hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're going to learn about 12 tips to overcome
laziness now let's begin number one behavior chains would you rather take one long test or
three short quizzes would you rather run an entire mile or a few short sprints we become lazy when we
feel intimidated and we feel intimidated whenever we're facing a large task that we don't think we
can handle just imagine if you had to clean your entire living space in one day this sounds like
a huge time consuming responsibility doesn't it so many rooms so many chores you may feel overwhelmed
by the amount of work required to get this done because you're intimidated you procrastinate
alright what if instead of one big task you started with a couple of small chores all you
have to do is make your bed and take out the trash a few minutes later you're done easy after that's
done just try another pair of small chores put away the dishes and vacuum the carpet now each of
these jobs sound easy and manageable on their own don't they sure they do by linking them together
you're creating a hyper productive behavior chain a behavior chain is a string of small tasks that
replace one big job now in this case you're not cleaning an entire house you're just doing a few
small chores the outcome is just the same but you're much more likely to be productive when
you don't feel intimidated so the next time you're feeling lazy just split your responsibilities into
smaller pieces start with one small job and then chain together as many little chores as you can
the momentum of one's success will carry you into the next and you'll knock off item after item on
your to-do list and before you know it your one big responsibility becomes a thing of the past
number two creating energy do you avoid work because you're just too tired
do you procrastinate because you don't have enough energy to be productive
these are two of the most common and destructive excuses for lazy behavior countless people blame
their lack of productivity on low energy but energy isn't the problem you're just lazy
instead of facing your challenges you may imagine a day when you're full of energy when your mind
is clear and your motivation is mounting but that day rarely ever comes productive people
know that energy and motivation will never fall into your lap you have to find ways to energize
yourself every day it's your responsibility to find that inspiration and overcome your laziness
number three open opportunities do you save your hardest work for the end of the day this bad habit
gets many people in trouble they procrastinate their biggest responsibilities because they box
themselves into a corner all right let's say you have four things to do today three
household chores and one big responsibility for work now you know you're the most productive in
the mornings so when should you do your work should you prioritize your chores or your job
many people focus on the easy stuff while procrastinating the things that matter
if this sounds familiar flip your schedule around just go ahead and do the hard stuff first and the
easy stuff later that way you have the time and will power to perform at your best number four
identify pressure are you lazy or just overwhelmed your productivity may suffer simply because you're
overwhelmed at work you may feel a tremendous amount of stress or pressure and that creates
fear when we're scared of our responsibilities we make excuses we avoid our work we get lost
in pointless distractions but the issue isn't your ambition or work ethic it's your confidence
number five ignoring the hour who decides when you start working you or the clock time is a
popular motivator many people use the clock to counteract their lazy habits all right let's say
you're having a slow morning you're struggling to get started on work so you look at the clock
and you say at exactly 10 o'clock i'm going to be productive but what if you're ready to work before
10 o'clock what happens to your motivation at 9 50 9 55 or 9 58 in those final crawling minutes you
may dread your work you may sit restlessly at your desk you may be racking your brain thinking of
a thousand reasons to procrastinate your work my point is time can be helpful and hurtful if you're
struggling to get started you can use the clock but never let the clock stop you from working
so if you want to get something done start right away don't sit mindlessly at your desk don't waste
a few minutes scrolling through your phone don't wait for the clock to strike ten if you're ready
get started immediately because those final few minutes aren't doing you any favors
number six reminders of value laziness narrows our vision when we feel like procrastinating we
forget why we're working our work seems pointless frustrating and boring every word or number seems
to suck the life right out of you but here's the problem you're losing track of the big picture
laziness preoccupies your mind with short-term rewards you lose yourself in the grind of your
work but the grind is not the reason you work you're not working to enjoy every second of
your day you're working to build a brighter future so whenever your laziness takes over
remind yourself what you're fighting for and why your work is valuable to you
number seven switch it up you can boost productivity by rotating between different jobs
all right let's say you have to solve 100 problems by the end of the day you could solve
all 100 problems at the same time but chances are you'll get tired and your performance will suffer
if you have a long job to do just space your productivity by rotating between different tasks
solve 10 problems send a few emails make your bed and then solve a few more problems each time you
rotate you're building momentum and re-lighting that productive fire your brain loves new things
it gets excited every time you switch gears so rotate early and rotate often number eight
hide your desserts are you easily distracted the problem may not be your work ethic or self-control
it's the availability of distractors in your life just imagine you're eating a
large plate of spinach suddenly a big piece of chocolate cake appears right next to you
and by comparison your spinach doesn't look very good does it it becomes significantly more
difficult to focus on your spinach when you're staring at a piece of cake well distractors work
the same way you can't focus on work when your phone tv or game console is only a few feet away
so you put away the chocolate cake you hide your phone you unplug your tv and you put your console
somewhere out of sight that way you can focus on your spinach without getting distracted by dessert
number nine keep your word your word is a powerful and productive tool to overcome your laziness you
have to make promises to yourself but you'll never keep those promises unless you honor your word
alright let's say you want to finish a project tomorrow once you make that commitment it's
critical that you follow through because you gave your word to yourself many people set big goals
they make huge promises and then they break them each time you fail to follow through
your word loses value so take your commitment seriously start with small promises and build
towards substantial goals and as you practice and succeed your word will gain more power
number 10 lazy time many people frame laziness as the enemy they think productive people never
get distracted but the truth is laziness will always be a part of your life and hey that's
okay in a lot of ways lazy time is good for you your brain and body need moments of rest
relaxation and stress relief you can't work every hour of every day
but the difference between a lazy person and a productive person is control productive people
limit and manage the time they spend being lazy they use their lazy time consciously and
that way their bodies and brains can truly rest and recover so let yourself have lazy
time every once in a while and use that time wisely so you can be productive when it counts
number 11 create difficulty it's easy to press a button and flop down on the couch it's easy
to avoid your work but it doesn't have to be a great way to overcome laziness is by making
it difficult to be lazy all right let's say you have a bad habit of browsing the internet during
working hours you could tackle this bad habit by disconnecting your computer from your wi-fi
but it's easy to reconnect isn't it just press one button and your bad habits come running back
so you have to make it harder on yourself don't just disconnect your computer unplug your entire
router make it frustrating to engage with your bad habits we surrender to our vices because they're
easier than working but when your bad habits become difficult now they lose their appeal
number 12 unravel your shame do you criticize yourself for being lazy do you feel guilty
for every minute you've wasted this guilt is a big problem for unproductive people
you know you shouldn't be lazy you know you should fix your bad habits
so you shame and criticize yourself but the past is the past don't pretend your mistakes
never happened but don't shame yourself for them either self-criticism will not change the past
you'll never get back the hours you lost but you can make better use of the hours to come
so forgive yourself get rid of your guilt and motivate yourself to do better next time hey thank
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