How to stop being lazy and start living: 15 ways to defeat laziness

Let us examine in detail the topic of laziness and what kind of disease this is that has gripped the current generation of people.

Laziness is one of the manifestations and forms of fear.

Reasons for laziness:

No purpose in life.
Waiting for manna from heaven and who knows what.
Attachment to comfort.
Useless thoughts ahead instead of taking action.
Fear of losing what you have now, fear of the future.

Stop thinking about what you can do, what you can't do, what others will think of you.

When you begin to actively act right now , all fears disappear, and you no longer think about what laziness is and how to deal with it.

Get rid of bad habits

The main assistant of laziness is bad habits that take up a lot of our time. Everyone has their own source of lost time: for some it is scrolling through social networks, for others it is surfing the Internet, for others it is computer games, for others it is smoking. If you spend all your free time on this and it distracts you from completing necessary tasks, then you should say goodbye to it.

How not to be lazy

A person sitting on the couch looks sad and pathetic, right? Except when it's you. Laziness is very common in modern society because most people will not die of hunger, cold, or predation if they work less often and do less.

According to Wikipedia, laziness is the absence or lack of hard work, the preference for free time over work. There are reasons for laziness, but we won't go into them because they don't really matter. All problems, as always, begin in thinking. It is with him that we will work today.

Eight voices of laziness

Laziness is a very tricky thing, closely related to cognitive dissonance. When we don’t want to work and feel guilty, we begin to explain this behavior to ourselves. Laziness has eight strategies for this:

Confusion: “I don’t know what to do.”
Neurotic fear: “I just can’t.”
Fixed Mindset: “I'm afraid I'll fail and look stupid.”
Lethargy: “I’m too tired. I have no energy."
Apathy: “I don’t care.”
Regret: “It’s too late to get back to work today.”
Identity: “I am a lazy person.”
Shame: “I shouldn’t be so lazy.”

Let's look at each voice separately.

Confusion: "I don't know what to do"

This voice can speak the truth. It happens that it is difficult to get down to work, because it requires enormous mental energy just to begin the task.

In any case, you will either take it and do everything, or be lazy and complete the task later, which will be even more difficult.

Neurotic fear: “I just can’t”

Normal fear triggers the fight or flight response, while neurotic fear causes a person to freeze. We feel immobilized and lazy.

To overcome neurotic fear, you must first acknowledge it, allow yourself to feel it, and then take action. It means doing what you're afraid of.

Fixed Mindset: “I'm afraid I'll fail and look stupid.”

Fixed mindset is a popular term from psychologist Carol Dweck's book Mindset. People with this mindset believe that their talents, abilities, and intelligence are set at birth and do not change throughout life.

They are afraid to learn new things and develop, but want to look smart and talented, even if they lack experience.

Lethargy: “I’m too tired. I have no energy"

It may seem incredible, but we put a lot of energy into suppressing our laziness. The more we run away from work, the more it takes root in our unconscious and drains our strength. When you're feeling sluggish, instead of stimulating yourself with caffeine, embrace your fatigue. You should not use stimulants; it is better to rest or sleep a little.

Apathy: “I don’t care”

Apathy is the quiet voice of depression. We all become depressed to varying degrees of intensity. In this article you will find some tips on how to overcome apathy.

Regret: “It’s too late to get back to work today”

Regrets are a part of adulthood. In fact, they are excuses for not starting right away.

You blame yourself for missing out on new opportunities, but continue to be lazy. This is how your whole life can go.

Identity: “I am a lazy person”

When we hear this voice, it is a sure sign of victim syndrome. It is the justification that leads you to believe it. This means behaving this way even when you are full of strength, energy and enthusiasm.

Remember that everyone can be lazy, but this does not mean that we are all lazy. And in general, eliminate the word “laziness” from your vocabulary.

Shame: “I shouldn’t be so lazy”

There is no need to think that if you are a conscientious person, you will automatically work more. Sometimes it’s even the other way around: guilt helps you accept your laziness. They say, “I feel guilty, which means I’m punished and don’t have to work.”

As you can see, in order to get rid of laziness, you need to fix many problems, because it does not appear out of nowhere. There are a number of reasons that can be eliminated using the following strategies.

