How to overcome laziness?

The only time a lazy man ever succeeds is when he tries to do nothing.
-Evan Esar

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Do you guys also have those lazy days when you don’t feel like doing anything at all?
Especially in recent times, since Covid-19 we all have been locked inside our home. Staying inside the home, away from the world has made us sluggish and lethargic. We are working from home but our productivity has reduced linearly with time at the same time staying inside is necessary for our own good. So how do you guys manage to wake up every day and do the work that needs to be done? I guess you do it because you don’t have any other option, isn’t it? I mean we can’t take eternal leaves from our work. And the more you delay it, the more it piles up.

Honestly, I don’t like this feeling at all. Yeah, I do wish to take a day off and literally do nothing but at least on those days my mood is good and I end up spending the day relaxing by reading a book or watch a movie. The next day I feel refreshed. But when I feel mentally down and don’t want to move from one spot, it makes me more irritated. On those days I don’t even feel like getting out of bed. Now, this can happen because of multiple reasons. At times people have a medical condition which usually keeps them in a lethargic state.

But soon enough we realize that we do need to finish our work, whether it is related to our job or household chores. Can we overcome this state of mind and productively do our work? Yes, we can!

Follow the 2-minute rule
The 2-minute rule says that if a task or work can be completed in just 2-minutes then do it immediately. There is no meaning in delaying a task that can be finished in such a short time.

Do the 5-1 countdown
Anytime you get distracted or want to leave the work in the mid-process, count slowly from 5-1. It usually calms you down and makes you patient.

Try doing the easiest task of the day in the morning-
Usually, when we are not having the urge to work, it is better to do the task which takes the least effort on our side. Doing this will give you a sense of accomplishment and will change your mood a bit.

Mix the boring task with a bit of entertainment-
Suppose you are doing some household chores, you can play some music while doing the work. You can groove along with the music and finish the task in no time.

Keep distractions on the bay-
On the other hand, while doing the task that needs your complete attention, it is better to keep all distraction away like your mobile phone or TV. The Netflix series you want to finish will still be there when you will finish your task.

Ask for help-
It is okay to ask for help from the people around you, doesn’t matter whether you are at home or office. It is said that when you ask for help from your colleagues it increases your productivity because you get to learn from each other share those skills and special tricks you found out.

Reward yourself once in a while-
If you got out of your bed and got the job done even though you didn’t want to, then pat your own back and do something that makes you happy. Rewards motivate you to move ahead.

Focus on using your strengths-
Everyone knows their own strengths and weakness. We know what we are good at, so use that skill and target to finish the related tasks and get it out of your To-Do list. This will amplify your energy level and push you to finish the rest of the work as well.

Make action plans and To-Do lists-
Plan your day ahead. If you create a list of tasks that needs to be done and make an action plan on how to do it at least a day before, the next day you don’t have to stress much on how to do and what to do part of the work.

Stop going for perfection-
Trying to be perfect is not going to make you productive, it is only going to demoralize you more. Rather try approaching on doing a quality job.

Set realistic goals-
Break your bigger goals into smaller ones. And try keeping your daily goals simpler and doable so that you don’t feel overwhelmed about them daily.

Try giving positive enforcement to yourself-
When we are feeling down or lazy, we start negatively talking to ourselves. Like for example, “I am never going to finish this task on time.” Rather say to yourself that, “I will try my best to finish as much as I can.”

Take small breaks in between work-
When you take small breaks in between your work, you reset your brain and feel energized again.

Maintain a high-protein diet-
If you are feeling lazy for a longer period, it is better to keep a check on your diet. Eating high carbs diet can make you lethargic whereas having a high protein diet keeps you active for a longer time. Also, try avoiding processed food for some days.

Exercise 2-3 times a week-
Even if you are a person who doesn’t like to exercise or doesn’t have the time, try to exercise at least 2-3 times a week for 20 mins. This keeps your health in check.

Consult a doctor-
If after following all the above steps, you feel down and lazy then try consulting a doctor. It might be a medical condition that is making you feel so. In such a case, it is better to get the proper medication and treatment.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Idleness is the dead sea that swallows all virtues.
– Benjamin Franklin

I hope this post helps you in some way. Please like and follow my page to get future updates from my website and please write your suggestions below in the comment section to help me improve my posts. Also if you guys want me to write on a particular kind of topic then please leave your suggestion in the comment section.

Thank You!
Have a great day ahead.

Sayonara!

Pratha Nayak

Ways to stop procrastination..

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
– Abraham Lincoln

Procrastination is like a credit card: It’s a lot of fun until you get the bills.
– Christopher Parker

Hello there everyone.

So today I am going to talk about something I was also doing a while ago. And I really needed some push to avoid it. Procrastinating is one of the issue a lot of people face on day to day basis.

