Comments on: Fight for your right to be lazy

By: Slow Sunday Mornings

Slow Sunday Mornings — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:04:27 +0000

[...] back on the workaholic wagon. Or ever, almost certainly. Wasn’t Johnny going on about the value of laziness in entrepreneurship? The man has a point, [...]

By: Anat Price

Anat Price — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:21:17 +0000

What I’m thinking is that it is a great article, beautifully written and I don’t like the word “lazy”… it is too derogatory for important time that ranks right up there with “sleep”.

By: You can’t always get what you want (but hell, you should get it at least sometimes) | Johnny B. Truant

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:55:25 +0000

[...] wrote not too long ago about being lazy. Then, I got praise for talking about being lazy, and now, today, I had this idea to write about [...]

By: Melinda | SuperWAHM

Melinda | SuperWAHM — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 04:20:20 +0000

The flip side of this that people aren’t talking about is what you do in those hours that you work. Goofing off on twitter and facebook and calling it networking isn’t work. If you’re going to take the time off then you need to make sure your working hours are just that – solid work.

I know too many entrepreneurs and freelancers who can spend all day on the computer and call it work, but have nothing tangible to show for at the end. If you do 30 hours of solid work in a week and take a day or more off then you’re going to end up well and truly ahead of most of your competitors.

Great post and well said Johnny.

By: Ren

Ren — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 22:56:31 +0000

Woah – timely. Last night I happened to have no deadlines to meet, and I wasted my time by finding fiddly busywork that made me feel like I was being productive (even though I knew I wasn’t). I could easily have read a book or gone for a long walk but, I feel guilty unless I’m yelling, “Can’t talk! Busy! Crazy busy!” at everyone around me.

I’m sick of the gurus giving me tips on how to work harder, especially when they wag a finger and tell me to count up the hours I waste watching TV. “Television – are you insane? Who the hell has time for that?”

By: Karen Talavera

Karen Talavera — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 22:25:38 +0000

Goddamn right Johnny! That SO needed to be said, I feel SO much better, and I SO concur. But I’ll keep this brief because I’m off to have a beer and enjoy my backyard in-ground pool and cushy south Florida lifestyle.

I slaved through 10+ years of corporate America and have survived 6+ of entrepreneurship. Am I done yet? No. Do I want to be? No. But I’ve worked hard enough to get to this lifestyle, so I’m damn sure going to enjoy it!

For those who haven’t learned from experience yet, laziness can reap incredible rewards, like actually having a life. Then there’s also the time for unstructured thinking=epiphanies=leverage=you can be lazier and still make money. Of course, you can’t then sink into a downward spiral of procrastination and complete inactivity (yes, it’s a risk), but you don’t have to go implementing at an 80-hour/week pace either.

True enough, finding your natural rhythm and working with vs. against it is key.

Thanks for stripping away the useless guilt. I have such high expectations of myself, I often push myself so hard. After reading this I feel deserving. I feel okay just as I am – more than okay. We need more of that in this world. Love ya Johnny!

By: Nico

Nico — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:53:30 +0000

I’m just starting to take the plunge myself, and while I realize it’s going to be a lot of hard work – especially initially, as I get started – ultimately I’m doing this because I want a different lifestyle which, for me, will not mean working 14 hour days, seven days a week.

Thanks for this.

By: Mastery and the Average Factory Worker | IttyBiz

Mastery and the Average Factory Worker | IttyBiz — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:17:14 +0000

[...] I would like to publicly change my long-standing advice. I recently read Johnny’s piece about fighting for your right to be lazy. He refers to an article asking 12 entrepreneurs about their working habits, including the hours [...]

By: Ash

Ash — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:42:07 +0000

1. I love commenting here because it’s one place where I can say motherfucker with no shame.

2. People, as a collective, are stupid. If everyone’s working, then they think they have to be working. Naw, naw, my friend–’tis not true. Some of my best ideas have hit me when I’m actually giving myself the time to think, instead of just go, go, go.

3. I like lists.

4. The end.

By: Johnny

Johnny — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 15:09:54 +0000

I’m kind of taking this to a new level, actually. I won’t go into details yet, but I’m seeing how “lazy” I can be in my business, and it’s the whole 80/20 rule thing. What is the 20% of activities that create 80% of my results? And what 80% can largely be discarded?

Interestingly, I was listening to this interview again the other day and Jason Freid gave me permission to be lazy as well…. definitely worth a listen:

http://questiontherules.com/interview-jason-freid-from-37-signals/