Overcome inertia

Inertia is the tendency to do nothing or remain in the same position. In the context of the article, it is a state of laziness or disinterest where we simply do not want to put in the effort to move forward.

When we find ourselves trapped in inertia, we lack energy, inspiration and motivation. It is a state of mind in which a person has reached a point where instant gratification supersedes any future rewards.

Indulging in inertia for short periods is normal. We all spend some time like this. This becomes problematic when such periods drag on too long. This activity becomes a habit that is very difficult to break.

To overcome inertia, short-term and long-term methods can be used.

Short term methods

Short-term methods of overcoming inertia are designed to immediately activate your body, give it some jolt and turn off lethargy. They are suitable for those who want to find a quick way, a magic pill that works here and now. This is similar to pressing the Reset button on a computer. In our case, this will help reset the brain and body, which will return you to the path of activity.

Here are some ways to reset your body and brain in the short term:

wash your face with cold water;
do some breathing exercises;
do a few squats or push-ups;
move vigorously;
listen to optimistic and inspiring music for a few minutes;
read an inspiring quote or page from a book.

Each of these methods is designed to jolt your nervous system into action and therefore eliminate inertia. You can use just one method or combine several of them to reset your biological system.

Another short-term method that also works very well is to verbalize your future actions or come up with a few affirmations. In other words, when you begin work on a task, announce it as follows:

I get up from the couch and get to work.
I'm a little lazy, but I go and sit down at my desk anyway.
I can do it.
I believe in myself and that I can get through this.
I have enough energy.
If I get down to business now, it will help me gain momentum.
I will stick to my plan until the task is completed.
The more I get involved in the process, the more interesting it will be for me.
I'll just work for 15 minutes and do the best I can.

When you “give voice” to your actions, you convince your body and brain that inertia is not an option at the moment. As a result, you are more likely to stick with your new state and continue working on your goals and objectives.

Long term methods

A line of non-instant motivational tools. They are designed to gradually switch and change your thinking. Here are a few such long-term methods:

Write your goals down on paper every day.
Create a “vision board” that displays your goals. Replenish it as often as possible.
Every day, visualize who you want to become and what you want to achieve. This will prevent you from wasting away.
Read motivational and inspiring books, as well as biographies of strong people you admire.

Writing down your daily goals works because it reminds you of what's most important and increases your focus.

The Vision Board will give you motivation and inspiration for a very long time. It will serve as a reminder of what you are working on and why. And updating it will help keep your brain fresh.

Visualization is a great way to prepare your psyche for changes in the future. But for this it is not enough just to dream. You need to gradually learn new skills, form habits, create a new set of beliefs and redefine your values.

Finally, reading inspiring books and biographies will tell you what it takes to achieve success and achieve big goals. Use people's real life stories to create incredible enthusiasm.

Avoid the hidden pitfalls of laziness

Laziness is very insidious. It will deceive you, resist with all its might and take on various forms.

Analyze your typical day. Think about when your energy levels are high and when you feel sluggish and tired. We all experience different energy cycles, this is normal. However, they are often a direct result of:

what, how much and when you eat;
How active are you during working hours?
did you take a nap during the day and if so, how long did it take;
when you take mental breaks and how long they last;
how often do you experience stress;
Do you feel that you are in control of a particular situation?

Your energy levels are likely to drop:

when you have lunch, especially if the food is high in calories;
if you sit for a long time;
if daytime sleep lasts more than an hour;
if you don’t take mental breaks (no meditation or “minutes of silence”).

This is a cycle of the human body that cannot be changed. You will feel either energetic or sluggish. As already mentioned, the problem arises when you are inert for a long period of time.

To avoid being lazy and inert during working hours, follow these rules:

Don't eat heavy food for lunch.
Stay active by taking regular breaks. Just get up, do a minute of exercise or go for a walk.
If you decide to take a nap, then the length of sleep should be approximately 15-20 minutes.
Listen to music, meditate, read books.
Learn all about stress and how to manage it.

Remember that any time the energy is at zero, you will feel inert. This should under no circumstances be allowed. Don’t spread gossip, don’t waste time pointlessly surfing the Internet, don’t watch negative programs. Let your life be divided into only two modes: productive state and relaxation.

