How to overcome laziness, in 4 steps

Being clear that we do not act according to reason but according to our feelings is key to achieving this.

In a society where there is so much to do and where change happens so fast, most people's pace of life is very hectic. However, neither coping with responsibilities nor undertaking those difficult initial parts of our projects is something that comes spontaneously to us. We need to learn to overcome laziness.

In this article we will see just how to overcome lazinessIn this article we will see just how to overcome laziness, since small changes in our routine can prevent us from falling into the trap of leaving everything for another day.

Tips on how to overcome laziness

One of the most relevant discoveries made by psychology is that human beings do not behave in a rational way. According to theory, we are capable of planning reasonable projects, and we can even imagine in detail what we want to do, but that does not imply that we will actually do it... even if the cost of not doing it is high, and the effort required to do it is not unreasonable.

Many times, when we consider doing something that we know will not go well, there is something that holds us back, that keeps us from getting out of a passive attitude. A real barrier when it comes to undertaking those necessary actions: going to the gym, cooking something healthy, studying for an exam or even making a phone call. These are often such simple tasks that we can't explain why we always put them off. always.

Therefore, in order to overcome laziness it is important to be clear that this is not a battle that will be won only through introspection and reflection. We know that we must do it, but that is not enough to put it into practice.. Therefore, we must change our way of acting; changes in thinking will follow as a consequence of the above. To find out how to do this, follow these guidelines.

1. Sleep well

This may seem like an unimportant detail, but it is not. Maintaining good sleep hygiene is essential to have enough energy to do what we want to do.. If we are tired all day because we have slept little, that malaise will be the excuse we will use to continue procrastinating, without undertaking what we want to do.

So, always go to sleep in a very delimited but reasonable time limit, and in this way you will not be exposed to the temptation to stay up late, something typical of people worried about having responsibilities that at the moment are not being met, feeling guilty.

2. Structure your tasks

The trick is to make it very easy for yourself, and for this it is important to establish a detailed planning of what is going to be done, if it is not already done. If we perceive the task to be done as a complicated set of actions, something that requires a great deal of effort as a whole, then that perspective will intimidate us and we will prefer to do it in a more structured way, that prospect will intimidate us and we will prefer anything rather than thinking about it..

3. How to take the first step

Being able to take that first step is the key to overcoming laziness. To do this, it is best to to do something absurdly simple and at the same time the first step to do what you want to do. to do what you want to do. If you think you should go to the gym, propose to go and do just one set of exercises: for example, go to the locker room, change, go up to the weight room and do half a dozen squats. If you have to write a college project, propose to turn on the computer, open the text editor and write a sentence. If you want to study, propose to open your notes and read the first two lines of text.

In the vast majority of cases, just as you could not be able to start the task until then, you will not be able to limit yourself to these simple actions alone, and you will move forward until you have the feeling that you have done a day's work that you can feel good about. In this case, manipulating your own expectations will work in your favor.

4. Take advantage of any moment to make progress

Following the logic of what we have seen so far, it is important to avoid giving yourself reasons to think about what you have to do as if it were something intimidating and difficult to achieve. To do this, take advantage of any time to get things done, rather than assigning yourself a day and time in advance to make a titanic effort. It is important that you set yourself successive deadlines and related to relatively simple objectives to achieve.