The Fine Art of Lallygagging

Lallygagging has many synonyms– dawdling, loafing, loitering, hanging around, for example. In redneck circles, there is a rich and colourful vocabulary referring to the same phenomenon, but this space is too polite to set any of those to print.

The whole point of lallygagging is to use time for no productive purpose. Whether the idleness is intentional or not, the result is the same: hours and sometimes days pass with nothing to show for them.

Now, this is not to suggest that times of R&R are not good for the body and soul. In fact, it’s often in times of mindlessness that some of our very best inspirations spring fully formed into our consciousness. But here we’re talking about simply not getting off your “donkey”, so to speak.

The problem with lallygagging or dawdling is twofold. First, your life has only so many years, days, and minutes, which you can spend either being useful or useless. Second, Newton’s First Law of Motion applies. It states that a body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it, and a body in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.

This means that wasting the hours and days of our lives self-perpetuates. This explains why we get in ruts, and can’t seem to get out of them. Whether career advancement, physical conditioning, learning a new skill, weight loss, or making sales, we’re either making progress or we’re dogging it. It’s either a virtuous cycle or a vicious circle.

Speaking personally, I am close to useless with any form of self-improvement or achievement until I get myself into a position of accountability. Whether an official accountability buddy or simply putting it out there for the world to see (and later mock me if I don’t come through), I need applause for success and shame for failure if I am to seriously dismount my donkey and get something significant accomplished.

In my work with professionals, I find that one of the leading reasons for unhappiness and stagnation is inertia, or lallygagging. Sitting in the corner sucking your thumb seems easier and more comfortable than a program of reinvention, but the result is that this time next year you’ll still be in the very same same corner sucking your very same thumb, and you’ll stay that very same way until the day they carry you out on a plank.

Sitting in the corner sucking your thumb may feel comforting, but you and I have more purpose in life than that. You’ll need that thumb if you’re going to get a grip!