How to deal with laziness, apathy and procrastination?

Idleness and laziness - reasons

Throughout life, within every person there is a struggle between the desire to do something, the desire for success and well-being, and the complete opposite - inaction, unwillingness to do anything at all. The latter occurs as a result of low motivation. Psychologists say that if a person does not want to do anything even in situations where it is necessary, then he has weak willpower. In life, this phenomenon is called laziness. In order to understand how to deal with laziness, you need to clearly understand what this concept means from a psychological point of view and what laziness means in a global sense.

In this science, laziness is considered as an integral part of the emotional-volitional sphere of the individual. Most often, this trait is described from a negative side, noting that laziness is a person’s reluctance to work and improve the productivity of his work. Such people prefer to relax, have fun and do anything rather than do what is necessary. The main reason for this behavior, according to psychologists, is the absence or misunderstanding of the goal, weak motivation or its complete absence.

The surrounding social environment also plays an important role in the formation of laziness as a character trait. Often the media promotes inaction if action does not bring any benefit. But laziness also has a positive characteristic - if the body is overtired and requires rest, then such laziness plays a protective function and saves a person’s vital energy.

Symptoms:

1. Apathy.
2. Prostration.
3. Depression.
4. A series of failures.

There are many types of laziness. They all relate to one aspect or another of human life, but the most common are physical laziness and laziness as a result. The latter implies a conflict between human desires and its capabilities, that is, the demands are enormous, but there are no opportunities for their implementation. This type is most typical of modern society, in which few people know how to deal with laziness.

Laziness as a sign of genius. 4 types of laziness and whether you need to fight it

Has it ever happened to you that you need to do something, but you don’t want to. Laziness.

Laziness is sometimes so strong that a person gives up and obeys it. Laziness is omnipotent and omnipresent; they say it was born long before us.

Laziness is often called the biggest human vice, but is it really that bad? Let's figure it out.

So, what is laziness?

By definition V.I. Dalia is

“disgust from work, from business, from activities; a tendency towards idleness and parasitism."

In fact, laziness can be considered a much broader phenomenon.

Let's consider several main options for the manifestation of laziness:

Laziness as a lack of motivation due to a lack of understanding of one’s purpose

There is a category of people who do not have any goals in life, they go with the flow, living only for today.

From a literary point of view, this is a typical Oblomov, the character of Ivan Goncharov from the novel “Oblomov”, part of the “Ordinary History” trilogy. For those who have not read this epoch-making work, I’ll tell you a little about the plot. The novel tells about the life of Ilya Ilyich Oblomov. He lives in St. Petersburg with his servant, practically does not leave the house and does not even get up from the sofa. He does not work anywhere, does not engage in any activity, but only dreams of a cozy and serene life in his native Oblomovka estate. No problems can move him from his place.

Remember how in the song “Rapi**yay” by the Leningrad group “I don’t go to work and don’t listen to the radio, but whatever God gives me I’ll drink and eat.”

A person has no motivation on a subconscious level, and there is no conscious motivation either. Sometimes, in critical cases, a person can force himself to do something, but this happens extremely rarely.

Do you think this is all some kind of joke and deliberate exaggeration?

I have a friend, a typical Oblomov. He grew up in a rich family, he was taught to live well, he was taught to live on a grand scale, but, alas, he was not able to earn money. Time passed, the boy grew up, graduated from college... and filed a lawsuit against his parents because they refused to provide for him and called him a parasite. After that, such stories happened that you could even write “Oblomov 2.”

He doesn’t officially work anywhere, he just works part-time. They don’t want to officially hire him because he doesn’t keep his promises and doesn’t comply with labor discipline. If some money falls through, he spends it on the first day, even if the amount is 50,000-100,000 rubles. At the same time, he is very absent-minded and can easily forget a large sum of money or valuables somewhere.

