Stop Being Lazy

Being lazy can be a very unhealthy way to live life. Perhaps worst of all, it's very easy to fall into a pattern of being consistently lazy and unmotivated. How you manage your time and what you do with it now will affect you later on in life, so read some of the tips below on how to stop being lazy and start being more productive.

Steps

Body, Mind and Spirit

If you're feeling lazy, it may have to do with how you're taking (or not taking) care of yourself. Look at these tips to naturally give yourself more energy.

  1. Sleep. You should ideally be getting eight hours of sleep and trying to get on a regular sleep cycle. Irregular sleep patterns or sleepless nights can lead to low energy and lazy tendencies.
  2. Wash your face. As soon as you wake up in the morning, just wash your face and freshen up. It's a very easy way to wake yourself up a bit more and start the day off right.
  3. Exercise regularly. Even something as simple as a brisk walk gives you natural energy and also releases endorphins that improve your overall mood, making you feel more inclined to go out and accomplish something that day.
  4. Watch your diet. If you're not getting enough vegetables or healthy foods into your body, it can also affect your overall energy. Try to cut out excess junk food and eat regular meals per day. Also, if you feel hungry in between meals and want a snack, try to make it something healthy (for example, pick a fruit over a bag of chips.)
  5. Get help. If none of the above methods help, your feelings of laziness could possibly be linked to depression, or more rarely another mental health issue such as attention deficit disorder. It may be worth seeking professional help.

Get In The Right Frame Of Mind

Feelings of laziness or lethargy are often directly related to how we're feeling about ourselves or life. Here are a few ways to improve your mood.

  1. Clean your home and office area. Having an environment free of clutter can often remove some of the clutter from your mind, and make you feel more motivated and productive.
  2. Start your day with positive self talk. For example, "Today, I will go for a run."
  3. Listen to energetic music. Workout songs or exercise jams that get you "pumped up" and feeling active will help set up a positive tone to your day.
  4. Change your environment. Different environments have different impacts on our productivity. For example, if you're trying to work on something in your bedroom, does it make you want to work or just snuggle and sleep? You may want to consider a different space if you're trying to accomplish a certain task.
  5. Surround yourself with productive people. Who you surround yourself with inspires your behavior. Hang out with people who are successful and motivated, and their energy will likely rub off on you.
  6. Tell others about your goals. Have you always wanted a new job or to run a marathon? Tell people about it! Whenever people see you, they will now ask you about how things are going with those goals. It's a great way to hold yourself accountable for your actions.
  7. Stop over-complicating things. Are you waiting for a perfect time to accomplish something? There usually isn't one. Unfortunately, perfectionism can be one of the biggest reasons for procrastination.

Prioritize Your Time

If you have a lot to do, it can be so overwhelming that you end up doing nothing. Here are some ways to maximize the time that you have.

  1. Make a list. If you have several things to do in a given day, prioritize them into "have-to's," "need-to's" and "get-to's". Do the have-to's first. Having things written out on paper often makes it easier to see what is most important.
  2. Do not do the worst items first. While you haven't expanded any energy yet, do the most unpleasant tasks of the day later. If you focus on the easier tasks first, you will have more time to work on the worst things later. Things that you don't like to do will obviously take more time than the usual. This creates an extra barrier in your mind as you have other works that you like to do or can easily get done with and yet, not doing them, as you are stuck with something that you don't like.
  3. Pick your projects carefully. Again, you don't want to overwhelm yourself into lethargy. Pick one or two things to focus on and fully devote yourself to those tasks. You don't want to spread yourself too thin.
  4. Break your work into small steps. Another way to avoid having work seem too overwhelming is to break a task down into individual parts, then focus on each part.
  5. Create a detailed timeline. If you have a project and all you've given yourself is the due date, it's very easy to put things off until the last second. Make a timeline that lists all the steps you will need to take leading up to that due date and give yourself a reasonable time frame to accomplish them.

Value Your Time

Your time is precious. Here are some ways to avoid laziness and make the most out of your day.

  1. Learn to do something with your free time. Take up a new interest or hobby. Try a structured activity: that way, it's not up to you whether or not to be productive. This will keep you busy and productive, and you will expand your interests and skills.
  2. Do all your projects right away. If you get a homework assignment, don't put it off until the weekend. Start working on it now while everything is fresh in your mind.
  3. Eliminate your procrastination stops. Know what you spend time procrastinating with and take action to remove it. If you waste time surfing the web, work in a place that doesn't have internet access. If texting friends is your vice, move your phone into a different room or have a friend hold on to it for the afternoon.
  4. Enforce punctuality. If you say you're going to start working on something at noon, start at noon. Don't make it acceptable to start 30 or 40 minutes later than what you committed to.
  5. Set a schedule of working and breaks. It's natural that you will need to take a break from working, but make sure that time is limited. For example, you could commit to working for the first 50 minutes of every hour and then take a break for 10 minutes.
  6. Just do it! There isn't any cure for being lazy. The only way to overcome this is by setting your mind to the task and completing it. Have self-discipline.



Tips

  • Remember you have to work to reach your goal, it's not going to happen right away.
  • Don't go back on your word. To keep yourself motivated, think about the great outcome that will happen if you keep trying.
  • If you are bored, read a book or go outside. Don't just sit and watch TV.
  • Don't stay on your phone or computer all day! If you have to do most of your work on the phone or computer, make sure to take breaks and do something active.
  • Do everything that you don't particularly want to do first so that you can have the rest of the day doing what you like!
  • Try to accomplish a long term goal.
  • Try to do your best, even on little things, like talking to someone you don't like or a simple homework assignment.
  • Have a good role model to keep you motivated.
  • Get involved in a sport or activity.
  • Self control when eating. When you eat a lot of food you might feel tired and depressed.

Warnings

  • After a little while, you may feel tempted to fall back into your old habits. It is very important to avoid this!
  • Being lazy is one thing, and pushing yourself over the edge is another . Don't push yourself too hard. This process will not happen overnight.

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