Trying to Overcome Laziness

I was going to… but then I didn´t.

Don’t really know what happened! I decided to watch just one episode of American Crime Story, but I just couldn’t stop after watching three in a row. Ultimately, I wasn’t being productive because I felt lazy. I am one of the victims of this disease, and of course, I am the only one to blame for it. In this post, I will share with you some tips and thoughts that help me overcome laziness and get things done. We have all been there, right? Laziness is the root of all evil when it comes to getting things done, being productive and achieving things in your life.

The main reason we feel lazy is because we feel a lack of energy or willpower so overwhelming that we can’t continue with the task in question.

Maybe this feeling comes from a lack of motivation. Maybe the task you have to do is boring, so you prefer to procrastinate and leave it for later. Remember, sooner or later the task will need to be done eventually and you will probably feel worse if you just have the task in your to-do list. If it is unpleasant and you have to do it anyway, then finish it as soon as possible so you can continue with your life.

If you don´t need to to do that particular task, maybe we are talking about something you have just proposed yourself doing like learning a new language or doing 20 push-ups a day. Let’s imagine you decided to write a book you decide that every day you would write at least 500 words. After 2 weeks, you start feeling unmotivated, lazy and stop writing. In fact, you haven’t even wrote 200 words, not even 10 words!

One of the best solutions is to try to remember why did you start writing in the first place.

Maybe you want to be a full-time writer in the future, or maybe you really want to put your thoughts into paper and sell them someday. Just remember the reason why you wanted to do it and focus on the result of getting it done. Focusing on the result will give you the motivation you need to move forward and stop procrastinating. If the task is too long, you can always split it into tiny little steps. That way it will feel easier.

It is absolutely normal to feel lazy and have unproductive moments. We, subconsciously, look for the pleasures in life. Our brains are constantly looking for pleasurable activities, and working can sometimes be not that much of a pleasure. It is just comfortable to get home and watch some TV or just do nothing. If you are trying to create a website, it must not be easy to open the computer and start playing with code after a busy day. However, those moments where you overcome laziness and get on with it are the ones that help you grow the most and bring you faster to your goals.

Things you should stop doing now

If you want to overcome laziness, there are a few habits you will probably have to quit. First of all, you have to identify what makes you feel lazy. Maye, you have this “modus operandi” where you throw yourself on the sofa as soon as you get home after work. Once you are on the sofa, there is NOTHING that can move you from there. You never think about it that way, maybe your plan initially is to sit there for and watch some news before starting to do something, but you never start. You just end up staying on that sofa for hours.

In my case, my phone is one of the biggest dangers I face. I can completely lose track of time with it, so I always keep it on Silent Mode and away from my sight when I really want to have some productive time.

I also realized I was a lot more productive in coffee shops than I was in my flat. There are always too many things to watch, prepare and read before being productive. That is the main reason why I try to visit some coffee shops on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Just having to get ready, pack my things and to go to a different place makes me aware that “I am here to be productive”. Many people do the same for example when they feel like they need to go to a library to study for their upcoming exam.

Maybe you don´t even need to do that. If there is a particular room in your house that you can use to do everything you want to do, then just try using it more. Spend more time in there. Maybe it helps if you create a weekly schedule to be there. For example, proposing yourself to be there on Tuesday evening and Thursday evening can help you reach your goals.

To be productive twice a week is always better than just being “waiting for the right time” during months and then feeling bad with yourself after realizing you have been wasting your time.
Think about it, two productive hours a week are around 104 hours a year. That means that if you focus for a least two hours per week on something you want to do, you will be able to spend more than 100 hours of mastering whatever you want to do or learn.

Do you want this? Stop doing that!

If you want to do something, you have to stop doing something else. That means that if you want to read but you don´t have time at the end of the day, you have to stop doing something else, it could be watching tv, looking for items on sale at Amazon or reading the latest sports news or checking out that sand watch you got last week.

Laziness is one of the feelings that take time away from us. Time is our most valuable currency. The fact that we can´t have our time back is what makes it so valuable. You can´t pay for it to come back and sadly you can´t change or improve your past. I think it´s important to think for a few minutes about how important every minute of our lives are for us and how do we want to use them.