It’s essential to take time off from your busy routine. But if you take so much time away that you can’t achieve anything, you may be succumbing to laziness. Perhaps you fear failure, you lack motivation, or your list of tasks is just too long.
Whatever the reason, you can overcome your laziness. With some mental stimulation and inspiration, you can recharge yourself enough to complete your tasks. Here are ten simple ways to help you overcome laziness and increase your productivity.
- Set realistic goals.
If you struggle with your daily grind, you may feel that nothing feels challenging enough to inspire you to take action.
But setting goals that are too lofty may overwhelm you and even send you into a spiral of guilt, procrastination, and discouragement. Therefore, your objectives need to be both ambitious and achievable.
A long to-do list can cause sensory overload, so you end up ignoring the whole list. But don’t let it overwhelm you. Break down your goals into smaller, more achievable steps, then accomplish them a little bit at a time. To help do this,
ask yourself if achieving the goal is necessary, what its end purpose is, and if you love doing it enough to follow through.
- Divide and conquer.
Breaking your chores down into smaller steps can make them feel less overwhelming. For example, if you’re facing a Himalayan heap of laundry, conquer it in stages by doing the sorting the first day, the washing and drying the second day, and the folding the third day. Putting it all away can wait until the fourth day. You can and will prevail!
- Create a plan of action.
It’s difficult to achieve goals without setting out the necessary details. Direction and specificity will help you reach your goals more quickly, even if you encounter obstacles along the way. Being specific about your tasks—making a specific plan for when, where, and how you will complete a particular task—takes away any lingering foggy notions.
Once you set down the particulars, won’t have to wait. You’ve planned the steps you need to take, including the amount of time you’ll need to accomplish your plan, so the right moment to get started is right now.
- Get an accountability partner.
A partner can encourage you and hold you accountable for accomplishing tasks. Choose someone with a proven track record of reaching their goals; someone who knows how to shift your focus off of the exhausting residual feelings you’re experiencing from your inertia and demotivation.
Having someone to answer to helps you work efficiently and more quickly. Your desire to make a good impression on your partner may also improve the quality of your work.
- Enlist assistance.
Get a sibling, friend, or colleague, or sibling to and keep you company as you do complete those dull, boring things around the house. This isn’t the same as an accountability partner. Companionship is often better than solitude, especially if you’ll put things off if you’re left alone. Having a partner or friend around to help out may make it easier to get something done.
Some chores will never seem fun, but if someone’s with you, you may get things done quicker and more efficiently.
- Minimize distractions and clutter.
One of the most significant hurdles regarding motivation is your environment. Your surroundings should be free of clutter, noise, and diversions.
You can make your space more work-friendly by personalizing it with adequate supplies and appealing organizational accessories. For example, choose a comfortable or embellished mouse pad, or hang up an attractive monthly wall calendar. Also, to minimize distractions, don’t treat your desk as a long-term storage unit.
- Incorporate high-impact movement into your daily routine.
Cardiovascular exercise gets your blood pumping, leaving you motivated and energized to face the day. Exercising is a great way to increase your motivation level and overcome your laziness.
But lifting weights or going to the gym isn’t for everybody. But other moderate to high-impact movements, such as yoga, may be all you need to get moving.
Other fun, higher-impact activities include going for a brisk walk or a jog with a friend, dancing to your favorite music, participating in a bicycling marathon, or joining a kickboxing club.
The point is to include some type of activity in your routine. This will be easier to do if you’re doing something you already love!
- Recognize your efforts along the way.
A prime reason people lack motivation is that they’re too self-critical. But nobody can achieve everything all at once.
Begin by completing smaller projects. Praise yourself for every effort you make. Underestimating your abilities and critical self-talk will discourage you. Be your own cheerleader, even if you’re the only one at first.
9 Make tedious chores more fun.
Routine, menial tasks sometimes feel bigger and more burdensome because they’re wearying and repetitive. It’s difficult enough to muster enough motivation to start something, but it can be even harder to keep going if it bores you. Add some enjoyment by turning on your favorite music, using brightly colored or matching gear or tools, or timing yourself and striving to beat your time.
- Reward yourself.
Overcoming laziness to accomplish your chores becomes easier when there’s something you can look forward to afterward. Motivate yourself with an external reward, such as a spa day or a nice dinner out, after you complete a monotonous task. Or, keep it simpler and mark completed tasks on your to-do list with funny stickers.
Putting undue pressure on yourself with negative emotions and thoughts is a surefire guarantee that you won’t ever overcome your laziness. But you can get motivated., and a major life overhaul isn’t necessary. You have what you need to achieve your goals!