All art requires practice, and patience. Art requires the proper setting, too. And there is no better setting to perfect the art of being lazy than summer.

Being truly lazy seems a lost art in our time of instant messaging, instant gratification -- instant everything. We enjoy so many luxuries, except the luxury of time, which is precisely what the lazy state of being requires.

Summer beckons us away from the hustle and bustle and toward laziness. To laze about on a summer Sunday means to recharge batteries. To reconnect with other lazy souls. To rest. To think. To meander. To lollygag. To accomplish much, while accomplishing nothing of any great purpose.

And that's the point -- to have no apparent point. We spend so much of our working days striving. Summer laziness allows us to deposit that baggage at the door and really relax.

What's funny to me is the number of people who chastise themselves for being "lazy", yet when asked what they've accomplished today, they can tick off ten or twenty things. They don't see lazy as an art, but as a notion anathema to productive living.

But here's the deal: the art of being lazy is just as creative as any other art. While you're being "lazy", you are allowing your fertile mind to grow and bloom. You are creating something new. A new you.

Lazy is taking a walk -- not to get the aerobic workout, but to look at the flowers. Lazy is taking the time to read a book the whole way through -- in one sitting. Lazy is a catnap -- without giving a hoot about the chores waiting. Lazy is a two hour talk with your teenager about nothing at all, and everything in the world.

Lazy is loving yourself enough to let go of the need to impress and achieve long enough to really and truly relax and recharge.

Being lazy is an art and I mean to be an accomplished practitioner this summer. Will you join me?

Author's Bio: 

Michele Woodward is an executive life coach who helps individuals and businesses improve efficiency and effectiveness. In her coaching practice, Michele offers a committed coaching partnership using leadership training, communications techniques, strengths assessments and other tools. Michele helps clients with innovative and workable ways to increase their performance, and overall satisfaction with their lives. She is a member of the International Coach Federation and the International Association of Coaches. Michele is a certified NorthStar Coach, having completed a course of training with Martha Beck's NorthStar program. She is a sought-after speaker and leads a number of workshops and classes, and writes a popular blog.

Recently, she was honored to serve as a principal organizer of the State Funeral of President Gerald R. Ford. She previously organized the State Funeral of President Ronald Reagan, heading ticketing and staffing operations for all events in Washington, DC.