I’m lazy. It manifests itself in a number of ways. Usually it’s when I’m on the computer, which is all day, everyday. I’ll start to check my email and before you know it I’m bookmarking, and then checking out my feed reader. If I’m working at home maybe I’ll take the opportunity to Stumble a little and then finally do something.
According to Overcoming Laziness, my new favorite website, the Canadian Government has deemed that 5 out of the top 12 reasons that people get fired are related to being lazy. Yikes! I’d better get my act together!
So I drafted up a plan to keep me focused throughout the day, and so far it seems to really be working:
At work
- Close Gmail, Google Talk, and Twitter
- Only check the work email a couple of times during the day (GASP!)
- Schedule 3 breaks, 15 minutes each, 1 for lunch. This is the only time I’m allowed to goof off on the Interwebz
- Turn off Pandora. It keeps sucking me it!
- Use the Emergent Task Planner, by David Seah
At home
- Schedule a half an hour of “me-time” to blog or do whatever on the computer
- Go to bed at 10 PM, get off of the computer by 9:30 PM so I can wind down
In general
- No sugar
- No soda
Although it may seem like going to bed earlier and not eating sugary foods are unrelated to laziness, they are. Just think for a minute about how much you want to mow the lawn when you’re tired, or take care of the kids, or do anything but sit on the couch and relax. For me this is especially important–I’ve been going on very little sleep for months. I’ve got to change this pattern or I might actually end up hurting myself (I only slept 2 hours last night, and that’s pretty common).
The best thing you can do
I’d say if you were going to choose just one thing to do to help with laziness, it would be to get rid of the computer/internet distractions. Either limit this activity or quit it altogether. What do you do to lick laziness?
With that said, it’s time to man up, get focused, and get to work. Adios!
Photograph by Luca Perini
One Comment
Great Tips. Thanks! I do all those things you just said, bookmarking, stumbling, reading feeds and stuff, and I lose focus.
I am gonna make sure, until I complete the task at hand, nothing else, and after task it done, all these things would be a reward for a good effort. Lemme see if this works!
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