How to be a half-arse human: ‘You probably aren’t going to have clean knickers all the time’
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Is it better to fail half the time than do nothing at all? Of course! Author and poet Leena Norms explains the fine art of being slapdash and happy. When my wife asked me what I was reading, I said: “It’s a new book about how to half-arse everything in your life.”.
![[Tim Dowling]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2018/01/30/Tim_Dowling,_R.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“Oh,” she said. “Did you write it?”. When it comes to doing a half-arsed job, who among us needs lessons? Certainly not me – my entire academic life consisted of racing to finish one late homework assignment after another, each time thinking: “I’ve done my best in the time allotted,” but also: “Oh well, it is what it is.” In hindsight it was perfect training for a career in journalism. My entire adult life has been exactly the same.
![[Leena Norms]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a68d0c6ec4aa858c045a9e3ec81b12aafb557459/1142_1229_6696_4018/master/6696.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
But Half-Arse Human: How to Live Better Without Burning Out celebrates the advantages of the slapdash, “it is what it is” existence. With plenty of humour and no little wisdom, author Leena Norms makes the case that “anything worth doing is worth half-arsing”.
Even if, like me, you’re considered an inveterate half-arser, Norms has something to teach you: half-arsing doesn’t have to be a systemic failing you’ve reconciled yourself to; it can also be a strategy. “Maybe your instinct to half-arse isn’t bad,” Norms says. “I think we’re all trying to shimmy through life, trying not to exhaust ourselves, and taking loads of shortcuts. It’s about accepting that shortcuts are OK as long as we think about why we’re doing them.” I’m not sure about this – my instinct to half-arse certainly feels bad. But I’m willing to reconsider if I’m to be allowed to carry on.
