Are there any positive benefits of laziness and procrastination?

That's a loaded question, but I'll start things off.

You will find many people who say no and you should militantly avoid both. Normally, I try to avoid both, but lately I've been having second thoughts.

Things have gotten a little busy at work, lately. There is a lot going on in a complex environment, and a lot of projects with competing priorities. It seems like no matter how thoroughly you plan for something, something always comes up that forces the plan to change.

It would be easy to say, "Why bother with planning when it's all going to change next week!" What I've found, however, is that it is easier to react to changing circumstances when you already have a plan. In spite of the nagging "Why bother," I continue to avoid laziness and procrastination (at work, anyway) because it's easier in the long run.

Does this mean that by not procrastinating, I'm actually being lazy? ;-)

"Does this mean that by not procrastinating, I'm actually being lazy?"
I said this same thing practically verbatim to a colleague today. I was telling him I couldn't understand why people make things harder for themselves by not doing what they know they should do in the first place.
To answer Nasrullah's question, there are no *guaranteed* benefits to laziness and procrastination. Sometimes a person's procrastination achieves a benefit through sheer luck, but more often than not it causes a person to expend far more energy and time than if they had done whatever they had to do promptly.

We all have a level of procrastination in us. Me I hate doing taxes and always wait until the last minute. So home life and work are different. When it is work related and when I am part of a team that depends on my actions, procrastinate has NO place or benefit! If a person has this trait at the work place it can harm others around them. It wears the people around that person down mentally. As project managers we need to look for signs to have corrective action early. A few signs I have seen;They always seem to have a reason not to do the requested task right away. They always need to check something or they delay until when ever. They also seem to work longer hrs but really fill their minds with useless knowledge. They never get angry so if you lose your cool you look like the bad guy. FYI never apologize they know what they are doing if you apologize you enable them to continue behavior.

My wife is OH&S and, It is being acknowledged in the work place now as a medical condition. These individuals need help but they never see it or think they are "that person" but if there is written documentation to support findings they have no recourse.

So if you are a PM and you see this person check with Human Resources find out policies and document behavior is it begins to affect your project and team members.

Just my thoughts.

Laziness and procrastination does have a negative impact on the person and if you are a PM,it would have serious repercussions on project performance.