While everyone’s ‘maxxing’ everything, I’m reviving the lost art of laziness

In this column, we deliver hot (and cold) takes on pop culture, judging whether a subject is overrated or underrated.

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Last year, I got pneumonia and spent two weeks basically horizontal. Work was out of the question. Walking to the fridge felt like an Odyssean task. Even looking at my phone hurt.

When I wasn’t sleeping the only thing I could do was watch TV, and as the days blurred together I managed a Scandi Noir marathon (Deadwind > Bordertown, btw). Even this got old about 22 episodes in, but at least I had a good excuse for the bedrotting. God forbid anyone accuse me of being lazy.

The word “lazy” has always had negative connotations, conflating physical weakness and lack of effort with moral failure, but today it feels almost pathological. A couple of decades ago, the only people saying “optimise” were math nerds and IT boffins trying to speed up their computers. Now the term is inescapable and taken to the extreme in the form of “maxxing”, where everyday activities are approached with obsessive zeal.

We optimise our sleep so we can........

© The Sydney Morning Herald