy?
1:50 Why Laurie feels like she's lazy compared to others
3:53 Why the L-word has negative connotations
5:58 Laziness or procrastination?
8:27 Is there a biological reason for how much energy we have?
10:30 Is there a link between energy and metabolism?
11:24 Environmental factors and energy levels
12:57 Laurie's job as an intensive care nurse
15:06 How active does Laurie's job keep her?
17:21 Learning to be self-compassionate
19:26 Strategies to help boost your energy and motivation
21:00 What is it like to be an energetic person? Start-up CEO Akhil Aryan lives in Mumbai
25:24 Mumbai has one of the longest work hours in the world
27:30 Why Dr Devon Price is against the idea of laziness
31:39 Burnout and compassion fatigue

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[pumpthewater]

I’m too lazy to watch the whole video but I’m just glad someone is rethinking my laziness.

[Jenesis]

I like to think, read, learn, and do something creative or repetitive on my own. I am a night owl, too. I tend to clean house and do laundry once in a while (keep things orderly and have a lot of clothes). My goal has always been “no school no work no busy life”. I retired early and now live my ideal life. I am really at peace being a lazy hermit.

[tinabraxton]

A lot of the people I've seen who are busy all the time are not doing things that need to be done. They clean things that aren't dirty, rumage through things that are not causing a problem, and just just burn up nervous energy.

[farrahlipsham]

Comparisons to other people can be our biggest downfall. You tend to only see what you don't do, or what you aren't - not what you DO do and who you are.

[MomoDuJardin]

My Mum labelled me as "born lazy", I used to think I really was. Now at 40 I know I just have a low energy level and I need to pace myself. It's totally ok!

[kierlak]

As an introvert I love "doing nothing". I like slow/intentional living. I am also into MBTI which helped with understanding myself (I tested as an INFJ). And I noticed other personalities e.g. ESTPs ENTJs they work a LOT. I would never be able to live life at this pace.

We're not lazy. We need to understand ourselves, there may be so many things behind all of this. Can be stress, can be anxiety, depression, ADHD, CPTSD, OCD, physical symptoms, we may be introvert, we may be experiencing burnout, maybe we don't eat well, not sleeping well, spending too much time on our phone which takes away dopamine, maybe we have unmet needs (e.g.close connections with others) etc etc etc.

It's our toxic culture that tells us we're lazy. It's important that we follow our own path, we treat ourselves with acceptance and compassion ❤

Comparison is a thief of joy. Live your life at your own pace ❤

[lyudmilashmigol]

It's not laziness, it's something going on in you body( inflammation, constant stress ect.) You body trying to protect itself.
I know ot from personal experience. After years of pain, sleepless nights I had steroid shot done in my hip. Righ away I felt like a new person. Waking up 6 in a morning, refreshed, full of energy and doing declatering in my house all day long.

[kelkabot]

I love the warmth and kindness of the interviewer, along with his obviously quick mind. A great listen.

[julianapicard]

I have been told that I’m lazy most of my life. Never more so than during the years when I was a single parent to two children, running a law, practice, working 80 to 100 hours a week, and spending my limited free time sitting on the couch doing literally nothing Other than thinking about my cases and all the stuff I should be doing. I have a nocturnal circadian rhythm which means that I struggle horribly to be awake in the morning. So my work hours tended to be something like 10 AM to three or 4 AM with almost 0 breaks. For decades, I slept 2 to 4 hours a night every single night of the week. And yet I would hear constantly that because I couldn’t make myself get up one hour into my sleep at 7 AM. I was lazy. It’s now my goal to practice laziness every single day.

[sarah]

4 twelve hour ICU shifts per week?!? I did 3 per week and I was zapped! Plus, when you deal with life and death regularly, everything else seems small and insignificant by comparison.

[seasonmists]

I love this. It needs to be recognised, the unnecessary pressure often comes from one's own mindset. Once you realise Why you are procrastinating, you are saved from it.

[ritamccomas]

I'm not lazy, I'm getting older and I'm done with pushing meself til I drop from exhaustion. Single again😊 and my kids are raised and on their own, it's my time now to do absolutely nothing if i don't want to 😊

[kambrose]

Lori is actually being responsible by relaxing and recouperating her strength. If she burnt out from overwork that would be terrible for her family her patients and work mates and herself. We all have to take care of ourselves properly. Im sure the kid who cleaned 5he room felt proud to help and to earn some pocketmoney too

[reynaldocavalheiro]

I agree with Laurien! I work hard and when I came home, I Iove my sofa. On the weekend I don't like to do nothing. I confessed that I am shame about this. Now I learnt about self compassion, I will try to use. Thanks for help me.

[_aiborie]

I love how the resounding advice is to have self-compassion, and that Laurie's laziness is the very thing that's making her physically and mentally demanding vocation sustainable for her. Listen to your body, it will never fail you. Thank you, it was a fun listen ☺

[The_Apollo_Show]

I feel that, by pushing themselves so hard and constantly being busy and having an unhealthy level of stress, most people set bad examples of how we should live. A slower pace is healthier. I know this now I am recovering from CFS after pushing myself so hard in life.

[nicolarollinson]

There's a difference between being lazy and being tired and needing a rest. Its ok to laze around
Three months later, I'm listening to this again.
My past' self made a note for my future' self (i.e. now)
I have been made to feel guilty for needing extra rest. I work at least 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, in my job as a Care' giver. I'm 66 yrs old and its been suggested, to put it politely, that I'm too old. I'm not too old 😂...I do a physically and mentally challenging job.
Don't be guilted out Nic 😁👍🏾💕

[Battlekitte]

Hustle culture and the Protestant work ethic has done a number on us. Why does Laurie feel the need to push herself to keep up with others?

[LH-ycvy]

I have thought about the word lazy and thought it may apply to me only because I did not have a better word for how I felt at the time. But now I accept that I have more decision fatigue and introverted burnout stemming from my job and then combined with my procrastination, I feel unproductive. But I have to keep reminding myself of how much work that I really do in effort to not be so hard on myself.

[polythewicked]

Before I got far into the video, I thought “it’s probably ADHD or some dopamine imbalance”. Could also be autistic inertia. I was raised by a type A personality mother who always told me I was lazy, so I grew up feeling immense guilt when I didn’t get anything done during the day. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized my mother was an outlier - and she often was “lazy” herself, but was demanding of others. I have to constantly remind myself that it’s okay to take a day off or to give yourself what you need at the time. I also have fibromyalgia, so imagine telling someone who’s chronically tired and in pain that they’re lazy.