“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.”
Alan Cohen
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The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
About this quote
Meaning
This quote gently challenges the guilt many people feel when they step away from productive activity. Russell is pointing out that enjoyment is itself a legitimate use of time. If you are genuinely taking pleasure in doing something that looks idle from the outside, nothing has been lost. Time spent in authentic enjoyment is time well used, not squandered.
Context
Russell was a prolific writer who thought deeply about happiness, leisure, and the pressures modern society places on individuals to justify every waking hour through output. He wrote extensively about the damage done by an obsessive work ethic, arguing that leisure and pleasure are essential to a full human life. This line reflects a consistent thread in his thinking: that the moral weight placed on constant productivity is misguided and often harmful to wellbeing.
About the author
Bertrand Russell was a British philosopher, mathematician, and social critic born in 1872 who became one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century. He worked across logic, mathematics, ethics, and political theory, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950. Beyond academic philosophy, he wrote widely for general audiences on topics including happiness, education, and the good life. He died in 1970, leaving behind a body of work remarkable for both its intellectual range and its commitment to clear, humane reasoning.
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