How to Stop Being Lazy

Feeling lazy and unproductive is normal sometimes, but problems can arise when it happens often. The list of tasks still undone and issues not addressed can eventually affect self-image and confidence, which in turn can feed a lack of motivation. Here are a few tips and strategies to break the cycle and overcome laziness.

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What to Ditch: Old Habits

What you might think of as "lazy" may just be a matter of switching your approach and getting rid of old, unhelpful habits that have kept you from feeling productive and achieving your goals. Here are several such habits:

• Making your goals too big or complicated. If you give up before completing a task, it might not be laziness. Instead, you might have underestimated how much effort and time it will take to reach your goals.
• Expecting yourself to be perfect. Instead, understand that the path toward your goal is most likely going to be full of twists, turns, and setbacks.
• Listening to your inner critic. If the term "lazy" is part of your self-talk, many more negative and critical statements are probably coming from your inner critic, too. You may even bring out your inner critic in an attempt to motivate yourself. What happens then: Your critical voice focuses on your flaws and shortcomings, rather than strengths and positive attributes that could help you move forward.
• Listening to criticism from others. Feedback from others helps shape your self-concept. Being called "lazy" can affect how you see yourself. Similarly, criticism of your efforts can cause self-doubt or discouragement.
• Not creating a plan. When excited about a new goal, you might forget the importance of creating a plan. Without a roadmap to your goal, you might become overwhelmed and begin to feel aimless.

What to Start Doing: New Approaches

Here are achievable steps that can help you turn things around or stay on track with your goals:

• Create small, attainable goals. Break that huge goal into smaller goals that will help you feel accomplished and motivated. As you consider the big picture, remember the key steps that will be needed to get there and write them down. If needed, break those down into even smaller or shorter-term goals. 
• Take time to develop a plan. Reflect on your desires and goals, considering those small, attainable steps to get there. Be realistic about the amount of effort, time, money, help, or other factors involved in meeting this goal. Going into the process with an action plan will help you feel more confident and peaceful, as well as give you something to refer to when you feel discouraged or have a setback.
• Focus on your strengths. If you're used to an inner critic that focuses on your flaws and shortcomings, take inventory of your strengths. Consider challenges you have faced and reflect on the personal strengths you used to get through them. If you still struggle to identify character strengths, ask friends or family what they see as your greatest strengths.
• Celebrate small victories. Celebrate your victories as you accomplish small goals and overcome setbacks so you continue moving forward. The pride in meeting goals can help reinforce positive self-talk. Your sense of self-efficacy will increase with each accomplishment, which can help you find long-term success.
• Recruit support. It's OK to ask for help. Connect with others in a positive, healthy way and share your experience; their encouragement and support can help you develop resiliency.

Make Good Food Choices

Diet plays a significant role in energy levels. Processed convenience foods are quick to grab on the go, but they usually don't offer enough nutrition to keep your metabolic fires burning well.

Instead, go for protein to maintain stable blood sugar levels and avoid energy crashes throughout the day. Nosh on these:

• Almonds
• Salmon
• Bananas
• Yogurt
• Oats
• Dark leafy greens
• Chicken
• Water

But avoid these:

• French fries
• Candy
• Bread
• Sugary drinks
• Donuts
• Desserts
• Alcohol

Incorporate Exercise

Research has shown that even just low to moderate levels of exercise can have a significant impact on energy, helping to reduce fatigue. Ways to incorporate more exercise include:

• Walking your dog
• Jogging with a friend
• Hiking with a group
• Attending a group fitness class
• Trying a yoga class

Prioritize Sleep

If you tend to feel lazy, you might think you're getting too much sleep or napping too much. Create and stick to a consistent sleep care routine. It can help you stick to your daytime schedule and, in turn, help you feel more balanced and energized to take on tasks and feel more productive.

Practice Stress Management

Being constantly overscheduled, with demands in multiple areas of life, can leave you physically and emotionally drained. This exhaustion can make you seem lazy when you're actually stressed and overwhelmed.

Set Boundaries

A significant element of stress management is using time wisely. Saying "yes" to your coworkers, partner, children, and friends is easy, but fulfilling commitments can be difficult.

Look at how you spend your time. Take stock of unfinished tasks on your to-do list. Consider where you can politely say "no" so that you can use that time for things that need your attention and energy.

Being afraid of how people will respond to you is OK. Your goal is to improve self-care, increase energy, and feel empowered to tackle the tasks and goals that are important to you. Creating time for yourself is key, and setting small boundaries around your time will help you do just that.

Avoid Comparisons

It's natural to look around and think everyone else is getting it right except you. Don't allow yourself to get caught in the destructive, distracting habit of comparing yourself to others.

A Word From Verywell

Taking small steps toward better self-care, increased energy, improved goals, and healthy boundary-setting can help you stop feeling lazy in no time. Prioritizing your progress and moving forward consistently are the keys to long-term change, and you can begin right now with the ideas here.