Use the Japanese "1 minute" technique

In Japanese culture, there is a practice of kaizen, which includes the “1 minute principle” for self-improvement. This method is based on the idea that a person should do something for one minute, every day at the same time.

This technique is so simple that that's why it works. Even the laziest person can pull himself together and work for one minute.

You can make a lot of excuses not to work for an hour, but if you set yourself the goal of doing a task for just sixty seconds, you are unlikely to deny yourself this. By taking one small step at a time, you will be on the path to self-improvement and achieve great results.

Why do people often fall into the trap of laziness? There are three main reasons:

Lack of discipline . If you wake up in the morning without a clear plan of action, it will be incredibly difficult to force yourself to do useful things.
Unrealistic expectations . You may have a very busy schedule and a thousand things to do, which is simply overwhelming. And this feeling often leads to laziness.
Lack of motivation . If you don't have an understanding of what your life should look like, then your motivation level will be at zero.

The “1 minute” technique very harmoniously bypasses all these three problems. It doesn't take discipline to do something for one minute. There are also no unrealistic expectations: everything looks easy and simple. And the lack of motivation can easily be compensated by the thought: “It’s only sixty seconds.”

Of course, this technique is just a trick to trick the brain into working more. But if you really want to limit yourself to one minute, no problem. However, most likely you will want to move along a new, working inertia.

List the pros and cons for upgrading your motivation.

Asking questions is one of the best methods of self-improvement. Getting rid of laziness is no exception.

Ask yourself:

What will my life look like in five years if I continue to behave as I do now?
How will life get worse for me and my family?

This isn't about beating yourself up mentally, but rather about taking a sober look at what your life looks like. The questions may be uncomfortable, but try to see the negative consequences as vividly as you can. Thicken the colors, imagine everything in black or gray tones.

Then ask yourself:

What will my life look like in a year if I overcome my laziness, become productive, and achieve my goals?
How will life improve not only for me, but also for my loved ones?

That's right: not only the stick, but also the carrot.

Practice evening reviews

Progress is achieved through consistent actions. However, incorrect actions can lead to loss of time and errors, which in most cases, of course, are inevitable.

We are human and we make mistakes. But we've also made enormous progress because we've learned to draw the right conclusions from them.

With this in mind, start practicing evening reviews. Think about how you spent your time, what you were distracted by and how lazy you were.

Also consider whether your actions were consistent with your goals and whether they brought you closer to achieving them. Ask yourself:

How was my productivity today?
Am I falling into the trap of laziness?
Where, how and why did I get into it?
What did this teach me?
What changes can I make in my psyche, thinking and environment to avoid falling into this trap again?

The key to progress is daily improvement. Therefore, if you made stupid things and mistakes yesterday, study them and make adjustments for today.

Set a period during which you will be lazy

Sometimes the urge to be lazy can be so overwhelming that it becomes impossible to resist. You begin to feel nervous, and anxiety takes over your entire body.

Then make a verbal agreement with yourself: take a five-minute lazy break during which you will do nothing. However, do not forget to set a timer - this is very important.

Tell yourself:

I'll be lazy for 5 minutes starting from now on.
After these five minutes, I'll get back to work.

Remove clutter from your life

If your life is too cluttered, you may have the false belief that you no longer need anything. If this happens, think about where in your personal and professional life you need to clean up. Here are two questions you can ask yourself:

What in my professional life is stopping me from getting to work? Where should you put things in order?
What's causing chaos in my apartment? What should you get rid of first?

Do this kind of cleaning constantly, otherwise the trash will begin to take your energy, which will lead to laziness.

We wish you good luck!

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We also recommend reading:

Storytelling
Habits that drain energy
Fixed Mindset
Achievements of goals
Psychology of laziness
Powerful affirmations for every day
Best of the year. Part four
Thoughts that kill any motivation
Actions that a person will regret in 5 years
How to turn disadvantages into advantages
Two Ways of Thinking by Carol Dweck

Key words:_D1027, _D1038, 1Psychoregulation, 4Time

Overcome the fear of difficulties and the negative emotions that come with them

Everyone knows that laziness is, among other things, an attempt by the psyche to protect itself from unpleasant experiences that arise as problems are solved. But by isolating yourself from your affairs and tasks, you still won’t get rid of the negativity - the feeling of guilt for unfinished work and a canceled meeting will torment you for a long time.

