How to Stop Being So Lazy: 10 Simple Habits

I browsed two Reddit threads on overcoming laziness and pulled out the simplest ways to line yourself on a path toward greater productivity.

These aren't major life overhauls -- instead, they're small tweaks to your mindset and daily routine which will assist you start getting stuff done.

Read on and obtain inspired.

1. Set a 10-minute alarm.

Multiple Redditors shared some variation on the thought that you simply should tell yourself you'll work on the dreaded task just for a delegated period of time -- then you'll stop.

Here's an example, from backformore: "I set an alarm for 10 minutes then see what proportion I can get wiped out that point . Usually, it gets me motivated to stay going after the timer pops , but if it doesn't a minimum of I did something."

Meanwhile, psychologist and procrastination expert Timothy A. Pychl gave Psychology Today much an equivalent advice. Essentially, you "make a affect yourself" that albeit you do not like doing the task, you are doing it anyway for 10 minutes. Once you're already involved, it's less tempting to quit.

2. Leave yourself a simple task for the subsequent morning.

Rosco7 points out that he's more likely to procrastinate at work when he's got a tough problem before him.

If, on the opposite hand, he knows that the matter won't take much time or effort to unravel , he dives right into it, then into the remainder of his work as well:

Here's my big trick: I always attempt to leave myself something easy to try to to very first thing subsequent morning. If I find a programming bug and see that it'll be a simple fix, I leave it for subsequent morning. If i want to package up an installer for a replacement release, leave it for next morning. That way I even have something easy to start out out with, and i am less tempted to try to to something else first.

3. Exercise.

Several Redditors highlighted the importance of exercise for beating laziness, particularly once you within the hay|love|make out|make love|sleep with|get laid|have sex|know|be intimate|have intercourse|have it away|have it off|screw|fuck|jazz|eff|hump|lie with|bed|have a go at it|bang|get it on|bonk|copulate|mate|pair|couple"> roll in the hay very first thing in the morning.

As hackday puts it, "Once you get your blood pumping, you'll realize that you simply feel wakeful and energetic rather than sleepy and lethargic."

Indeed, research has found that young adults who reported being fatigued all the time felt more energetic and fewer tired once they exercised at a coffee or moderate intensity.

4. Switch up your work environment.

"I find that I procrastinate constantly when I'm reception , so once I want to be productive, i'm going to a library or another public space," writes scissa. "If I even have a choice, I prefer public spaces where people are working, because they encourage me to try to to an equivalent ."

Scissa is onto something: Recent research suggests that being around people who are working hard can motivate us to slave , too. that would potentially explain why we're less inclined to log onto Twitter while sitting during a cafe filled with people that seem super-focused.

5. Get a partner.

HeartlySerious suggests finding a partner to carry you in charge of your non-lazy behavior.

For example: "If you schedule time at the gym with a lover , you will have more motivation to truly rise up ."

If you're brooding about getting an accountability buddy or group, take a couple of tips from productivity expert Laura Vanderkam. Writing in Fast Company, Vanderkam recommends picking people with a diary of achieving difficult things and communicating with them frequently.

6. Dress up.

Here's a tip that's particularly useful for those that work remotely. If you cannot find the energy to prevent futzing around on Facebook and begin writing your project proposal, consider changing out of these stained sweatpants.

"If you dress different, you'll act different," says sidianmsjones. "Get together some outfits that you simply feel cause you to look really classy, businessy, whatever. Make it a special point within the morning to urge FULLY dressed. Shoes and every one , as if you were going out, albeit you do not ."

As fashion psychologist Karen Pine told Forbes, "When we placed on an item of clothing it's common for the wearer to adopt the characteristics related to that garment. tons of clothing has symbolic meaning for us, whether it's 'professional work attire' or 'relaxing weekend wear,' so once we put it on we prime the brain to behave in ways according to that meaning."

7. Write down the issues you're adjourning facing.

"Procrastinating starts with avoiding to believe the issues awaiting you," says visarga. "Before you get your work energy up stop and believe the issues , the small print , put them on paper, make an inventory , a graph, whatever you wish to explain it."

Maybe you'll realize the issues aren't as big as you imagined, or that you simply can break them down into smaller chunks, and it'll be easier to urge started tackling them.

Oscar-winning Pixar director Pete Docter uses this trick to show overwhelming tasks into something more manageable. "Usually, soon into making the list, I find I can group most of the problems into two or three larger all-encompassing problems. So it's really not all that bad. Having a finite list of problems is far better than having an illogical feeling that everything is wrong," he told Pixar president Ed Catmull in Creativity, Inc.

8. Do the thing you're brooding about .

"The best advice I even have seen is once you catch yourself brooding about something you ought to be doing, but aren't, just rise up and roll in the hay ," writes burglarysheepspeak.

9. Follow the 'two-minute rule.'

GEEKitty features a "two-minute rule": "If it takes but two minutes, just roll in the hay ."

That might include washing your dirty breakfast dishes or picking your laundry up off the ground .

It's almost like a technique employed by David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done. As soon as Allen sees an email in his inbox, he decides whether he can affect it in two minutes or less. If so, he deals with it right then (e.g., by responding or deleting).

10. Don't 'break the chain.'

iluvucorgi points out the "calendar trick" that actor and comedian Jerry Seinfeld uses to motivate himself to write down .

As Seinfeld told software developer Brad Isaac, for each day he gets his writing done, he puts an enormous 'X' over that day on the calendar. After a couple of days, he features a nice chain and his only job isn't to interrupt it.