The Superpower of Strategic Laziness: Recharge, Refuel, and Maximize Productivity

But being lazy is a bad thing, right?

No! At least its not when you learn how to harness the superpower of strategic laziness.

Busyness is not the badge of honor we think. Running from meeting to meeting, stacked calendar to overflowing inbox, fools us into feeling productive. But in reality, strategic laziness aligns with results. To operate at peak energy and efficiency, we need to reframe rest as essential work and make sure we spend our times on the right things.

Strategically lazy people know how to get the right things done. They automate everything they can. They find easy ways to solve problems, and spend more time delivering value than burning themselves out.

How Can You Harness Strategic Laziness?

At the end of the day, the goal is to maximize the outcomes you can achieve while minimizing the effort to put in to get there:

1. Be ruthlessly judicious about what you take on. Eliminate the urgent but unimportant tasks that zap precious focus.
2. Keep space in your calendar to think deeply and recharge. Say no to non-essential meetings and obligations.
3. Build regular ritual rests into your workflow to maximize productivity. Take real lunch breaks, away from your desk.
4. Segment your day with brief moments of relaxation. Unplug completely when you can and learn how to come back 100%.

Why Would Laziness Be A Good Thing?

The key comes down to maximizing the amount of work NOT done. When you strategically say no to lower value demands, you’re saying yes to personal renewal and high-impact work. You improve the way you prioritize and care about outcomes and success over working "hard". In our brains we want to flip the script on productivity: It is not the amount of things we do, but the impact of what we accomplished.

There are a number of incredible outcomes we can get from embracing our inner laziness:

1. Instead of burnout, we can build in time to think, restore, and tap into your superpowers. Work hard, rest hard. Master the cadence between activity and recharging. You’ll accomplish more with renewed energy and purpose.
2. Strategic laziness also boosts creativity. Letting your mind wander or taking a walk mid-day sparks novel connections.
3. By saying no to more, you can increase the quality of what you say "Yes" to. Get the right things done well instead of everything done poorly.

Being ruthlessly judicious is difficult but necessary. It means letting go of FOMO and an assumption you should say yes to everything. But exercising discernment allows you to invest your energy where it really counts. Practice being highly selective, and value your own time as much as you want others to value you.

‍