Writer Charles Chu recently wrote about the benefits of being lazy.
In fact he wrote that “lazy people make the best leaders.”
Someone please hide that article from my children and burn it. Twice.
During the week’s I work long shifts, by Friday I have to wade through a sea of clothing to cross their rooms. When I wake in the morning I find their dinner dishes still neatly tucked in their assigned spots at the table. My middle child has a habit of dropping his trash in the middle of the floor and then stepping over it for the next three days until I pull my hair out as I scream at him to stop and pick it up.
But I assure you this is not the type of laziness that Chu is advocating for.
Instead, he wants us all to remember that while hard work may pay off, it doesn’t necessarily allow for creativity, unusual inspiration and lucky breaks.
Chu recalls the book, “The Wiki Man” written by Rory Sutherland , vice-chairman of Ogilvy Group UK. In it, Sutherland stresses how important breakthroughs in any field were made simply through unplanned luck. He points out that at one time Microsoft hung whiteboards along its office corridors so that ideas produced during hallway conversations could be documented because those accidental meetings were often more productive than the scheduled ones.
A recent study by the University of Minnesota suggests that people with higher IQs also sit at messy desks. The study suggests that people who spend less time cleaning and more time worrying about important issues are smarter. Not to mention, messy environments, scientists believe, inspire a creative workflow.
Business Insider quoted psychological scientist Kathleen Vohs who said, “Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, which can produce fresh insights. Orderly environments, in contrast, encourage convention and playing it safe.”
I personally agree.
As a writer I have to carry notepad and pen, and use the voice recorder on my I-phone to record my best work as it flows carelessly through my head while I drive mindlessly down the interstate after eight hours of straining to find the right words.
Project ideas taunt me in my dreams. I work late night hours to flesh out ideas that flash through my brain while I’m boiling macaroni and cheese for dinner. A free, relaxed, lazy mind is a creative mind.
And my desk, piled high with papers and books, I’ll have you know I can find anything I need in a flash. I can’t vouch that the constant threat of an avalanche of papercuts makes me more creative but I’m going to own it. As it is what I tell my boss when he insists I rein it in.
So. Stop thinking. Let loose. Go get a coffee and forget about your current assignment.
The answer might just come to you.
