How To Overcome Laziness

Everyone has felt lazy from time to time.  Sometimes the most attractive choice to you is to do nothing at all on some days.  When the laziness desire coincides with pressing obligations, this can be an issue. 

Overcoming laziness is a skill everyone can learn.  You will never again have to feel motivated in order to accomplish things.

Apply These Tips to Overcome Laziness:

1.  Rather than the process, think about the end result.  The idea of crunching numbers or cleaning does not feel good, however, having a nice, clean house or a business report that is completed does.  Concentrate on the end result if you find yourself wanting to drag your feet. 

2.  Work for just five minutes if you decide.  The most challenging step is taking that first step!  If you set a goal for yourself, you will find it easier to get up off the couch.  Tell yourself that you can stop after five minutes and you will keep going more times than not.  Keep focused on getting started.

3.  List NOW the advantages of getting things done.  Think about the positive aspects of completing things now.  Tomorrow, you won’t have to worry about it and will be one less thing to have to worry about.  Convince yourself to DO IT NOW!

4.  List the disadvantages of completing your tasks at a later time.  One reason we can convince ourselves that it is ok to be lazy is because we believe a task can wait.  Remind yourself by putting things off, challenges can be created.  If you become lazy, you will benefit from your big list of what all can go wrong if you procrastinate.

5.  Remind yourself of past experiences and challenges you faced from being lazy before.  We have all suffered from putting things off for long periods of time.  Remind yourself of the consequences that you’re faced in the past and use that pain to inspire you.

6.  Make sure you have exciting goals, as well.  Maybe your goals aren’t very inspiring if you regularly feel lazy.  You will know that your set a goal that is effective and inspiring if you feel excitement thinking about achieving it.

7.  Break the task into more manageable and smaller chunks.  Big task can be overwhelming and intimidating.  It can be much easier to get busy psychologically if you make several smaller tasks.

8.  Hit the gym.  Sometimes a little physical activity can help you when you are having a struggle taking action. 

9.  Get yourself organized.  It is very common to feel not-so-motivated when your surroundings are full of clutter.  Take a few moments to tidy up your surroundings a little bit and it just might kick start you into action. 

10.   Manage your self-talk.  Remind yourself of how good it will feel to have some things off your plate after you get them done.  Take a deep breath, stand up straight and keep in mind some very positive thoughts.  You will feel the motivation and energy need to forge ahead.

11.   Take a little nap.  Genuine fatigue and laziness do go hand and hand, so consider the fact that maybe you are just tired!  If you are, getting some sleep might be very beneficial.

12.   Remove distractions.  Distractions are often the source and sole reason of laziness.  Most people are attracted to the distractions, such as internet, TV and phone.  It is necessary to get rid of your distraction in order to get things done!  Be certain that once you start your tasks that you are not going to get distracted because if you do, it creates a difficulty to get back to what you were doing.

Being lazy is normal on occasion and enjoying a lazy Sunday is always pleasurable, but isn’t always acceptable.  Sometimes laziness can create many real challenges.  Overcoming the urges to being lazy is a useful life skill with many benefits that are meaningful.  Once you mastered your time-managing skills effectively, you will find it much easier to get everything done and be more productive.  I like to think of the 5-p’s rule-proper preparation prevents poor performance.  Get yourself into a habit every night to make a plan for the following day.  Break your tasks down into smaller parts to make them look easier to complete, which will help to motivate you.  Set a time limit for each task and be sure to remove your distractions BEFORE starting them!  You will find yourself beating the laziness in an easier and much more manageable way while also learning time-management skills!  Laziness can seem like a never-ending battle, but YOU CAN beat it!  

- Erin