I am really lazy.....

[GalaxyBoy]

 

[zedd]

+1

too lazy add anything original . too lazy to hold down the shift key

 

[Danmar]

I’m not lazy in the least. But I dont mind not doing much. I will always do the stuff that needs doing. Never bored either. Very strenuous workout almost every day belies any suggestion of laziness I think. A high pressure career did certainly make retirement very attractive at 56. Been 11 years now, and feeling quite “settled” in retirement. “Lazy” just doesn’t seem like an appropriate word to use?

 

[Jerry1]

I'm pretty lazy, but I have one problem that gets in the way. I can't stand it when something (in this case around the house) isn't working correctly. So I usually get things done that need to be done. As I move into retirement, I'm working on an agreement with myself to find some type of daily activity/exercise, as I know that I'll be better off in the long run if I move more than my natural tendencies would dictate. Wish me luck.

 

[Scuba]

I’ve become a lot more relaxed since ER. Like others, I was a hard-charging Type A at work and I can still get that way when I get focused on a project. Like yesterday DH and I worked non-stop for 10 hours culling through our kitchen and reorganizing and getting rid of stuff. On the other hand, there are days I don’t do much at all and I thoroughly enjoy that too.

The beautiful thing about retirement is freedom of choice!

 

[FreeBear]

Another recovering hard-charger and w*rkaholic here. My teams got the j*bs other more experience teams screwed up. It was a point of pride. I loved figuring out difficult stuff, even better if the experts declared it "impossible".

I still love to learn new stuff, but now at my own pace. I don't have to prove anything to anyone. No more grades or other arbitrary evaluations of my "worth" by anyone.

The frequency and intensity of w*rk related nightmares have faded after 3 years in retirement. Some folks have said it would take at least 6 months to acclimate to retirement. I guess I'm a slow learner since it has taken almost 3 years.

Recently, DW and I sat in a college cafe sipping coffee with one of our young student friends. I remarked that I never had time or money to do this when I was at the university long ago. I was born to sit around and drink coffee!

Speaking about coffee, today I spent a couple of hours drinking coffee with DW. It was wonderful! Oh, it takes me about 20 minutes to prepare each round of coffee, but it's delicious and I enjoy the ritual. Sure beats w*rking!

To be fair, though, I'm not sure if I'd enjoy this sitting around as much if I didn't have to w*rk so hard for it in the past. I guess I'm still a recovering w*rkaholic. Maybe I would have been a very unhappy trust fund kid, but I never had a chance to find out!

 

[Tree-dweller]

By nature I'm totally with you on the laziness bit. But fortunately I have an energetic wife to fill my idle time with fresh goals.

Likewise, I’m sure. I just wish she’d keep the nap-shaming to a minimum! ;->

 

[athena53]

I was also high-energy, setting the alarm for 6:30 AM five days a week, working 10-hour days, business travel across time zones, getting up even earlier to work out since there would be no time at the end of the day, etc.

Now I feel a bit disgruntled if I have more than one commitment on my calendar in a single day or if I have to set the alarm. I do make time for doing things for others, such as donating blood and maintaining the church Web site but those are mostly on my terms. My excess energy has been channeled into better workouts at the gym and keeping the house cleaner. I'm happy with that.

 

[Chuckanut]

Does anybody remember the show "Flame Trees of Thika"

The young girl when asked what she would do if she was rich said "nothing". Why? Because her father told her that "doing nothing is the most expensive thing a person can do".

I agree.

 

[oneill225]

Clever and Lazy

I agree with the military quote citing the virtue of being intelligent and lazy. That combination creates the most efficient solutions to most problems/challenges. In essence, we turn it on when needed and don't waste everyone's time (including our own) when it is not.

The quote:

"I divide my officers into four groups. There are clever, diligent, stupid, and lazy officers. Usually two characteristics are combined. Some are clever and diligent -- their place is the General Staff. The next lot are stupid and lazy -- they make up 90 percent of every army and are suited to routine duties. Anyone who is both clever and lazy is qualified for the highest leadership duties, because he possesses the intellectual clarity and the composure necessary for difficult decisions. One must beware of anyone who is stupid and diligent -- he must not be entrusted with any responsibility because he will always cause only mischief."
General Hammerstein

 

[flyingaway]

Now that I have been retired nearly two years, I realize how lazy I am. Like someone who can run fast and far if a bear is chasing them will stop running when the bear is not chasing. I really enjoy the option to do very little if that is what I want that day.