Portrait Of Businessman Writing a Paperwork at Office

Give quality energy to the world, and you will receive even more energy back

By quality we do not mean empty chatter or meaningless chatter.

When you give quality energy , it means you share your best thoughts and express yourself as your best self and act to help others with it.

When you learn to bring something useful into this world, everything will come back to you in an even greater volume, and you will not be able to sit still.

The strength for even greater feats and adventures automatically comes to you, and you no longer worry about how to stop being lazy and start living.

Do a small part of what's most important first.

To feel like you can enjoy your lazy days fully and guilt-free, you need to do the things that really matter in the long run.

So start your day with this. The easiest way to make this easier for yourself is to break the global task into small subtasks, and then focus only on the first item.

Do this now to get into an effective and focused mindset .

By doing so, you set a good tone for your day. You get that quick 5-10 minute win first and you'll be much more motivated to stay on track throughout the day.

And if you have trouble sticking to time limits, use an app on your phone or a regular timer.

Laziness and health

Lack of motivation, fatigue and other reasons that we attribute to laziness can be related to health. Such symptoms are caused by liver diseases, gastrointestinal tract diseases, endocrine disorders, intestinal microflora disorders, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular pathologies, and hypothyroidism. All this directly affects the functioning of the nervous system and leads to increased fatigue. This can lead to psychological problems or burnout.

Iron deficiency is extremely dangerous and can cause anemia. How to recognize and treat

Contact a general practitioner who will collect a complete medical history, take the necessary tests and, if necessary, refer you to an endocrinologist, gastroenterologist and other specialists. If everything is fine with your health, you can then visit a psychologist or coach. A psychologist can help you identify difficulties related to your past or psychological trauma. The coach will identify your values and through them will find true motivation on the way to achieving your goal.

Unload your life

When your life is too hectic and overloaded, you may switch off and lazily lie on the couch just watching TV or your smartphone.

If this is the case, then start unloading both your work time and your personal time. Two questions that helped me do this and figure out what is most important:

What would I work on if I only had 2 hours to work today?
If I only had 1 hour of free time today, how would I spend it?

Use these questions to get out of old ruts, question your typical day a little, and find your top priorities .

Then see what you can eliminate, minimize, or perhaps delegate things that are not as important or have low priority.

Start with a small step forward

The hardest thing, often, is just getting started.

So make it as easy as possible, reduce internal resistance and actually take action. Start with a small step forward:

Run for just 3 minutes.
Make the dish in 5 minutes.
Write about it in the report you've been putting off for 10 minutes.

I use this habit almost every day.

For example, when creating a new course, my daily goal for the past months has been to write 1 page per day. And now that this is done, the next goal is to edit 1 page.

That's all. And as a result, I wrote or edited significantly more every day.

Implement good habits every day and gradually increase their complexity

Remove the words “should”, just do it and act every day. Get into the habit of taking action and being active.

You simply carry out actions without thinking about the result, without imagining the consequences. You just take action and turn it into a habit. It's just a habit.

Start small! The most important thing in all this is doing small things that gradually become habits.

This will help you gain confidence and implement small action habits. Later you can apply this to larger tasks. This is how you can overcome laziness and cure yourself of this scourge.

An example of how to implement habits:

First, you develop even a stupid habit : for example, drinking tea with lemon in the morning.
When this becomes a habit, you introduce a new habit of preparing a salad for lunch every day.
Then you move on to a more difficult habit - you will look for a new job every day.

Habits are the bricks on which our lives are built. They are more important than results, grand schemes, prospects or big ideas.

What you do every day is what matters most. Implement these habits and stop worrying about how to get rid of laziness and apathy.

Develop good habits that will lead you to a successful life.

On our website in a new article you can find out more about how to become more confident and all about the psychology of confidence for girls.

How to force yourself to study if everyone is lazy? TOP 10 effective ways

These methods are not shockingly new, but are extremely effective in increasing motivation and self-organization. In fact, each of them is an integral element of creating an ideal environment and gaining internal discipline for studying.

