In both word and deed, one of the greatest idlers of all time was John Lennon. In his songs we see repeated defences of simply lying around doing nothing. Tom Hodgkinson deeddefencegreat Change image and share on social
Poetry, being supremely useless, by its very existence represents a protest against the so-called 'real world' of busy-ness and moneymaking, so we must embrace, salute and support our poets. Tom Hodgkinson busycallembrace Change image and share on social
My hope is that flexible working and varying shift patterns will give workers a taste for idling and that they will gradually demand greater reductions in the length of the working week. Tom Hodgkinson demandflexiblegive Change image and share on social
Long weekends at festivals, short weeks at home, all summer long: now that is surely preferable to the immense cost and headache of the nuclear family holiday in the sun? Tom Hodgkinson costfamilyfestival Change image and share on social
I seethe at the humiliation of airport security checks. Tom Hodgkinson airportcheckhumiliation Change image and share on social
It takes a while to master the art of hammock-lounging. At first I could only manage five minutes or so before I thought I ought to get out and go and help a child learn how to swim or something. But after observing the Mexicans' capability for staring into space for hours on end, I decided to put in some proper practice. Tom Hodgkinson artcapabilitychild share on social
One of the least arduous but most productive of gardening jobs, the magic of deadheading never fails to delight me. It was a revelation when the principle was explained to me: that flowers are the attempt by the plant to reproduce itself. So if you cut the heads off before the flower turns into seeds, the plant will continue to flower. Tom Hodgkinson arduousattemptcontinue share on social
Management gurus in general are, I think, best avoided. All too often they reduce your working life to a list of rules to be followed. Targets are aimed at. Goals kicked at. You then break the rules or forget them and, hey presto, you start beating yourself up. Tom Hodgkinson aimavoidbeat share on social
The world's richest half billion people - that's about seven per cent of the global population - are responsible for fifty per cent of the world's emissions. Tom Hodgkinson billioncentemission Change image and share on social
If we are to make life into a pleasure rather than a struggle, then I would suggest that we have to start with our own mental attitudes. Tom Hodgkinson attitudelifemake Change image and share on social