The other day some of my usual medicine balls at the gym were missing so I had to go for some a few pounds lighter. I realized as I was wildly flailing them around that going light forced me to focus on my form.

Once you get into a lift regimen it’s widely known that varying the duration and intensity of a workout can improve your results and prevent injuries. Going ultra light will relieve you of the burden of heavy lifting and really allow you to focus on perfect form.

Focusing on perfect form readjusts your muscles to moving without making mistakes due to heavy weights. The key is to do the exercises slowly and using little force to ensure that the motion is smooth and proper. An ultra light workout will give your muscles a chance to recharge leaving you more energy when you get home and for the next day. You’ll also get a refreshing chance of pace at the gym and enjoy some lazy time even when you’re working hard.

[photo by: heffalump_hieu]

Children are the opposite of lazy. Not only are the constantly active they force you to be active as well. Fortunately for most of us, their under-developed brains allow them to be easily ammused.

There are plenty of free and easy ways to keep childern occupied even if you’re still sitting on the couch.

• Count Things - Start the kids off on a scavernger hunt for small things and see how many they can find. Select unique and non-dangerous items such as vases, pairs of shoes, or doors.
• Go To The Pet Store - This one gets you off the couch, but can be entertaining for you as well as the kids. Larger stores are better as there is more to see and you’ll burn a few extra calories walking around. You don’t need to buy anything, just look around.
• Pop in a DVD - A classic tactic to calm children for an hour or two. It’s best to give them their own area to watch so they won’t be distracted by your snoring as you sleep.
• Car Wash - During the warmer months the kids can have a lot of fun with water and soap. Their little bodies are well-suited to cleaning hard to reach spots like hubcaps, under car seats, and in between the front grill.
• Bubbles - Mix soap, water, and a ring and the kids will play for hours. Bubbles are quiet, clean, and easy to make.

Mommy Tips also suggests creating mosaic animals with common household products. Children can also be taught to be energy concious by giving them green activities around the house. Also, make separate drawers lower to the ground so kids can reach platic utensils and feed themselves.

Of course, tag and hide-and-seek never get old as well, who knows you might even be able to be lazy if you find a good hiding spot.

[photo by: chamz.]

I wish I had thought of this when I was in school - but it probably wouldn’t have helped my already poor grades (from being lazy no doubt).

Andrea Harner has some other simple solutions from lazy students that should get points for creativity. If not they can buy some excuses or harass school officials to give them some snow days.

Oil, food, and cost of living prices are skyrocketing but still aren’t anywhere as valuable as our time. Attorney Edgar Cahn though, is fighting for your right to be lazy.

Cahn is a leader in the “slow movement,” a national campaign that claims that speed kills. Its leaders say that Americans are so starved for time, our need for speed is destroying our health, families and communities.

To help us in our “time crisis” (or time of crisis) Cahn created TimeBanks USA.

TimeBanks members barter blocks of time known as “time dollars.” One member may, for example, buy groceries for a stranger in exchange for someone else walking their dog.

Maximizing your free time is what we’re all about since it’s vital to good health and sex. When you’re not relaxing while awake, make the most out of your naps.

[photo by: alumroot]

Widen or shorten your URL bar real estate by placing your mouse in between the “AwesomeBar” and embedded Google search in Firefox 3.

Start by hovering the mouse arrow the right of the down arrow in the AwesomeBar as shown in the picture above. Your mouse should then flip to the horizontal <–> position and you can slide the AwesomeBar bigger and smaller as desired. Doing so widens and shortens the search bar in reverse at the same time.

Once your Awesome Bar learns your browsing habits well enough, this little hack will save you time by giving you better use of the embedded search tool rather than surfing over to Google or Amazon. Like one of those searches to save for later? Firefox 3, like its predecessor, lets you drag tabs between seperate browser windows.

What would you do if your boss found you and decided to become your friend on your social networking sites?

Since these are the ultimate online time wasters, don’t use your real name when creating a profile to stay undercover from your teachers and co-workers.

Despite the spike in oil prices, Tupperware (and the plastic it’s made out of) has remained fairly cheap. The small plastic containers hover around a price point where companies can advertise them as disposable.

The lazy should in fact buy a weekly stock of disposable Tupperware not only to save themselves from having to do dishes (since they can be thrown away) but to save money money as well.

Disposable Tupperware is a waste of materials and requires the burning of fossil fuels to be created. You will save money however on you electric and water bills by using them exclusively. The energy required to heat water and water used to wash dishes (and the cost of detergent) all impact the lazy person’s finances.

Disposable Tupperware can also be reused if you’re not feeling particularly lazy on a given day. Filling your drawers with them is also cheaper than by stocking up on glass plates and bowls. The extra Tupperware might also entice your to bring your lunch to work - but that’s not as easy as eating out and it’s hard to maintain a job when you’re this lazy.

[photo by: sean dreillinger]

I’ve been having some major, and I mean major coding issues here with the site and well…been too lazy to fix them. Until now!

The one month hiatus is over and posts resume today. Be Lazier is a little baby in progress but has already been blessed with some popular posts about napping, Firefox tabs, and the benefits of daydreaming.

I’ll try to keep up the lazy content without being so lazy. Posts resume today.

[photo by: Xose Castro]

The evolution of intelligence may come with the side-effect of a shortened lifespan. Brain power is energy consuming and being lazy may actually help you live longer if studies on fruit flies hold the same for humans.

The ability to learn does not just harm the flies in their youth, though. In a paper to be published in the journal Evolution, Dr. Kawecki and his colleagues report that their fast-learning flies live on average 15 percent shorter lives than flies that had not experienced selection on the quinine-spiked jelly. Flies that have undergone selection for long life were up to 40 percent worse at learning than ordinary flies.

It does seem that the smarter human beings get, the more capable (and willing) we seem to destroy ourselves. It might also be why those fat, lazy slobs tend last forever. Best to combine the benefits of laziness with intelligence and make your life more efficient by using your brain.

[photo by: exalted]

Personally, I’d rather watch hours of Sopranos rather than a few minutes of political bickering. Good thing we’ve still got Ralph!