Once I achieved FIRE I realized the bear was not chasing me anymore, so my natural laziness kicked in. I now assume a majority of the hard work and general industriousness in Society is driven by debt or desire to save.


Note: I had a very demanding, high stress, well compensated career, so you would not have guessed how lazy I really am.

I like the opportunity to be lazy. Last week I was in an all-inclusive resort in Los Cabos, I was so lazy that I did not want to do anything but just stayed in hotel for the sun. My wife said that was a waste of money, so what. I just don't want to do anything.

 

[Bir48die]

Similar story here... generally lazy if left to my own devices.... got mediocre grades in high school and first semester of college because I wasn't applying myself... while working a manual labor job between freshman and sophmore years of college I realized that I was destined to live in poverty if I didn't step it up... was Dean's list after that. Once I started working I was having a ball with money to burn... partying many nights and occasionally showing up to work hungover.... at my first year evaluation the senior partner said that they thought I was a smart, young guy but wasn't applying myself worth a lick and that in 6 months they would decide to either promote me or show me the door... it was the kick in the a$$ that I needed... I was promoted 3 months later and did well the rest of my career.

I had a fairly type A, pressure jobs and worked long hours and traveled a lot. When I decided to hang up the gloves many people who knew me well thought that I would be climbing the walls in a year. One of the biggest surprises of retirement was how content that I could be just puttering around and not doing much of anything.

One of my favorite Beetle Bailey comic strips was one where Beetle was doing a number of onerous tasks and asked Sarge why he was getting all the hard tasks... Sarge replied that in his view that Beetle was the lasiest person in the unit so he would fine the easiest way to get the task done. That rang a bell with me.

Many similarities to this story except I was lazy in college throughout the whole experience. Getting laid off in a recession (80's) with a pregnant wife was my motivator. Changed my life.

Had lots of projects after I retired. Now I'm settling into a more relaxed phase. Still planning but don't have that drive every day to do something productive.

 

[Bigdawg]

I agree with the military quote citing the virtue of being intelligent and lazy. That combination creates the most efficient solutions to most problems/challenges. In essence, we turn it on when needed and don't waste everyone's time (including our own) when it is not.

The quote:

"I divide my officers into four groups. There are clever, diligent, stupid, and lazy officers. Usually two characteristics are combined. Some are clever and diligent -- their place is the General Staff. The next lot are stupid and lazy -- they make up 90 percent of every army and are suited to routine duties. Anyone who is both clever and lazy is qualified for the highest leadership duties, because he possesses the intellectual clarity and the composure necessary for difficult decisions. One must beware of anyone who is stupid and diligent -- he must not be entrusted with any responsibility because he will always cause only mischief."
General Hammerstein

I was enlisted and later an officer. I would agree with this for the most part. Usually found myself replacing someone who was clever and diligent. I was/am clever and lazy. As an Aviation Maintenance Control Officer my predecessor would come in at 0500 and leave at 1800. I would come in at 0545 and be out the door most days at 1700. All of my metrics were just as good or higher than my predecessor.

At one of the resident courses I was required to attend we planned and executed our day in 10-15 minutes increments. Ex 0430-wake up, 0445-shave/shower get dressed, etc... I was completely done with everything NLT 1400 each day. Way too organized and efficient for me to the point of being uncomfortable. To this day I will have a honey due list with maybe ten items. When I have completed maybe 6 or 7 of the items I stop for the day. It bothers me to be too efficient. Weird? I suppose. It works for me.

To score a 275-285 on the USMC physical fitness test I needed to dedicate aprox 5-10 hours/week on physical fitness. To score a perfect 300 I would need to dedicate at least 20 hours/week. The 280 I would always get put me well above average. Least amount or time to acquire the highest score. Worked for me.

It works that way with $ for me too. My bosses boss is moving up to be a VP. They want me to take his place. I spend a day with him. Turns out his EASIEST week is 50 hours. In the 2.5 years I have worked this current gig I have worked 50 hours maybe once. Usually work 30-35. Rarely 40. The time cost to receive an extra 30k is not worth it to me. Hour for hour that position would be less $/hour.

