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You know that you have a lot of things to do. You may even have big plans for the future, but you can’t seem to motivate yourself to stop Netflix or stop scrolling Facebook. Everyone experiences laziness from time to time. However, successful people are able to overcome laziness and take action. This post from the Managing Time to Maximize Productivity series will help you do just that.
Difference between Laziness and Downtime
Before you think I’m some sort of weirdo who thinks you need to optimize every moment of your life to achieve maximum results, let’s make sure we’re on the same page, m’kay?
Downtime is not laziness. Downtime is necessary. You shouldn’t be working every waking hour of every day. You shouldn’t be working seven days a week.
Laziness is being unwilling to work. Laziness looks like, I have five things I need to get done today, but instead of doing them, I’m bingeing on The Good Place on Netflix.
The irony is laziness keeps us from actually enjoying our downtime. It’s a vicious cycle: I should have completed my work today, but instead, I spent 4 hours in front of the TV and now I can’t enjoy what should be my downtime because I need to do those tasks.
The first step is to differentiate your productive time from your downtime. This can be really, really hard for the work-at-home crowd. The freedom of being able to work whenever you want can become a curse without discipline.
Then, implement these tips to overcome laziness the next time you find yourself in a slump.
Tip #1: Manage your energy
When your To-Do list is longer than a CVS receipt, it can be so tempting to try to barrel through it as quickly as possible. But success is a marathon, not a sprint, and just like those weird people who run marathons for fun {no offense intended, weirdos}, you need to manage your energy effectively.
Successful endurance runners know that to finish their race, they need to schedule time to downshift their pace. Their strategy is not to run as fast as they can for the entire race. They vary their pace- from running as fast as possible, walking, even stopping completely for a hydration or bathroom break.
Your workday is a mini-marathon, and to manage your energy, alternate periods of high focus and relaxation. Use a timer and focus 100% on the task at hand for 25 minutes. Then, when the timer goes off, set another timer for 5-10 minutes and take a break. Make sure your break is only for the time you scheduled.
Sometimes just knowing you only have to work for 25 minutes can be enough to get you started.
Tip #2: Give yourself a reality check
Can we have a #BestieRealTalk here? Being an adult is hard. Being a woman is hard. Being a microbusiness owner is hard. There is a lot of shit that I wish I didn’t have to do.
Some tasks just suck, but that’s not an out. Accept that some tasks are not, and will never be fun, but success requires doing some stuff you’d rather not.
Tip #3: Move your body
Listen, you don’t get a body like mine by loving exercise. I am about as exercise-averse as they come. I live in Florida, it’s hot, it’s humid and sweat is gross.
BUT… *sigh*
A good workout will wake you up and get the juices flowing. Moving your body on the regular can make a significant difference in your ability to work hard and stay focused.
I walk my dog around a park near my house, almost every weekday. Depending on the route, it’s between two and three miles (an endurance athlete in the making, obviously). I get fresh air and get my heart pumping, my dog gets a change of scenery.
I also have random dance parties in my office several times a day. When I get bored with a task and feel like pausing to scroll, scroll, scroll, I get off my tush and dance it out. DANCE IT OUT! One Bruno Mars song is all it takes to get me back into the zone, for at least 25 minutes.
Tip #4: Visualize the future
It’s a little woo-woo but stick with me. Laziness is the ultimate instant gratification. It feels good in the moment, you pay the price later.
Got big dreams? Unless they involve eventually hosting your own Trivia Night contest at your local Applebee’s, watching every episode of Friends for the 47th time isn’t going to help you get there.
When it’s hard to start, focus on the long-term. Visualize your success. Then visualize the next task you need to do, but imagine it’s easy, peasy, mac and cheesy, and you get it done effortlessly.
If that doesn’t work, go in the opposite direction. Imagine where you will be in five years if you continue to blow off the things you know you need to do.
Choose to focus on the long-term, instead of basking in the instant gratification, and you’ll be ready to overcome laziness.
Tip #5: Use your lazy time wisely
If you’re going to blow off work, dude, make the most of it.
You can be lazy and productive at the same time! Say what?
Maybe you’re not being work productive, but you can be productive, all the same. Read a book, watch a Ted Talk (check out my faves here), fold a load of laundry, meditate, call a friend (just kidding, text her), go for a drive. Engage your mind or your senses. Use this precious time in some way that adds to your life in some way.
Tip #6: Be more aware of time
Time can easily slip by while watching TV or surfing the interwebz. And if your work requires you to use social media, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You went on Pinterest to find one thing, and the next thing you know, it’s been four hours. Amirite?
I have a timer that is running nearly all day. I set a timer for tasks, and I set them for breaks. When the timer goes off, my brain becomes acutely aware of how much time has passed.
Tip #7: Seek Out Accountability
We like to hide our laziness, don’t we? But if you are struggling to get out of a laziness slump, the last thing you want to do is retreat into yourself, channeling your inner-Celine Dion. All by myself, don’t wanna be…
Having an accountability partner or group can be just what you need to overcome laziness. Sometimes, just knowing some is going to ask you if you did the thing is enough to make you do the dang thing already.
Understand the difference between laziness and downtime, make the most of your work time and your downtime, and use these tips to overcome laziness when it rears its ugly head, and you can experience success faster than you thought possible.
Are you ready to make the most of every day, and get more done than you ever thought possible? I’d love to send you my e-book, The Pillars of Productivity, and bonus tips you can implement right now. It’s free-fifty-free! Sign up here.