I have always loved the following quote:
“Loafing needs no explanation and is its own excuse.” – Christopher Morley
Of course, I love this quote because I am a loafer, soul and body (especially body). Most writers, if we’re being honest, are loafers at the core. Loafers, daydreamers, explorers in imagination if not in terrestrial fact. Loafing is a highly underrated vocation… well, avocation. And why should one be afraid to admit it?
Of course, one of the objections to loafing is certainly that there is always work to be done. Can one loaf comfortably if coffee isn’t made, or if the cat hasn’t been fed? If the pandemic taught us nothing else, it taught us the value of time. We only get a certain number of hours in this life (we won’t speculate about the next one), so we must make hay while the sun shines, and gather our rosebuds while we may. The trick seems to be loafing while also simultaneously getting a lot done, and that is a challenge that even the peppiest sloths among us cannot always meet. So what’s a loafer to do?
Below are three things that could aid one in buying more loafing time. I am not good at any of these, by the way.
- Plan ahead. Well, if that means daydream about all the future things that might possibly be done when, and if, one gets one’s behind off the hammock, then most loafers are very, very good at this. If it further means to make a list of all the things that need to be done in a timely manner, many of us also excel in this area (I am an enthusiastic list maker). But when it comes to actually forecasting all events and outcomes in a realistic manner which will bring these things to pass? Speaking only for myself, this could use some work.
- Don’t procrastinate, do it now. Cough, cough. See number one.
- Reward oneself for accomplishments. Now this is something that most loafers do very well. In fact, some of us are so good at it that we will often reward ourselves before the job has even been completed!
And so, to sum this all up, I guess we should remember to do the things that need to be done (especially making coffee and feeding the cat!), and we shouldn’t let ourselves feel pressured to excuse our loafing time. And above all, we should not take life too seriously. Otherwise, we’ll never survive it.
How do you like to loaf?
♡♡♡