A person is being lazy if he is able to carry out some activity that he ought to carry out, but is disinclined to do so because of the effort involved. Instead, he or she carries out the activity perfunctorily; or engages in some other, less strenuous or less boring activity; or remains idle. In short, he is being lazy if his motivation to spare himself effort trumps his motivation to do the right or expected thing. – Psychology Today, 10/14/14

Does the above definition define you? Does moving with as little effort as possible define your mode of operation? Do you find yourself disengaged from life, only going through the motions, remaining as idle as possible. Has anyone ever accused you of being unmotivated???

Procrastinator, idler, or just plain lazy

While similar, procrastination, being idle and being lazy all have their similarities but they are all different.

Procrastination

Laziness and procrastination are similar in that they both involve a lack of motivation. But, unlike a lazy person, a procrastinator aspires and intends to complete the task and, moreover, does eventually complete it, albeit at a higher cost to himself. Panic usually is the inspiration for the person to complete the task.

Idleness

To be idle is: not to be doing anything. This could be because you are lazy, but it could also be because you do not have anything to do or are temporarily unable to do it. Or perhaps you have already done it and are resting or recuperating.

Laziness

Many lazy people are not intrinsically lazy, but are lazy because they have not found what they want to do, or because, for one reason or another, they are not doing it. To make matters worse, they can no longer fully grasp a job’s purpose or product, and therefore, can’t process how a job betters their lives. A lazy person fails to grasp the inner gratitude of a job well done.

Other factors that can lead to laziness are unfounded fear and hopelessness. Some people fear success, or do not have sufficient self-esteem to feel comfortable with success, and laziness is one way in which they can sabotage themself.  “It’s not that I failed,” they tell themselves, “it’s that I never tried.”

Whether you are a procrastinator, idler or just plain lazy, there are ways to break these habits. There are those who might say that laziness is at epidemic portions in our society today, but what is a person to do if you answer yes to the quiz questions above?

If you want to break your own laziness mold – read on. The helpful tips abound.

1. Put your phone on airplane mode whenever you need to get things done. – “I do it a few hours every day. “It may be tough at first, but eventually it will be kind of relaxing.

2. Get up as soon as the alarm goes off. Don’t just sit in bed doing nothing.

3. If something take less than 5 minutes to do don’t put off. Even if it’s not urgent do it anyways. Make this a habit and you’ll be amazed at how much you end up accomplishing in one day.

4. Do some cleaning on your social media. – Do it maybe a couple times a year. Unfollow people that bring you down. Delete those messages that people send to you that’s rude. Update your info. Its makes me feel so much better.

5. Make your bed every morning. It’s such a quick thing that really helps your room feel instantly tidier.

6. When commercials come on tv do some sit ups to kill the time instead of going on your phone.

7. Study at the library instead of at home.

8. Eat a piece of fruit. Eat a salad. When you are down, doing something good for yourself inspires more good.

9. Smile as often as possible. You don’t know when you going leave this earth so smile and be happy as much as you can. If you’re speaking with someone and smile genuinely, they usually do so back. It makes people days and even you’ll be surprised how important that can be

10. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Whether is something small or big its ok to ask for help sometimes here and there. Like at home, at work, personally, physically whatever, reach out to a friend or a family member

11. Use your nice words: Please, Thank you; May I; Can I help?

12. Face your fears you shouldn’t be scared just be honest

13. Believe in yourself that you can do anything you want to do or be.

14. Find your place – if it’s a school, work or even at home. Find the best place you can be your self. Keep doing a job, well do the very best you can. That’s your best way out.

15. Live with Intensity- You might as well turn it up a notch or two. Invest more of you. Be a little stronger, be a little wiser. Step up!