The Idler (1993)

On the practice of idling, Tom Hodgkinson writes:

A characteristic of the idler's work is that it looks suspiciously like play. This, again, makes the non-idler feel uncomfortable. Victims of the Protestant work ethic would like all work to be unpleasant. They feel that work is a curse, that we must suffer on this earth to earn our place in the next. The idler, on the other hand, sees no reason not to use his brain to organise a life for himself where his play is his work, and so attempt to create his own little paradise in the here and now.[2]

The Idler was launched in 1993 when its editor, Tom Hodgkinson, was 25. The title came from a series of essays by Samuel Johnson. In it, Johnson wrote on such subjects as sleep and sloth and said: "Every man is, or hopes to be, an idler." The new Idler took this 18th-century sensibility and combined it with the radical philosophies of the 1990s. Issue One featured a profile of Dr Johnson and an interview with psychonaut Terence McKenna.[3]

The Idler has since enjoyed a number of incarnations. In the nineties it was published by The Guardian newspaper, then by Ebury publishing. Tom published the Idler as an annual collection of essays until 2014, then relaunched the magazine in 2016. The magazine is now published bi-monthly.

Tom Hodgkinson has written numerous books which develop this attitude to life. The first, How to Be Idle, has been published in 20 countries and has so far become a best-seller in the UK, Italy and Germany.[4] His second book How to Be Free takes an anarchic approach to the everyday barriers that come between us and our dreams. The third is an alternative parenting manual, The Idle Parent, which argues that children should be left largely to their own devices.[5] The fourth, Brave Old World considers the virtues of the self-sufficient, rural lifestyle.

The Crap series of humour books is a direct spin-off from an Idler column and edited by Dan Kieran:

• Crap Jobs is a series of books chronicling the worst of Idler-readers' forays into employment.
• Crap Towns exposes some of the worst places to live in Great Britain. Crap Towns caught the public imagination but drew fire from both local councils and local media in those areas concerned.[6]
• Crap Holidays is an exploration of Samuel Johnson's maxim that the idler allows events and goods to come to him rather than expend energy and money travelling to disenchanting locations.

The Idler includes archived magazine content and regular updates from the editor.[7]

The Idler Academy, founded at a festival in 2010, is the Idler's educational offshoot. It is a school which offers online and real-world courses in the classical liberal arts and practical skills. The Idler Academy teaches philosophy, astronomy, calligraphy, music, business skills, English grammar, ukulele, public speaking, singing, drawing, self-defence and other subjects.

Contributors and interviewees who have been featured in the Idler include:

• Flâneur
• New Escapologist
• Refusal of work

• Official website
• Editor's interview with 3:AM Magazine
• Sleepyville, an unofficial forum and resource site about idling, which appeared after the Idle Foundation closed down.