There are very few people who could honestly say that they don’t struggle with the issue of laziness. Chances are that, like most of us, you probably struggle with laziness every single day of your life, even if it is just at a slight, given moment. You have also probably read multiple articles and tips about how to be more productive and how to boost your motivation to get going. When discussing the topic with my husband (who is actually one of those unusual breeds that is rarely, ever lazy), he said that we should just get active in order to boost our energy level. However, I have come to find that the reality of laziness seems to be more of a “chicken-or-the-egg” kind of predicament; you are advised to be active so that you can have more energy, but you have no energy to want to be active in the first place – see what I’m saying?

We need to have a more realistic approach on the issue of laziness and tackle it a little more aggressively; tackle it in ways that are actually achievable when your body just keeps telling you to stay comfy. In my experience, here are some of the bullet-proof methods I have come to find work best to get you up and running, despite the urges of wanting to “just chill.”

1. I need to rest.

First things first: there is a big difference between being lazy, and your body just simply not getting enough rest. It will be very difficult to be productive in any way if you do not get a good night’s sleep, so make sure you set this as a priority. A good habit to get into is setting a bedtime for yourself (that’s right – it’s not just for children 😉 ). This will begin to create a healthy habit which will allow you to get the amount of sleep you need. You should also stay away from watching “heavy” television shows (i.e. don’t binge-watch episodes of House that will make you think of every possible disease that could be wrong with you), or having any intense conversations close to your bedtime. The goal is to prepare your brain and body to rest at an appropriate time for you; you don’t want anything that might stimulate it too much right before going to bed.

2. I am so pumped! 

I am going to guess that there might be a slight chance that the first thing you do in the morning after waking up is grab your phone and scroll through social media, news, sports, etc. You’re not alone – I do it, too. However, if you’re finding it tough to break this habit, there is a way for you to make this routine work in your favor. One thing you could do before going to bed is finding a motivational article (or 2, or 3!) that speaks directly to you and your goals, and save it to read it first thing in the morning. Read the quick summary of it at night and the full article in the morning, rather than going directly to your social media as soon as you open your eyes. Getting this kind of motivation early on will boost your desire to work towards your goals, and you will be more likely to be productive throughout your day. One of my favorite articles to read for morning inspiration is the 20 Habits of Eventual Millionaires. This is something that you could read more than once, and it can give you the motivation you need every time. Nonetheless, we are all different, so find the kind of motivation that works for you and get pumped about it every morning! 🙂

3. I have no choice.

This next tip is something that works best on the days you may be off from work, and it never fails for me. What I have started to do on my days off is forcing myself to do a certain task very early in the morning. For example: If I have to schedule a doctor’s appointment, I schedule it at the earliest time I possibly could (granted that I’m getting enough sleep, of course). The idea is that you schedule something you can’t easily get out of, or it would be a great inconvenience if you did. I find that once my task, appointment, etc. is completed, I am awake, energized, and much more able to focus on doing the things I need to do throughout the rest of my day. Since I am not really a work-out type of person, doing this as an alternative forces me to be active very early on and it sets my day up for a good start. Maybe you have that friend that will just not let you get out of working out with him/her if you were to exercise together – definitely make plans to work out with that friend. Whatever the task may be, when you get the chance to schedule these very early errands in your daily routine, take it!

4. I need to eat.

This one is a no-brainer; healthy eating is the energy fuel for your body. I can’t say that I am great at this myself, I struggle a great deal even to just follow little baby steps to eat healthier. However, I notice a great difference in my energy level on the days that I do stick to a healthy menu. A rule of thumb should be to always make sure you eat breakfast, and make sure that it is a healthy one. If you can’t always cook up anything fancy (like most of us), fruits are always a great way to go: apples, papaya, pears, peaches – you name it! Fruits make a great “on-the-go” breakfast and will boost up your energy level (although you should avoid bananas for breakfast, they can make you sleepy ). You should also avoid eating foods that will make you sluggish throughout your day. It is hard for most of us to resist “junk food” on most days, but making these tweaks to your diet will significantly impact your energy level. Check out WebMD’s guide to avoid food that will make you tired if you’re not sure how to get started.

5. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…”

Another great habit to get into every morning is opening up those curtains and embracing the sunshine! Sunlight wakes us up naturally and signals our body that it is time to get going; if you don’t get enough natural light in the morning, you will most likely feel tired and groggy throughout your day. Although, if you live in Buffalo, NY like I do, chances are that this lovely sunshine will not visit your home very often during our awesome winter months (which seem to be 10 times longer than months in any other place of the world; but that’s ok – we still love our city 🙂 ). So in the event that you’re not necessarily in an “abundant sunshine” kind of place, you can also opt for the alternative: a natural light alarm. These really neat alarms wake you up naturally with a sunrise-like effect, and can be almost just as effective.

6. I am on a roll!

Finally, a great way to escape from the lazy gravitational pull is by gaining momentum. When you think about all of the things that you need to get done in any given day, it can be intimidating, overwhelming, and sometimes even depressing. That being said, when you think about it in terms of small little steps at a time, it is not as dreadful. Try to separate your big to-do’s into smaller tasks and go through these one at a time. Once you do this, you’ll get rolling on everything else that you need to do and you will barely even notice. Every single time I actually do this, I always end up being very productive and working efficiently through my daily duties.

There will always be many other, creative ways in which you can fight the urge to slack off, but hopefully these could help you in the same way they help me. Just keep in mind this great quote from TheEveryGirl.com: “Success is not easy, and it is certainly not for the lazy.” Get off the couch, get going, and be all the success you were meant to be.

By Nayadee Wilson