Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd President of the United States. He shared his wisdom on productivity in letters to his daughter.

Game shows provide vivid examples of high-stakes decision-making biases. Previously, I’ve discussed non-rational bidding on The Price is Right, and today I’d like to consider contestant behavior on ...

It has been almost two years since the economy recovered fully from the coronavirus pandemic, but more than 3 million workers are still missing from the workforce. University of Chicago economics ...

“My father always called me a ‘useless article,’ ” Chris Davis tells me, driving through Bristol, England. “He said it in a rather nice way, of course.” In the midst of my research I had come up to ...

To be idle is to not be doing anything. Idleness is often romanticized, as epitomized by the Italian expression dolce far niente (‘it is sweet to do nothing’). Many people tell themselves that they ...

Writer Oliver Burkeman wanders through the archives thinking about the pros and cons of idleness. Helping with his enquiries are Bagpuss, Reagan and The Slobs, among others. Show more The writer, ...

Everywhere I look, I see people in a frenzied hurry to get to their jobs and other activities. It makes me wonder if idleness has become a lost art. How often do we sit serenely without busying ...

TO-DAY I wanted to be idle; perhaps because it is so exceptionally lovely, or because the carpenter is working in the yard down below, or because the sun is shining, or for a thousand other reasons. I ...