Understand your desires

It's important to do what you really enjoy. If you entered the university by inertia or outside advice, if you are trying to master subjects at a high level that are frankly disgusting to you, you will not only not be able to gain full motivation, but also become a happy person. Understand your desires and do what you really like.

Find benefits

Realize the real benefits of achieving every small task and major goal. Understand how successful study can change your life. At the same time, do not suffer from perfectionism and try not to devote your free time to just activities. They should not become an end in themselves - they should remain a tool to achieve the goal.

Come up with incentives

Reward yourself if you don't receive external rewards. Think of any affordable gift you can give yourself after achieving the goal. It could be a trip to the cinema, a beautiful pen, or even aromatic tea.

Plan your day

Try effective time management techniques. Every evening, make a schedule for the next day and plan it taking into account possible fatigue, delays and unforeseen matters. Act consistently, try to study in the morning and leave entertainment and housework for the evening.

Set up your workplace

The workplace should be comfortable - dim light, plenty of shadows, objects in the way of your elbows and unwashed cups will distract you. Be sure to keep it clean: it is important to feel comfortable when exercising; this cannot be achieved in a mess.

Get in the Right Mindset

You are not obligated to study - it is your choice and only yours. Therefore, the word “must” should be replaced with the word “I choose.” Awareness of this fact will help you free yourself from the burden of imposed activities and understand that you are doing it on your own initiative.

Achieve your goals every day

Set small goals for yourself and achieve them every day. This way you can track the progress of your progress and gain stronger motivation with each successfully completed task.

Stop being distracted

Eliminate any objects that distract you - sharp sounds, voices from open windows, social networks and even food. Don't be distracted by frequent snacking, try to follow a normal diet.

Learn to organize yourself

Create a daily routine until you realize that you have learned to do important things in a relaxed manner and leave enough time for rest. Eliminate all unimportant activities - they are just a reason for procrastination.

Cycle with fully focused work with short rest breaks

To make your daily work easier, take short but focused intervals of work in between.

Tell yourself: I will work 20 minutes on this task now, and then I can take 5 or 10 minutes of rest. Breaking the work down into parts makes the work seem less complicated.

And you'll feel energized and motivated longer and do better work if you allow yourself those breaks and time to surf Facebook, play a game, or just take a short walk in the park.

Then, after some time has passed, you may want to work for 40 minutes before taking a 10-minute break. But first, go easy on yourself. And if you have a deadline, use an app on your phone or a simple timer.

Set yourself a goal, live your dream and make it come true

Ask yourself the following questions:

What exactly would I like to do?
What's really stopping me?

Take a piece of paper and a pen. Conduct a written analysis and close your questions about how to kill laziness in yourself.

All that stops any person is:

Or fear.
Or a lack of understanding of why I need it or don’t need it.

Live your dream and don't be afraid of your desires.

Don't be afraid to make your dreams come true.

It's okay to have goals and work towards them. Set yourself a goal in life, especially if you are still a teenager, and you will no longer be bothered by questions about how to cope with laziness and apathy.

You have to forget about shyness and everything that stops you. Read more about how to do this in the following detailed guide.

It’s bad if you have no goals at all, and you don’t know what you are doing on earth and why you were born.

Ask yourself: “Who are you?”

Your goal should match your skill level

The best experience we experience is a state of flow , that is, when we immerse ourselves in the current moment here and now and forget about what is happening around us.
When the complexity of the task/goal matches your skill level , that's when you plunge into a state of flow!

Don't feel sorry for yourself, self-pity is the lowest feeling on earth

Have you seen animals that feel sorry for themselves?

Self-pity is like a disease that people deliberately get and plunge themselves into this shit.

People choose to be a victim and complain about nonsense. If you continue to take on the role of a victim and feel sorry for yourself, then you will always think about how to overcome laziness and force yourself to work.

Self-pity often turns into laziness. And the excuses for all this will be “I can’t do anything”, “I’m weak”, “have pity on me”.

If you feel like a victim or a poor soul, then you are nothing!

After all, you're not even trying to change anything. After all, you haven’t made an effort to become better and change the current state of affairs.

Some people strive to be their best selves, to become an interesting and aware person, while others choose to feel sorry for themselves and feel like a victim.

We choose who we want to be.

You can read more about mindfulness in our article about selfishness and a sense of self-importance by clicking here.