What is laziness? Laziness is a mental state in which an individual lacks willpower to do a given task. It can creep up on us at work even when we constantly remind ourselves to stay committed to getting our work done. We try to combat laziness with different ways. Whether it’s changing our phone wallpaper to some motivational quotes or setting multiple reminders on pending tasks. But, sometimes it just seems like battle that we can never win. After all, it’s in our subconscious minds to be idle whenever we can.
However, there are still ways to combat laziness off at work. Here’s how:
Remember what motivated you to apply for this job
As quoted by Anne Frank, laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction. If you truly enjoys what you’re doing, there is nothing more valuable than the satisfaction you get from doing what you love.
Ask yourself: what were your expectations when you first applied for the job? What do you want to achieve? For every day that you are putting in effort in your job, you are one step closer toward accomplishing your career goals. Stay focused on achieving your goals to combat feelings of laziness and lethargy. Remember that every time you feel like slacking off, you are getting further away from realizing your dreams.
Understand the implications of being lazy
Think about the serious consequences you might face for being lazy at work. Being issued a warning letter or worse, get fired from your job. We are not talking about the little break after lunch, but the habit of procrastination. It might be just a few missed deadlines in the beginning, then a bad performance review, and eventually cost your entire career.
Take one step at a time
Don’t be too eager and bite off more than you can chew. One of the most common mistake many of us tend to make is that we try to multitask too much. Even though multitasking can help to save time and increase productivity, but not everyone can focus on more than one thing. Know yourself and if you function better by focusing on one thing at a time, just do that! Don’t be pressured by others and think that you’re falling behind for not being able to multitask. Some studies even suggest that multitasking is a myth.
So, even if you think that you can multitask well, think again.
Get moving!
If you’re feeling sluggish all the time, chances are that you should be more active physically. You might be surprised by the positive effects you can get by just a little exercise. You don’t have to hit the gym every day or get into high intensity training 5 times a week. Anything that involves some kind of movement such as walking, cleaning the house, or doing laundry counts!
Try taking a walk around the office after a long meeting and see how refreshed you’ll feel afterwards. Soon you might find yourself skipping the daily afternoon caffeine boost!
Divide big task into smaller ones
When dealing with a difficult and time-consuming task, most would choose to procrastinate and sit on it as it requires more motivation to start. As the saying goes, the beginning is always the hardest.
Hence, try to divide a larger task into smaller, simpler ones. You’ll find it easier to execute the smaller tasks and once you completed them, you are getting closer to finishing the whole task. Don’t get overwhelmed or intimated when you’re asked to handle a big project. Instead, take the opportunity to show your abilities to your boss.
Have a positive mindset
This is probably the most effective way to keep laziness at bay. When you have a positive mindset, it’s easy to develop a can do attitude. Having the right work attitude can definitely take you far in your career.
Start with having positive role models that you look up to such as successful people in your industry who inspire you to do better. Surround yourself with people who can motivate you at work helps too! Try to avoid being around those who always give you the cold shoulder whenever you suggest new ideas. Their passive attitude can cause you to stop taking initiatives after a while and you don’t need such negativity in life.
Unclutter your life
When you life is too overwhelming and full of unnecessary clutter, you are more likely to procrastinate since you can’t seem to solve everything at once.
If you find yourself in such situation, start uncluttering both your personal time and work hours. Imagine if you only have a limited amount of hours to finish all your tasks, how would you prioritize them?
You can then get rid of or maybe delegate tasks that aren’t that important to be more efficient and productive. More importantly, you won’t get overwhelmed by the busy schedule and feel like you have too many things to do but too little time. Your life will be easier when you know exactly what to focus on and no more excuse for procrastination.
Always remind yourself that it’s totally okay to not be perfect. After all, we can’t be constantly doing something and we all need some down time every now and then. Spending a moderate amount of time on being lazy is actually useful for personal well being. Even if you’re on a job hunting, it’s okay to take a break and get back to it when you’re more energized. Do you know that you can earn Bosspoint by logging in daily? With Bosspoints, you can redeem different vouchers from our merchants like Grab, Lazada, Petron, and others!
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