Leisure (Ž) a) Time not fulfilled by work and work obligations; free, available time: read newspapers at leisure
b) reluctance, unemployment, unemployment; chamotinja: to crack your fingers from leisure - to be at leisure without work, to have a lot of free time (Dictionary of Matica Srpska)
Although it is its basic meaning, leisure does not belong only to the lazy. In this century of constant communication, movement, stress and delays with obligations, leisure has become a privilege of the minority.
In fact, it is not only a privilege of a minority, but also a skill that only a small number of people have mastered. Precisely because we live too busy, peace, silence and reluctance are unpleasant and almost unnatural for many. Leisure allows the brain to rest from sorting and connecting the information we bury it throughout the day, but the brain itself resists.
The British philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote the essay "Praise for Laziness" in 1932, where he explains how employers would achieve much more if they shortened the working week to 4 hours a day. According to Russell, the workers would be happier and less nervous, from which the employer would benefit. Even today, almost a century later, Russell's advice was not accepted. When it comes to leisure, it is always contrary to work ethic.
However, leisure has always been the privilege of the rich. It gained in price at the end of the 19th century, although only in the lives of the men there. Wages began to rise, and the working week was gradually shortened from nine-hour to eight-hour working hours. Holidays are also being introduced and holiday homes are springing up, with the Italian motto "Dolce far niente" (sweet unemployment). Sunday becomes a day exclusively for rest and fun.
If we exclude unconventional and ultra-modern companies (especially those from Silicon Valley) which are partly guided by Russell's idea of the relationship between happiness and work, even today, at the end of the second decade of the 21st century, the cult of hard and full-time work is very much alive. Leisure, free time and laziness are equal.
German scientific journalist Urlik Schnabel wrote a book about leisure in which he claims that people today need time to be in contact with themselves. It helps us establish an inner compass and tells us which way to go.
According to Schnabel, we can best learn about leisure from children. While playing and having fun, children do not notice other events around them, do not think about the purpose or benefit that they can get out of leisure, but have fun for fun. Walking, staying in nature, lounging, observing the environment have such an impact on us…But leisure is not just a rest for body and mind. It is the moment when we let our thoughts wander unrestrained, we indulge our imagination and unencumbered thinking. And it is at that moment that leisure becomes a source of creativity, innovation and happiness.
American businessman Jack Welch, who was the head of the giant General Electric for two decades, has adopted the habit of looking out the window for an hour every day, that is, doing nothing. It was his time to find inspiration, to see the bigger picture, to immerse himself in thoughts, as well as, he thought, to preserve his health.
His recipe, tried from the end of the 20th century, is now accepted as a reasonable measure of laziness by many famous businessmen, writers, artists and thinkers, discovering and promoting it as their own secret of success. Meanwhile,neuroscience has also supported this theory, explaining that rest and sleep, which includes a nap, are most important for productive work and success.
In the book "Science and the Art of Idleness", Andrew Stewart writes that chronic employment is harmful not only to the brain, cardiovascular system and health in general, but also to destroy creativity, self-knowledge, emotional well-being, and sociability. Making quick decisions puts us in a situation where the brain resists any more careful thinking about actions. "Doing nothing," said Oscar Wilde, "is the hardest thing in the world, and the smartest."
Meanwhile,neuroscience has also supported this theory, explaining that rest and sleep, which includes a nap, are most important for productive work and success.