 

[FIREmenow]

At one of the resident courses I was required to attend we planned and executed our day in 10-15 minutes increments. Ex 0430-wake up, 0445-shave/shower get dressed, etc... I was completely done with everything NLT 1400 each day. Way too organized and efficient for me to the point of being uncomfortable. To this day I will have a honey due list with maybe ten items. When I have completed maybe 6 or 7 of the items I stop for the day. It bothers me to be too efficient. Weird? I suppose. It works for me.

I worked one summer in college at a civil service job (government). My first clue should have been that I showed up and they didn't even know I was coming.

When I finally got settled in on the first day, I was given a stack of punch cards (remember those?) and was asked to write a program to organize them according to one of the parametric variables on the card(s).

I went off to work on it and came back around lunchtime and handed my manager the results and the software instructions.

He looked at me with the most confused expression I had ever seen, and in a VERY slow, southern drawl (Charleston, SC) said, "Boy!?! ------ (long pause) You're gonna work yourself right out of a job!!"

Turns out that task was supposed to last me the ENTIRE summer!

The rest of the summer was the most miserable job I ever had, just sitting there staring at the clock because they didn't have enough work for themselves to do all day, let alone me!

.......even worse than digging swimming pools in 100+ degree heat the next summer!

 

[scrabbler1]

I am pretty lazy, too. I try to spread out my errands during the week so I can do them during off-peak hours, mainly between 10 AM and 3 PM on weekdays. I have my square dancing a few nights a week and see my best friend one night a week and see my ladyfriend most other nights.


But once in a while, I have several things to do on the same day and it can be quite exhausting because I'm not really used to being that busy any more. Like last Monday, when I had 8 things to do, some of them during a freezing rainstorm in the late afternoon, which thankfully canceled my evening square dancing because I was totally worn out. It took me until midday Tuesday to recover and return to my usual lazy self!

 

[athena53]

I was/am clever and lazy.

I am, too- that was a very perceptive quote! I got out of college with a 3.25 GPA, which probably wouldn't get me an interview these days. I didn't push myself all that hard because I wasn't headed to grad school or an investment banking job, so didn't feel any pressure to get a 4.0.

Then the actuarial exams entered the picture. I can say that at that point I turned clever and diligent. Promotions, raises and sometimes even your job depended on passing them regularly, and there was a very marketable credential at the end of the road, as well as meetings in nice places. I went into overdrive although it still took me 8 years to pass them all.

I've gone into "clever and diligent" mode at other times when the occasion called for it, but that's not my real nature, which is probably why I never rose above VP in a business where VPs are a dime a dozen.

Oh, yeah- the Society's November 2019 meeting will be in Hawaii. I'll be on the beach during all but the cocktail receptions and the most interesting educational sessions.

 

[scrabbler1]

I am, too- that was a very perceptive quote! I got out of college with a 3.25 GPA, which probably wouldn't get me an interview these days. I didn't push myself all that hard because I wasn't headed to grad school or an investment banking job, so didn't feel any pressure to get a 4.0.

Then the actuarial exams entered the picture. I can say that at that point I turned clever and diligent. Promotions, raises and sometimes even your job depended on passing them regularly, and there was a very marketable credential at the end of the road, as well as meetings in nice places. I went into overdrive although it still took me 8 years to pass them all.

I've gone into "clever and diligent" mode at other times when the occasion called for it, but that's not my real nature, which is probably why I never rose above VP in a business where VPs are a dime a dozen.

Oh, yeah- the Society's November 2019 meeting will be in Hawaii. I'll be on the beach during all but the cocktail receptions and the most interesting educational sessions.

I was pretty clever and lazy at the same time during my college years and while working.

In college, once I got my bearings straight, my philosophy was this: Strive to get an A in the courses which were "Up my alley," and salvage a B in the courses which were "Not up my alley." This led me to put the most effort into the courses which I had the most motivation to do well in and not waste time trying to bust my butt in courses I wasn't too interested in.

This strategy worked out very well. I made Dean's List twice and got As in nearly all of my preferred, favorite classes, while coasting, more or less, in the rest of the courses. The ultimate success with this strategy was to take a free elective course pass-fail (I had to take it to fit into my class schedule nearly 2 weeks into the semester) so I could devote all my energies into the other 3 "up my alley" courses. I got a C in the P/F course, so the C had no effect on my GPA, while getting As in the other 3 tougher, but more satisfying courses. I ended with a 3.7 GPA.

