Tom Hodgkinson Quotes

There's nothing new about anti-work philosophy. History is dotted with individuals and groups who decided that laziness was next to godliness and work was a waste of time.

My idea of the perfect day is nothing to do and a great book on the go.

Idleness among children, as among men, is the root of all evil, and leads to no other evil more certain than ill temper.

I don't know the difference between working and not working.

I love working. I feel guilty about doing nothing; I get bored.

The fact is, if a young man is naturally indolent, the spur of necessity will drive him but a very little way, while the having enough to live upon is often the means of preserving his self-respect.

A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. There will be sleeping enough in the grave.

Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy.

I think the man who eats the bread of idleness is under a certain obligation to speak well of labor.

I just enjoy both working and not working.

We are closer to the ants than to the butterflies. Very few people can endure much leisure.

You can't get anything done hanging out all day long.

I have no desire to put my feet up. Why would I?

Time off doesn't sit well with me.

When I don't feel like working, I don't.

I didn't do anything productive during my break after 'Dream Girl.' I didn't even take a vacation!

Trouble Springs From Idleness.

Boredom is a certain sign that we are allowing our faculties to rust in idleness.

I suppose that there is no point wasting time being lazy, though of course indolence in a divine way, actually has its advantages.

I honestly believe there is absolutely nothing like going to bed with a good #book; or a friend who's #read one.

Mainly I've been back to my books and writings and being nice and quiet and lazy. As I'm writing this, the radio says there's a foot of snow falling on Long Island. I really love snow and wish I could take a long walk in it right now.

Few women and fewer men have enough character to be idle.

I'd sit at my kitchen table and start scanning help-wanted ads on my laptop, but then a browser tab would blink and I'd get distracted and follow a link to a long magazine article about genetically modified wine grapes. Too long, actually, so I'd add it to my reading list. Then I'd follow another link to a book review. I'd add the review to my reading list, too, then download the first chapter of the book—third in a series about vampire police. Then, help-wanted ads forgotten, I'd retreat to the living room, put my laptop on my belly, and read all day. I had a lot of free time.

One of the amusements of idleness is reading without fatigue of close attention; and the world, therefore, swarms with writers whose wish is not to be studied, but to be read.

Indeed I have always been of the opinion that hard work is simply the refuge of people who have nothing to do.