One day, when he tried to get a good job with a decent salary, we had an interesting dialogue. He had to come to work at 8 a.m., but, of course, he arrived at lunchtime, and even then not every day. When I asked why he agreed to such conditions if he couldn’t come to work so early (he lives in the region and likes to sleep), he answers me:

“I agreed to a salary, not a job.”

There are also counter examples.

A person is greatly influenced by his environment and the society in which he grew up. A person who grew up in a family with little income considers such a life to be the norm. In the Soviet Union there was such a thing as the “working class”. After finishing 8 classes of secondary school, he went to the factory, got up every day at the factory whistle, and so on day after day throughout his life.

Now there are a lot of such stories, including in Moscow. Such a person may have a wife (husband), children, a small salary in a government organization, or a room in a dorm. People get so used to this life that they don’t want to change anything. Nothing spoils people more than a stable small salary; they are in their comfort zone and don’t want to change anything. What if it gets even worse?

What can I recommend here? With the Oblomovs everything is clear, here, as they say, “in the bag and with an awl.” The second category is more difficult; those people who grew up below the poverty line, orphans, or in a “bad area” often have a strong motivation to make their lives, or at least the lives of their children, better. And those who grew up “in the comfort zone” find it more difficult.

One tip:

Laziness as a defense mechanism

Laziness is a very effective mechanism for refusing to do work that will not bring benefits. It is as if the body is constantly working in energy saving mode, mobilizing this energy when needed.

You will never see a wild boar that has been running all day and then says: I need to sit down to rest, I’m tired. There was so much going on today.

Laziness appears when you don’t understand why you should do this or that work, when the goal you set is not inspiring (see my previous article). When the goal you are trying to achieve is important to you, there is no trace of laziness. You are ready to work for hours without interruption for food and sleep.

And if you feel something that needs to be done, but you don’t want to get out of bed to do it, then reconsider the purpose of this event. Is it really important to you?

Another aspect of reluctance to do something is when there is no clear understanding of what needs to be done. So sometimes you open a task manager where there are a lot of overdue tasks, look at it, sigh and close it. Has this ever happened to you? Or you are trying to do one task and are constantly distracted. The point here is that the brain does not understand what needs to be done and tries to switch to another task that is more understandable to it.

In the first case, stop using task managers if you don’t look at them at least once a day. A huge number of overdue tasks will only upset you and will not contribute to productive work. All people are different, it is impossible to create one universal technique for everyone. If they tell you that making a to-do list, strict timekeeping, the Pomodoro technique and other popular things are cool and must-have, don’t believe them! Try it for a month and see if it suits you or not.

If lists are not your thing, then a good way to start doing something is to think in the evening and determine which 5-6 tasks tomorrow will bring you the greatest results and focus on them in the morning.

In the second case, goal decomposition will help. You need to break the goal down into steps that are understandable to you and other performers. For example, is conducting market research a clear goal? For a marketer, of course, but for a novice startup, additional clarification is needed, a checklist of necessary actions.

An interesting example is given by psychotherapist N.V. Karyagin

Imagine that a person is too lazy to play sports. The more weight he gains, the harder it is to walk and the less he wants to move. What happens if you remove such a “fuse” as laziness? He will lose weight, become prettier, become more sexually attractive, and the opposite sex will begin to show interest in him. This could be a problem. If he attracted attention and a relationship began, then you will have to build these relationships and master new roles. Or it may happen that the relationship turns out to be short-lived, and you need to have strength and resilience to survive the breakup. Many people are so scared to experience such situations that not starting a relationship is a much safer and more comfortable state. And then with your sports =)

Laziness as a sign of genius.

A lazy employee is a good employee, don’t you agree?

Many people probably won’t check it for me, but there is a lot of truth in this.

Richard Koch in his book “The 80/20 Manager” tells the story of the German Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, a participant in the First and Second World Wars. He led the Blitzkrieg that quickly conquered France, and then commanded the Wehrmacht's XI Army, whose successful actions in the Crimea against the Soviet army culminated in the capture of Sevastopol in June 1942.