Have you been trying to avoid a certain work or task that is actually on a target to be done soon? Have you set some goals for yourself which you always think you are going to achieve “someday”? That yoga class which you always plan to start next “Monday”. Sounds familiar right!!!

Well, it’s really not a good trait to have in the long run. Eventually, it becomes a habit and it makes you lazy. After some time you feel like you are nowhere in life. And people around you don’t take you seriously either.

I am going to list down a few ways which helped me and maybe you can relate yourself with those and try to change a few things in your life too.

1. Change your mindset – Its one of the most important key to change or remove this particular habit out of your daily routine. First, it is very important to be determined to do whatever you wish for. Say positive affirmations to yourself every day to become confident that you can do this. Every morning when you wake up, say it to yourself,” I can achieve anything I want”.

2. Discipline – Having a disciplined lifestyle improves your productivity to the highest levels. Keeping your day in order helps you to do the tasks on time and achieve the best results that you expect from yourself. Try to gain the will power to follow the routine that you set. If you set your alarm at 5 am then get out of bed at the same time without hitting the snooze button. If you have put a particular task in your list to be done today, then do it today, unless you have dependencies on others to do the work which is reasonable.

3. Start simple – Generally, when we set goals for us, we tend to go a bit over the board. Even though we sometimes don’t know how to do things or how to start. And eventually, we get frustrated and give up. Do some research on the task and how to start with it. Be well prepare knowledge-wise about it before you start. Take baby steps initially and once you get the understanding, start exploring till you actually do it.

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4. Start making To-Do Lists – Making a list of the tasks that need to be done is the easiest way to keep a track of your work. First, make a list of all the goals that you want to achieve and then make sub-lists for each goal with the steps that need to be done. And every time you go through each step, you can cross it out of the list. And to motivate yourself you can set some rewards for yourself with each small achievements.

5. Assign a particular time for the tasks on your lists– As we discussed it is better to have a disciplined life, you can set some time limit for each task. And try to stay within this assigned time to get the best result. It might happen that sometimes you might not be able to complete it within that time set, but there is no reason to panic. We are after all humans, not some machines which can work on codes. So if you ever feel like you are getting behind of your time schedule, just adjust it within your routine. There must be some other task which you can finish in lesser time but you might have given more time limit to that task just to be on the safe side. So modify those limits and you are good to go.

It always seems impossible until it’s done.
– Nelson Mandela

6. Stop trying to be a perfectionist – Often people try to be perfect and try to control every aspect of their life which makes them exhausted. Believe me, I am one of those people. But if we see out of the picture, it is just not possible. Some times we try to do things in our way and get carried away from the real goal. If you are assigning any tasks to others, then have faith in them and guide them to do the task in their way. If you will keep controlling everything, you will definitely end up being a failure on a bigger picture. Which is really devastating. Try to be realistic and give your best at your work.

7. Make failure a positive thing – People often fear failure, I mean it’s a natural thing actually but have you ever thought about. Every time we fail at something we learn our own slackness. We learn our limits. And it is always said that if you want to succeed you have to push your limits. Just because you might fail, doesn’t mean you should never try. Yes, you might fail but you might succeed at it too. Isn’t it worth the risk? At-least you will learn something new in life and you will try again.

8. Lack of knowledge – Has it happened to you ever that you want to start doing something but never did because you have no idea at all how to do it. It is a common thing when we feel we don’t know something we tend to give up easily. we make up our mind that we will fail without even trying. This is where you need to take that step where you show your determination and eagerness to learn something new. Dedicate all your time to explore the whole field and gain knowledge until you feel confident to start the task in real-time. Anyways there is no harm in learning something new right and you are already interested in it. Then find the source of help you can take and get started with it.

Photo by Roman Pohorecki on Pexels.com

9. Remove distraction – If you are already determined to start with your work then maybe there will a lot of distractions in ways which will divide your attention. It is very important to stay focused to achieve a particular goal. So try to figure out the unnecessary things which are consuming your time without giving you any benefits and get rid of it from your routine. But that doesn’t mean you will start avoiding your time for family and friends.

10. Visualize the result – Best way to motivate yourself and stop procrastinating on a particular task is to visualize that the task is already done. Can you imagine that you have already finished it? How does that make you feel about it? Does it feel peaceful? Do you want to go through that feeling of accomplishment? Well then get started, dear. Because this time ain’t gonna come back again.

In certain ways, we all feel like we need to move forward in life but we don’t really do anything about it. I hope the above-mentioned points will help you to stop procrastinating in your daily life. And you get to that point of life where you feel like “Yes, I finally did it!”

Please like and follow my page to get the future updates from my website and please write your suggestions below in the comment section to help me improve my posts.

Thank You!
Have a great day ahead.

Sayonara!

Pratha Nayak