Laziness is a phenomenon people usually associate with reduced productivity. It has no actual psychological definition, but a study in 2018 described it as the inability to act as expected, mainly because of controllable factors. In short, it is characterized by a gross lack of individual effort.
What Causes Laziness?
One of the most prevalent causes of laziness as an inability to do expected tasks is procrastination. Procrastination is an emotional and time management issue that occurs when a person feels anxious about a particular task. In this situation, procrastination works as a coping mechanism for handling unpleasant feelings. A study in the Personality and Individual Differences journal backs this notion up.
How Can You Prevent Laziness?
There are many ways you can improve your productivity when you feel lazy. Some of them are:
Do Less, Not More
While trying to cram as many activities as possible into your schedule can make you feel like you’re doing more, in most cases, the situation is different. With a full schedule, you’ll barely be able to complete your daily tasks. Rather than creating a to-do list with too much on it, ask yourself if there is anything that isn’t necessary or important.
Be Specific
One of the biggest problems with procrastination is that you have vague intentions. This means that if you have a problem with procrastination, creating a detailed list and following it strictly may help you get things done. For example, book one and set reminders on your phone if you want to start going to the gym. Doing this can help you follow through on more plans.
Make It Fun
Habit refers to those activities that you repeat. If you enjoy doing a task, you’re likely to do it again. That’s why you should try to make your tasks enjoyable. You can do this by doing the things you love the most.
Be Concise about Taking Tech- Free Breaks
If you’re going to get anything done, you’ll need to be able to stay on track and avoid all forms of distraction. With access to technology and your phone, staying focused may be a difficult thing to do. That’s why you should move your phone to a different space from where you’re working to reduce distraction.
In addition, you can install applications that can prevent your phone from receiving alerts while you carry out essential tasks.
Go Easy on Yourself
While blaming yourself may seem like an effective tool to prevent procrastination, scientists have shown that it can be detrimental because it can amplify negative feelings, making procrastination even worse.
Be More Mindful
Habit significantly contributes to procrastination, whether it involves avoiding tasks because of stress and anxiety or putting them off outright. In both cases, you can use mindfulness practices to help you become more aware of your present moment without attaching any judgment to it can be very beneficial.
