Laziness is a disparaging term for overvaluing short term gain over long term gain, inactivity over activity, and by being satisfied with one's condition with no motivation for improving it.
Chronic laziness is when an individual continually desires the outcome of longterm productivity but cannot escape the pattern of laziness. The sufferer of chronic laziness wishes to rearrange his or her values (to value long term gain over short term gain) but cannot.
At ChronicLaziness.org, our mission is to bring a mature and humane dialogue to the issue of laziness and productivity, and try to help those who feel afflicted with problems regarding work ethic and achievement.
Yes, it is. Conservation of energy after feeding and mating is a natural phenomenon found in most animals. Rather than obtaining an optimal diet or shelter, animals usually seek a situation that meets their needs and then cease all efforts.
Humans, too, are adapted for survival, not for optimal living conditions. The needs to survive and reproduce, if fulfilled, can reduce the drive to work. Therefore, overcoming laziness often requires a threat of survival and reproduction, if not literally then at an abstract level: threat of losing a job, threat of being unable to attract a mate.
What does this mean for us in our daily lives? It means that "being lazy", even having chronic laziness, is a perfectly natural, rational response. On the other hand, it can create sociological and psychological problems, due to the value of productivity, status, and achievement in our society.
In a modern, Western, captialist scoeity, laziness is considered a signal of low value, even though our minds give it value for perfectly rational reasons. In a more scarce environment, we were lazy on purpose, to preserve energy. In the same way, being fat, useful to store food in case of scarcity, is also considered a signal of low value in our culture.
Therefore, we must think of "laziness" in the same way we think of being "overweight." Something a large number of people want to fix, but for reasons that are more sociological than biological.
Traits inherent in sociopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism - called the "Dark Traid" - correlate with achievement and higher levels of sexual activity. The Dark Triad is evidence that seemingly maladaptive behavior can elicit what we would think of as positive reactions.
Perfectionism is another "disorder" linked to high levels of productivity. It is therefore safe to assume that both lazy and productive states can arise and create harmful states.
"The desire to be productive is universal," says Dr. Levine, author of The Myth of Laziness.
As natural as laziness may be, the human species came from an environment in which laziness was rare. Finding food and setting up shelter took most of the day, and laziness was well-earned. Our modern society, on the other hand, provides adequate food and shelter relatively easily.
Social status requires additional comforts than what we would consider the "bare minimum" and therefore requires additional effort. Chronic laziness blocks these efforts.
We recommend the Fearless Productivity program for help with chronic laziness and to increase productivity. It's a thorough program with personal coaching, and the only one of its kind available on the internet. We are not affiliated with Fearless Productivity, so we cannot vouch for its effectiveness in a large sample, only what we have seen in our own experience. A free trial is available.
We also recommend seeing a psychologist, who may help you with underlying issues regarding your lack of productvity.