What's the Difference Between Procrastination and Laziness?

Source: Pixabay/Sammy-Sander/Public domain

We are being lazy if we can do something that we ought to do but are reluctant to do it because of the effort involved. We do it badly, or do something else that is less strenuous or onerous, or simply remain idle. In other words, we are being lazy if our motivation to spare ourself effort trumps our motivation to do the right or best or expected thing—assuming, of course, we know what that is.

The word ‘laziness’ arose in the sixteenth century; older terms for germane notions are indolence and sloth. Indolence derives from the Latin indolentia, ‘without pain’. Sloth has more moral and spiritual connotations. In the Christian tradition, sloth is one of the seven deadly sins because it invites evil-doing and undermines God’s plan for humankind.

Laziness Versus Procrastination

Laziness, indolence, or sloth should not be confused with procrastination. To procrastinate [Latin, ‘to forward to tomorrow’] is to postpone a task in favour of other tasks which are less taxing but also less important or urgent.

To postpone a task for practical or strategic purposes does not amount to procrastination; for a postponement to amount to procrastination, it has to represent poor and ineffective planning, and result in a higher overall cost to the procrastinator.

For example, it’s one thing to delay a tax return until all the numbers are in, but quite another to delay it so that it ruins our holiday or lands us with a fine.

Both the lazybones and the procrastinator lack motivation. But unlike the lazy person, the procrastinator aspires or intends to complete the task, and, moreover, eventually does—albeit at a higher overall cost to him- or her-self.

Read more in Heaven and Hell: The Psychology of the Emotions.