13 Nov How to Overcome Laziness – Ways to Stop Being Lazy
Every once a while, people need a lazy day. Sometimes, life can get exhausting and frustrating. So, taking a break and relaxing might help some people.
While others can simply procrastinate for hours and days at end without any apparent reason other than they simply are not feeling it. Do you keep delaying things you have to finish?
Do you feel a lack of interest in your job? Are you having trouble getting even the basic things done? Are you experiencing feelings such as why do I feel tired, lazy and unmotivated all the time? Read below to know more about what is going on with your body and mind.
What is laziness?
There’s no exact standard definition for laziness. Psychologists and physicians cannot diagnose it as the term laziness has no clinical relevance in psychology.
Although, to put it in simple words, laziness is defined as unable to perform an act or function due to the lack of an individual effort.
If one due to any medical condition, or a genuine problem cannot perform their task, it is not called being lazy.
For example, a student who met with an accident and couldn’t finish his assignment can’t be entitled lazy. If a student voluntarily chooses not to do their work without any physical or mental hurdle, they would fit the title.
The psychology of laziness is someone who never wanted to do something regardless of the consequences. While procrastination is when one intends to do the task but decides against it without any valid reason.
Delaying doing things because of other duties taking precedence is neither lazy nor procrastinating. Although, delaying things without any upside to it is called procrastination.
What causes laziness?
As discussed above, laziness has no formal definition. Thus, one person’s laziness can be another person’s hard work.
It is kind of a controversial and contradicting term that can be viewed differently according to individual factors. Keeping these things in mind, laziness can be caused by the following mentioned reasons.
The 7 causes of laziness are
- Fear of responsibility – when an individual feels taking action can make or worsen things, taking that risk seems like a huge responsibility. If the pressure gets too much for the person to handle, their obvious reaction is fight or flight. And, in most cases, people choose the latter because of the ease.
- Choosing between two different and important things can become hard for people who are indecisive by nature. For them, making even the smallest choice becomes a life or death situation. The pressure gets to them and they simply want to avoid dealing with the choice and consequences.
- Failure has killed a lot of dreams than one can count. Fear of rejection and failure makes people step back from their dreams and duties. Even if they can make it happen, their fear doesn’t allow them to step up and take the initiative. The fear of doing it wrong can kill the confidence and motivation to achieve it.
- Sometimes, people have this great ability of convincing themselves that they can’t do something. This leads to low self esteem issues and when the thought spiral of not being enough starts, one retreats to their safe space fueling laziness. The fear of messing up things is more than their trust in their ability.
- Boredom takes laziness to another degree. When one doesn’t have any goal and nothing to work for, they go into laziness mode. They think nothing is worth anything so why bother.
- Some people think only if they are motivated enough to do something, they will be able to make it. However, relying solely on motivation won’t magically change things. And, deciding to not do something because you’re not feeling the motivation can lead you towards the category of laziness.
- Age is also an important factor that determines laziness. Young people are more motivated and energetic to finish tasks they are assigned due to their mental and physical strength. While as one ages, the physical capability declines, that makes them feel more and more lazy.
There are mental health conditions that can cause laziness. For example
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Bipolar disorder
- Post traumatic stress disorder
These conditions can cause chronic fatigue with lack of motivation to do anything. Treating these underlying mental health conditions with medicines can help make things better.
Certain vitamins and nutrients lead to change in energy levels and make the body lazy. Deficiencies like
- Vitamin b12
- Iron
- Anemia
- Thyroid disorders
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Cancer
Among the above mentioned conditions, iron deficiency anemia is the most common disorder that causes fatigue, lack of energy, bodyache and joint pain, and mood swings.
Tips to overcome laziness
Laziness is not a serious condition that can’t be dealt with. If one has the right tools and motivation, one can conquer the world. Laziness is just another thorn in the way.
Overcoming laziness comes with setting goals and organizing yourself.
Although, make sure that one doesn’t take too much upon them that can lead to burnout. Taking baby steps, by setting small and achievable goals can benefit people.
If you take too much upon yourself, you might lose interest and the lack of motivation will lead to failure demotivating you.
Perfectionism has ruined people’s confidence and self esteem by setting unrealistic expectations and competitions. This rise has caused people to become anxious and depressed about themselves. It makes them feel they are worthless and don’t deserve anything.
How to overcome laziness while studying?
When one is doing something they love, it’s hard to get distracted or feel unmotivated. However, studying can burn your fuel and distract you easily.
- Try and focus on your goal rather than thinking about the results.
- Avoid all the distractions by switching off your phone, studying in a room alone without any other electronic gadgets.
- Set a timer and take 15-20 mins break after every hour. It can keep the mind fresh and alert to the things you’re studying.
- Make a schedule or time table dividing the topics and subjects you want to finish in a day.
- Don’t try to study too much in a day or sit for hours without breaks. That can kill your productivity.
- Keep munching or eating foods in between the study sessions. Studying on an empty stomach is gonna distract you from your studies.
How to overcome laziness instantly?
Laziness is when one does not want to do the task assigned to them. Considering the causes, one can work according to them to eliminate laziness. Like dealing with the cause can automatically make one productive to finish the task on hand.
Another thing that can work wonders for laziness is a plan of action. Planning how to finish something and organizing things around it can help make the task easier.
Take into account the logistics of time, resources, efforts, and other factors involved in finishing that task and get to it as soon as possible. It will help you keep motivated and give you a sense of direction when you get lost.
Everyone has their own set of strengths and power. Think closely about this and apply them on the task you’re given. Focusing on your strengths can increase productivity and lead to a positive attitude towards your work.
You can also read about >>>> Ways to get over delusional disorder
How to overcome laziness and procrastination?
Overcoming laziness is an easy process if one actually sets their mind to it.
People avoid doing work or a task given to them because it feels tedious for them. They don’t enjoy working, and if it’s a household chore or something, one will try to come up with excuses on how to get out of it.
If these tedious tasks are made fun, people might want to do it. For example, listening to music or calling someone, or putting a fitness tracker to check on the calories you burnt while performing these physical tasks can help avoid people getting bored.
Reward system is the way to go to drive yourself to do the task. Try and break down the task in a way that makes you think what will happen if you finish it.
For example, it might lead you closer to a promotion, or a day off, or an increment. Or you can decide to reward yourself if you get the task done.
Like if you finish your assignment, you can watch a movie or if you clean the house, you can call over friends for drinks. This way you’ll be inspired and influenced to do more work rather than doing nothing.
There’s no such scientifically discovered medicine for laziness. The only way to deal with laziness is to overcome it by following the above mentioned tips.
Sometimes laziness can also be due to being tired and exhausted. Taking a proper nine hours of sleep and limiting napping during the day can decrease the exhaustion and tiredness.
Stress is another major factor that makes you less motivated to do something. Stress drains the body resulting in mentally and physically worn out.
Managing stress and making sure to not let it affect your life is important. Coping with stress can improve mood and energy.
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