Manstein divided his officers into four categories, depending on their intelligence, stupidity, hard work and laziness.

1. First group

These are lazy and stupid officers. Leave them alone, they do no harm.

2. Second group

These are smart and hardworking officers. They make excellent staff officers, from whom even the smallest details will not escape.

3. Third group

Hardworking dumbasses. These people are dangerous, they burden everyone with completely unnecessary work. They should be shot on the spot.

4. Fourth group

Smart slackers. These people deserve the highest positions.

Thus, laziness in itself is not a virtue, but it is very useful when combined with a high level of intelligence.

The famous British philosopher and public figure Bertrand Russell said:

“The path to happiness and prosperity is through orderly reduction of work.”

How can this be achieved? In fact, we have plenty of time, more than enough. We simply waste it on the exciting struggle with “problems” and pointless meetings.

Remember the Esenhaur matrix.

A. Important urgent matters. These are burning cases when you need to drop everything and start putting out the fire. It's better not to let things get to this point. When you successfully complete an important and urgent task, you feel a surge of strength and a lot of different emotions - joy, pride, satisfaction with the work done, but it takes a lot of energy and it is impossible to work in this mode for a long time.

B. Non-urgent and important matters. Current (planned) work; this category also includes business planning, training, development and everything that brings you closer to achieving your goal. If you start things in this category, they can go to square A and will need to be completed under time pressure.

C. Urgent and unimportant. Basically, this is some kind of routine and unscheduled work, or someone asked you to do work that is not part of your responsibilities. This work in no way leads you to your desired goal. Staying in this square for a long time is harmful. It is extremely important not to confuse the things to do in this square with the things to do in square A (important and urgent).

D. Not urgent and unimportant. These are things that you can refuse because they will not bring the desired return. This includes watching TV shows, empty conversations, meaningless Internet surfing, social networks (if you are not an SMM specialist), providing all kinds of services and doing things that are not related to your immediate goals.

To be as productive as possible, try to focus on square B. For example, I have a piece of paper on my desktop with this matrix drawn on it and I periodically ask myself: which square am I in?

It is the smart and lazy people who are usually very creative. Give them free rein, and they will offer a lot of non-standard and original solutions to the problem with one single goal - to complete the task as quickly as possible and with the minimum amount of effort.

It is to lazy and smart people that we owe many innovative inventions.

But what if you still need to do it, but don’t want to?

Sometimes it happens that we, smart lazy people, become hostages of our minds. Without sufficient motivation, the brain begins to strenuously resist leaving the control zone, because this threatens it with large losses of energy when mastering new types of activities.

An important point is that the smarter a person is, the more skillfully he justifies himself and others. It happened to me that I set a SMART goal, but then I made excuses to myself and refused to fulfill the goal only because it did not meet the SMART criteria, and according to such an exotic criterion as “organicity of the goal”, its relevance (relevant).

It also happens that we do not complete the task set by management, because we believe that the task was not set correctly or is simply stupid. I will not dwell on this in detail here; this situation will be discussed in subsequent articles.

How to overcome resistance?

1. Decompose the goal, break it down into simple steps

2. Think about what completing this goal will do for you.

3. Turn work into a game and give yourself rewards for completing each step.

4. Read my previous article

5. Read my next articles

The article would not be complete if I did not talk about the last type of laziness.

Laziness as an external manifestation of fatigue.

Sometimes, no matter how great the idea is, there is no desire to do anything.

This does not mean that this goal is not important to us, but sometimes we need to rest. I offer a short excursion into esotericism to understand more deeply why energy sometimes leaves us.

Lack of physical activity

Even if you are engaged only in intellectual activity, physical activity is a must, at least exercise in the morning. As they say, “without physical activity, not only the body, but also the business begins to fall apart.” Muscle tone decreases, the body cannot cope with accumulated toxins, resulting in chronic fatigue syndrome. You didn’t strain yourself, and in the end you have no strength. Not physical, not emotional, not mental.

