How To Stop Being Lazy
If you're someone that's out there and you tend to be a little bit lazy, if you're not getting things done that you need to, or if you tend to procrastinate too much, I'm going to give you my strategies on how to stop being lazy.
Stop lying to yourself.
Humans are inherently lazy. If you were to look back a hundred thousand years ago and see our ancestors, I don't think that they were working all day long. If I were to guess, if they're in the middle of the desert and it's really hot outside, they’re probably under a tree in the shade just hanging out because they hunt in the morning and then they hunt in the evening.
During the day they're just sitting around.
So I think being lazy is inherently inside of humans. For you to not be lazy is going against what you actually would be doing as a typical human. You need to first admit that you are a lazy person. Stop making excuses for everything. It's the same way that if somebody is an alcoholic and they go through the 12 step program, the very first thing to do is to admit. Once you admit it, then you can start to work through it.
Make bite-sized goals.
I don't mean take your goals and make them smaller. What I mean is take your goals, and the timeframe and make smaller goals around the big goal.
Let's say that you are a sales rep and your goal is to make a hundred thousand dollars this year. Now you’ve got to make smaller goals. To get to a hundred thousand dollars, you’re going to need to make a hundred calls per week. That’s your bite-sized goal.
So instead of focusing on the entire year, you’re just focusing on this week. From there you can make more bite-sized goals. What do you need to do daily to achieve that goal? You're more likely to hit little tiny goals throughout the day, which motivates you to then work harder.
Each time you hit a checkpoint, you gain more confidence and when you gain confidence and feel like you’re moving and progressing towards the goal, it gives you more drive and motivation.
Figure out your why.
Let me give you a very drastic example, but it's my favorite one because it shows everybody they can do whatever they want.
One of my favorite things to do when I'm giving a speech is to ask the audience what the percentage chance is of making a million dollars in the next 12 months. With a 5% chance nobody ever raises their hand. With a 1% chance, a couple of people raise their hand. With a 0% chance, everybody else raises their hands.
Then I take that exact same goal and shift it around. I ask, "What’s the percentage chance of making a million dollars this year if everybody that you love is killed?" With a 100% chance, everybody raises their hand. Now, why is that? The goal didn't change. The timeframe didn't change. What changed is they actually give a damn about the goal.
You'll wake up early, you won't make excuses, you’ll get everything that you need to get done. There would be no way that you're lazy over the next year. So, what does that show you? You're not just lazy. You're lazy because you don't like or love what you're doing. You’re lazy because you're not fully tied into exactly what it is that you're trying to create. It's not that it's not possible, it’s not that you don't have enough time, it's that you just don't care enough.
So, how do you make yourself care more? You've got to have a really, really, really strong why.
Remove the distractions.
If I were to guess, I'd say that you're constantly keeping yourself busy in some sort of way. When you are being lazy, you are probably either watching something on TV or you're on your phone. That's your quote, unquote “laziness”. If you can remove that distraction, then you're more likely to just go ahead.
Take your phone and put it in the other room if you've got something important to do. Turn off all of your notifications on your phone. The only way that you can get a hold of me on my phone is if you call me. If you send me a text message, my phone doesn't light up.
What are those distractions for you? Write them down with a pen and paper and get rid of those them.
The Pomodoro Technique.
The Pomodoro technique says I'm going to work for 25 minutes and I'm going to take five minutes off. It’s 25 minutes of being hyper-focused on one task and then giving yourself a small break. A good idea is to keep a journal beside you to write down anything important that comes to mind in those 25 minutes.
If you give your brain no other options, you’ll realize that your brain can get hyper-focused. If a great idea comes into your head, instead of starting to brainstorm and distract yourself from your current task, write it in your journal and get to it later.
You'll be surprised how much you can get done being hyper-focused with no distractions, with no notifications coming in, with no external sounds in just 25 minutes.
If you don't do anything and you're too lazy, your life is not going to be what you want it to be. Follow these steps, pull your a** out of laziness, and get to work.
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