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How to stop being lazy? Laziness and procrastination
21.04.2023 15:34
Before you start scolding yourself for being lazy, it's better to understand the reasons for it. In 90% of cases, it turns out that you're not being lazy, but procrastinating.
There is a huge difference between these two phenomena, and once you understand it, it will be easier for you to complete the required task.
Advice to readers is given by a social psychologist, methodologist and leading trainer of the Tolerance Center of the Jewish Museum Elena Gorinova .
The difference between laziness and procrastination
Laziness is a refusal to take responsibility, an unwillingness to make physical or psychological efforts. You are lazy if you refuse to work and you know perfectly well how the situation will turn out for you. There is no feeling of guilt or awkwardness, you just “don’t want to”.
Procrastination is an attempt to postpone the completion of a task, rather than a deliberate refusal to do an activity. You know that you “have to,” even understand that sooner or later you will have to, and therefore experience many emotions: from guilt to anxiety.
Procrastination occurs when you are afraid of doing a task poorly (you are a perfectionist), when you lack motivation (how exactly will the result help me?) or the resources required to complete it (you are tired), and also when there are a large number of simultaneous tasks (where should I start? I won’t be able to do everything anyway?).
If a person is lazy, it is due to low self-control and lack of conscientiousness. But in reality, it is very difficult to find a mentally healthy person who is not goal-oriented at all, is not interested in work, does not want to receive a reward in one form or another.
In moments of depression, such a state is indeed possible, but in this case we are not talking about laziness and you definitely shouldn’t scold yourself for procrastination.
It's not laziness
Some people proudly point out that they are lazy because they don't have time to waste resources. There is a great idea in this statement, but it is still important to emphasize that in this case we are not talking about laziness, but about planning, resource allocation, or creative procrastination.
If a person has analyzed the situation and understands that doing the work will not lead to any results, refusing to make a decision is not laziness. The forces are redistributed, the resource is freed up for other tasks that effectively affect the outcome of the work.
If a person feels that he lacks internal resources and needs to rest in order to complete a big and important task in the future, this is also not laziness. Many people scold themselves for not wanting to "die at work" or remember "but our parents...". Taking care of yourself is a wonderful skill, it is what allows you to work more effectively.
If a person is physically exhausted and cannot complete a task due to anxiety disorder, ADHD (often in children), depression - this is also not laziness. Trying to force yourself to work, refusing treatment, can end badly.
How to overcome laziness?
If you ask yourself this question, it means that you are not facing a problem of laziness, but a problem of procrastination. The desire to get out of the situation, the desire to complete the task and stop blaming yourself is a sign of a responsible person, capable of self-regulation, but who has lost either the resource or the motivation at a particular moment.
How to deal with procrastination?
Step 1: Set clear goals
What exactly? By what date? How will I know if I've done a good job? Is it realistic? Writing a novel seems like a very nice goal, but it's completely vague. A good formulation would be: "Write two pages of the novel every week so that by September 1st I have the first two chapters. I'll show them to the publisher, get feedback, and if successful, continue working."
Step 2: Identify what distracts you
Some people are prevented from being productive by noise, others by constant notifications on their phone or multitasking. Eliminate irritants. In the office, closed conference rooms or headphones help, at home - a clean workspace and silent mode on the phone.
Step 3: Make a plan
Use the Eisenhower Square or another useful task-organizing principle to help you prioritize.
A good habit is to write down tasks for tomorrow in the evening, so you still remember what you did not manage to do today. If new requirements and problems fall on your head during the process, include them in the plan, but start doing them only after completing at least half of what has already been planned.
There is nothing shameful in telling management directly: "I have a different list of tasks for today, we approved priorities on Monday. I will start working on the new ones later."
This way you will stop rushing from one task to another, torturing yourself and feeling guilty for what you haven’t done.
Step 4: Keep your goals in focus
When breaking a large task into smaller ones, it is important not to lose sight of the main goal.
“I am making this presentation now to...
- get the approval I need;
- make people's lives better;
- advance up the career ladder;
- make your life better - get a salary;
- try something new and develop your skills"
There are many options.
It would be better if you wrote out your global goals and left them in a visible place. It is easier to prepare for exams when you see that there is a diploma ahead, and after it an interesting job, and after it interesting acquaintances, a way to realize yourself and the desired salary.
Step 5: Get Started
If starting a task is scary, unpleasant, or just not interesting, make a deal with yourself: you will work for exactly five minutes. In most cases, you will find the pace and motivation to continue working.
And allow yourself to make mistakes: an imperfectly made slide is better than no presentation at all.
