How To Stop Being Lazy – Overcome Laziness With These Steps
If you want to stop being lazy, you must change your perspective on laziness, be clear on your goals and how to achieve them, and ensure you’re treating your mind, body, and spirit right.
We all feel the occasional laziness from time to time. Unfortunately, some of us get stuck there for longer.
If you’re stuck in a rut and unable to do what you’re supposed to because of laziness, keep reading.
By understanding laziness, you too can learn how to stop being lazy and become more productive.
Why am I so lazy?
Think about the times when you’re not lazy. Like when you’re going out with your friends, going on vacation, shopping, playing a sport you enjoy, doing the work you are passionate about, etc.
And now think about all the times you are lazy. It could be cleaning your house, cooking your meals, doing laundry, writing that article, etc.
The point I’m trying to make here is that a lot of the time you become lazy when you have to do something you do not enjoy.
However, that is not all. Laziness can be caused by more than just your interest in doing an activity or not.
Poor habits and lifestyle choices too can make you lazy. For instance, eating junk food, not getting enough sleep, lack of exercise, etc all contribute to causing laziness.
So, How Do I Stop Being Lazy?
The first thing you should understand if you want to know how to stop being lazy is that we are not born lazy. Laziness is a learned behavior over time.
Therefore, it can also be unlearned. Start with changing your narrative on laziness.
Instead of labeling yourself as a lazy person, believe that you’ve become lazy for several reasons. Once you fix those, you are more than capable of overcoming laziness.
After that, you need to figure out why you may be lazy and start working on a plan to overcome laziness.
If you don’t know where to start, don’t worry. The below steps will help you understand it better, and create a plan on how to stop being lazy.
15 Actionable Steps to Overcome Laziness
Laziness impacts the mind, body, and spirit. And to overcome it, we need to approach laziness in all 3 aspects.
Mind
1. Shift your perspective
Instead of believing you are just a lazy person, think that there must be some reasons for your laziness.
This mental shift is a powerful way to tell yourself that your laziness is a problem that can be overcome by addressing it in the right way.
2. Identify your interests
The truth is most of us feel lazy when we are constantly having to push ourselves to do things that we have no interest in.
Are you working in a field that you’re passionate about? Or are you just working only for your paycheck?
Take time to learn more about yourself and what your interests are and try your best to pursue a career in a related field.
3. Goal Setting
Another main reason for laziness is a lack of motivation or direction in life. Without any goals to work towards, you’re bound to become lazy.
I’m not saying you should have everything figured out to become productive. However, goal setting can help you stay motivated and overcome laziness.
4. Break down your goals into simpler tasks
Most of our goals are pretty big. And big goals are achieved in smaller chunks.
Goals are just words without a plan to achieve them. And the more ambitious a goal is, the harder it may be to achieve it.
If your goals lack a plan, it may hold you back from ever working toward them. And this discouragement can make you lazy.
The solution? Break down your goals into smaller tasks and set timelines to achieve them.
5. Practice Mindfulness
Mindless consumption of food, social media, and anything else can make you lazy. If you want to learn how to stop being lazy, start a mindfulness practice.
The truth is, most of the time we don’t even realize how much time passes by while we are mindlessly scrolling through social media.
By practicing mindfulness meditation and other mindfulness habits, you increase your awareness and remind yourself of what you should do to improve yourself.
Body
6. Get enough sleep
This is something I’ve compromised too much throughout my 20s. And when you’re young you may get away with it for a while
But eventually, it will catch up with you. Now it’s much simpler for me. If I don’t get enough sleep, I feel tired and lazy the next day.
Make it a priority to sleep early and make sure you are getting at least 7-8 hours of undisturbed sleep every night.
7. Keep yourself hydrated
A lot of us do not drink enough water. Maybe we drink coffee and other drinks but water is not replaceable.
Dehydration can also cause laziness. So make it a habit to carry your water bottle and drink enough water.
8. Eat healthy
What we put in our bodies can have such a big impact on how we feel. No health expert will dispute you on this.
And yet a lot of us complain that we feel tired and lazy while continuing to eat unhealthy processed foods.
While it’s okay to indulge in your favorite junk foods occasionally, you should always ensure that the majority of your meals are healthy and nutritious.
9. Exercise
To overcome laziness, you also need a healthy body. And for a healthy body, exercise is very important.
People who lead sedentary lifestyles complain much more of laziness compared to people who lead an active lifestyle.
So make it a priority and start exercising. You can go for a run, swim, start working out, or even start a yoga class.
10. Take cold showers
Practitioners of this habit swear by its amazing impact on their bodies and performance. Today, a lot of scientific research is supporting these claims.
You may have heard of the famous Wim Hoff also known as the Ice Man who made this topic mainstream.
Many athletes and successful people use cold showers and cold plunges to get a head start on their day and beat laziness.
Spirit
11. Uplift your mood with music
Sometimes, laziness is a result of a bad mood and a demotivated spirit. Music is known to uplift your mood and get things going.
Find the type of music that gets you up and moving and keep a feel-good playlist to help you through lazy times.
12. Listen to motivational podcasts
Nothing motivates us like hearing about the perspective of other people with similar ambitions. Podcasts share raw stories of real people and how they overcome challenges in their lives.
Today there are some great podcasts available on the internet for free, that you can listen to while doing low-focus activities such as making breakfast, commuting to work, or going for a walk.
13. Read about other people’s success stories
If podcasts aren’t your thing, no worries. There are also so many success stories of other people just like you who completely changed their lives by overcoming laziness and establishing healthy habits.
14. Continue to hone your skills
If you want to overcome laziness, never stop working on your skills. Be consistent in your efforts to achieve your health goals and allocate time for wellness.
Find the time to read books, take courses, talk to people, and educate yourself on how to become better every day.
When this becomes a lifestyle, laziness will be a rare occurrence.
15. Take rest days and reward yourself when due
No matter how productive and well-structured your days are, from time to time your body and mind will ask for breaks.
When this happens, reward yourself with a much-needed rest day, and enjoy doing nothing.
Some Final Thoughts
The truth is overcoming laziness is something we have to work on consistently by adopting a lifestyle that has little room for laziness.
It’s not to say to pack your days with so many tasks you have no breathing space. But to create well-structured days with an emphasis on things that bring growth to your mind, body, and spirit.
I hope this post has provided some helpful information on how to stop being lazy and inspired you to go out there and achieve your goals.
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