The Best Leaders Know How to Be ‘Actively’ Lazy

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CEO Coach to the Fortune 500: The Best Leaders Know How to Be ‘Actively’ Lazy

January 9, 2026

As an advisor to many Fortune 500 CEOs, I’ve noticed a common and surprising pattern. The best leaders aren’t just hard workers. They’re also experts at recovery.

Like elite athletes, they understand that rest isn’t weakness, it’s performance strategy. Micro-recovery during the day can sharpen focus, improve decision-making, and even boost creativity.

When I coach rising executives, I often give them this advice: Get better at being lazy. But not passively lazy. Actively lazy. It’s a skill.

By Bill Hoogterp

1. Reduce Stress the Right Way

Many leaders try to escape stress with quick dopamine hits - social media, YouTube, endless scrolling. But neuroscience tells us these “breaks” actually excite the brain and increase stress.

A friend once told me after watching me play bullet chess, “It’s fun, but it’s not relaxing your brain. It’s speeding it up.” That goes for Candy Crush, doom-scrolling, or binge-watching. Enjoy them if you want but don’t confuse stimulation with restoration.

Here’s a better idea: if you’re going to watch something, make it comedy. Kids laugh around 300 times a day; adults average only 17. Laughter is nature’s reset button.

2. Breathe Better

Try this right now: five slow breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth, each one a bit deeper than the last. This alone calms your nervous system, increases oxygen flow, and signals safety to your brain.

If you want to take it further, close one nostril at a time and breathe through the other. This alternating-nostril breath stimulates balance between the left and right hemispheres of your brain and activates your vagus nerve.

Bonus: stretch lightly while breathing deeply. It’s the fastest zero-cost energy reset there is.

3. The 22-Minute Power Reset

Naps are gold even if you don’t sleep. My colleague Doug Melder taught me a great trick: drink coffee or tea, then lie down for 22 minutes. It takes about that long for caffeine to hit your bloodstream, so you wake up double-refreshed.

Many tech leaders and founders have nap rooms or find a quiet couch for a reason. Some of your best ideas surface when you stop trying to force them.

4. Get Outside

David Fizdale, former head coach of the NY Knicks, once told me that after a walk together discussing “tree pheromones,” he started holding more walking meetings—over 100 days straight at one point.

Science agrees: time outdoors lowers cortisol and improves mood. The Japanese even have a name for it—shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing.” That clean, earthy smell after rain? It’s nature’s antidepressant.

Many tech leaders and founders have nap rooms or find a quiet couch for a reason. Some of your best ideas surface when you stop trying to force them.

If sitting is the new smoking, walking might be the new therapy.

5. Feel Grateful, Not Guilty

Perspective is the ultimate performance enhancer. Most of us underestimate how fortunate we already are.

If you’re reading this, you’re likely doing far better than you think. A third of the world still lives on less than $2 a day. Meanwhile, your “ordinary” day likely includes better food, sleep, and healthcare than any king or queen in history ever had.

So, instead of guilt, practice active gratitude. That means noticing and naming what’s good, often. Gratitude doesn’t make you complacent; it makes you resilient.

As I tell leaders I coach: “You’re gorgeous. Deal with it. You’re rich. Be grateful.”

Final Thought

High performance isn’t about constant hustle. It’s about mastering the rhythm of effort and ease.

So, breathe deeper. Walk more. Laugh often. Take naps. Eat the ice cream. The best leaders aren’t just efficient with their time, they’re wise with their energy.

Bill Hoogterp is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and one of the world’s leading executive coaches. He is also a contributor to Fortune, where he answers real questions from executives striving to become better leaders.

We help executives and leadership teams strengthen the moments that matter—like remembering names, asking better questions, and creating trust through communication.

Our Coaches Are Experts In Unleashing Potential

CEO Coach to the Fortune 500: The Best Leaders Know How to Be ‘Actively’ Lazy

January 9, 2026

By Bill Hoogterp

1. Reduce Stress the Right Way

2. Breathe Better

3. The 22-Minute Power Reset

4. Get Outside

5. Feel Grateful, Not Guilty

Final Thought

High performance isn’t about constant hustle. It’s about mastering the rhythm of effort and ease.

So, breathe deeper. Walk more. Laugh often. Take naps. Eat the ice cream. The best leaders aren’t just efficient with their time, they’re wise with their energy.

Bill Hoogterp is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and one of the world’s leading executive coaches. He is also a contributor to Fortune, where he answers real questions from executives striving to become better leaders.

We help executives and leadership teams strengthen the moments that matter—like remembering names, asking better questions, and creating trust through communication.

Our Coaches Are Experts In Unleashing Potential

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CEO Coach to the Fortune 500: The Best Leaders Know How to Be ‘Actively’ Lazy

January 9, 2026

By Bill Hoogterp

1. Reduce Stress the Right Way

2. Breathe Better

3. The 22-Minute Power Reset

4. Get Outside

5. Feel Grateful, Not Guilty

Final Thought

High performance isn’t about constant hustle. It’s about mastering the rhythm of effort and ease.So, breathe deeper. Walk more. Laugh often. Take naps. Eat the ice cream. The best leaders aren’t just efficient with their time, they’re wise with their energy.

Bill Hoogterp is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and one of the world’s leading executive coaches. He is also a contributor to Fortune, where he answers real questions from executives striving to become better leaders.

We help executives and leadership teams strengthen the moments that matter—like remembering names, asking better questions, and creating trust through communication.

Our Coaches Are Experts In Unleashing Potential

High performance isn’t about constant hustle. It’s about mastering the rhythm of effort and ease.

So, breathe deeper. Walk more. Laugh often. Take naps. Eat the ice cream. The best leaders aren’t just efficient with their time, they’re wise with their energy.