In my career, which like yours Athena, was in the actuarial field, I gave up on the exams 2 years into it because I just didn't want to be a student any more, hitting books after a full day of work. Lazy, maybe. But it made me a more diligent worker, using my programming skills to make a name for myself in my department.

As my enjoyment of the job began to wane in the late 1990s, I happened to be assigned to a project I couldn't stand and had no further interest in busting my butt to try to do well in it, if I could do well in it at all. Rather than continue pursuing the project, I begged off it, even though I knew I'd take a hit in my next performance review. Lazy, maybe. But I was far, far happier being off the project than I was upset by taking a hit on the next review. When I saw the hit on my next review, I said to myself, "no big friggin' deal."

Switching to working part-time 2 years after that also stunted my pay raises a bit. But why should I care about pay raises when I was actively seeking to REDUCE my pay 40%? I wanted my freedom to be lazy by not working full-time any more. Six years after that, I was so lazy that for the second time I asked to have my work hours and pay reduced AGAIN! and 17 months later, in the ultimate of laziness, I asked to work ZERO hours per week, as in retiring.

 

[truenorth418]

Note: I had a very demanding, high stress, well compensated career, so you would not have guessed how lazy I really am.

Same here. Worked late nights, long after colleagues had gone home. In grad school my nickname was “automaton” because I was constantly working. Some would say my life was my work.

And then I retired in my mid 40s and they were all surprised, didn’t make the connection.

 

[street]

Man I don't like the word lazy but I do use it a time or two describing myself. LOL I also am a work alcoholic could never get enough done in a day. Went 90 6 days a week 12 hour days didn't eat right sleep right so now I have found to slow down has been great.

When there are things that need to get done I do get up and get them done. Like this morning I had to take snow off of the roof and move snow to be able to get out. It was a 3 hour job but I find it fun and relaxing to be able to do it.

Now I have a next door neighbor they are retired and never lift a finger to move snow/lawn/leaves etc. They do have an adult son that lives with them that does some but it may be a week after they should of done those things. LOL A great neighbor never the less and like them dearly.

There are days I don't get much done but take a long walk and that is winter time only. The rest of the year I'm on the go none stop. I'm still lazy at times. LOL

 

[truenorth418]

In Italian “Dolce far niente”

Sweet doing nothing.

 

[kjpliny]

This thread reminds me of that special exchange:

Wife: What did you do today?
Husband: Nothing.
Wife: You did that yesterday!
Husband: I wasn't finished!

 

[PoorOldCountryBoy]

Now that I have been retired nearly two years, I realize how lazy I am. Like someone who can run fast and far if a bear is chasing them will stop running when the bear is not chasing. I really enjoy the option to do very little if that is what I want that day.

Once I achieved FIRE I realized the bear was not chasing me anymore, so my natural laziness kicked in. I now assume a majority of the hard work and general industriousness in Society is driven by debt or desire to save.


Note: I had a very demanding, high stress, well compensated career, so you would not have guessed how lazy I really am.

Give yourself at least 1 year for every 10 years in the harness before calling yourself lazy - You're just resetting your worldview to "outside of the rat race"

 

[Scuba]

I agree with the military quote citing the virtue of being intelligent and lazy. That combination creates the most efficient solutions to most problems/challenges. In essence, we turn it on when needed and don't waste everyone's time (including our own) when it is not.



The quote:



"I divide my officers into four groups. There are clever, diligent, stupid, and lazy officers. Usually two characteristics are combined. Some are clever and diligent -- their place is the General Staff. The next lot are stupid and lazy -- they make up 90 percent of every army and are suited to routine duties. Anyone who is both clever and lazy is qualified for the highest leadership duties, because he possesses the intellectual clarity and the composure necessary for difficult decisions. One must beware of anyone who is stupid and diligent -- he must not be entrusted with any responsibility because he will always cause only mischief."

General Hammerstein

This is great! One of my former bosses said the only thing worse than a moron is a motivated moron. [emoji23]

 

[dixonge]

I always viewed work as this annoying but necessary thing that got in the way of all the things I wanted to do (camping, rock climbing, swing dancing, storm chasing, etc.). Now I have time to do all those things, if I can find room in my schedule!