Lack of emotional stress

Do you think soap operas, DOM-2 and other programs are watched only by stupid women?

I hasten to disappoint you, this is not always the case. We (men) aren’t watching the World Cup because we can’t live without the ball? In this case, we would already be running around the stadium. We all need emotions, and different ones.

Sometimes we swear from a lack of negative emotions, the main thing is not to pour out these emotions on other people. It’s better to watch a movie or read a book that evokes a variety of strong emotions, just don’t try them on yourself - this is not your life. I usually watch arthouse in cinemas, author and festival films, mostly dramas. You sit, worry, but at the same time you understand that this has nothing to do with you. Then you just go about your business and don’t remember.

Some people like to watch news and politics to tickle their nerves. However, everything is good in moderation, do not go too far, otherwise you risk becoming a grouch and a loser.

No intellectual load

Despite the fact that we are faced with a huge amount of information every day, the lack of intellectual load is the scourge of the modern world. Our mind is filled to capacity, processes a huge amount of data, but all this is idle. Even the slightest difficulties cause great tension and irritation.

It’s easier for us to read a dozen public pages or sites on the Internet in search of some cool jokes, cats, quotes, tips, than to apply any of the techniques or tips offered on these sites. You need to get used to learning based on your experience, and not from books. Do not confuse a large amount of information viewed with mental activity. You need to use tools such as analysis, synthesis, analogies. Before reading, always ask yourself questions: why am I reading this information? how can I use this in my life?

The lack of intellectual stress reduces the number of neural connections in the brain, which is one of the causes of aging, illness, depression, weakened memory and decreased will.

Some people advise playing chess, solving crosswords and scanwords. This is certainly useful, but in the first case you develop logic, and in the other case, memory. Not a single neural connection arises here. New connections arise only with the development of new skills and the solution of non-trivial problems. All this is provided in abundance to those who are trying to qualitatively change their lives and get out of their comfort zone.

Don't confuse laziness and idleness.

Idleness is not always caused by laziness. Sometimes a person simply has no goal, he lives aimlessly, does not understand the purpose of his existence. He does nothing all day long and that suits him.

Summary.

So, let's summarize. Laziness is a very cool thing, created hundreds of years ago and a perfectly working mechanism, but it is only effective in combination with a high IQ.

Sometimes a person's behavior looks like laziness, but it is not. An intelligent person will first choose the most reasonable, adequate and effective way of doing it, and then begin to complete the task, since he knows that 80% of any work can be done in 20% of the time allotted for it. We are not taking perfectionists into account here; we will also talk about them in the following articles.

Usually people do not associate determination and laziness, but the desire to find the best solution that requires minimal effort is the highest form of laziness.

Be lazy and enjoy life, but don’t forget that there are different types of laziness. Don't give in to her provocations.

Dmitry Grachev

What is the difference between laziness and procrastination?

The difference between these two concepts is significant, although for many laziness and procrastination are synonymous. As already mentioned, laziness is the unwillingness to do something for various reasons. Procrastination is putting off tasks and responsibilities for an indefinite period. The reason may be a phone call, a desire to refresh yourself, checking email and surfing social networks, etc.

That is, a person seems to be going to devote a certain amount of time to fulfilling his duties, but something distracts him all the time. As a result, a lot of time is wasted. Laziness and procrastination differ from each other in that in the second case, a person intends to do something, but does not do it and at the same time is not inactive. There is the appearance of activity, but there is no result.

The danger of this state is that the procrastinator, who has waited to complete the work and understands that deadlines are running out, will work tirelessly without sleep or rest, and will reproach himself for not having done everything earlier. The body in such a situation is under stress and energy deficiency, which negatively affects the state of the nervous system. This phenomenon must be combated through self-education.

Minuses

To begin with, I propose to consider the disadvantages and pitfalls that laziness conceals.

Missed Opportunities

The main disadvantage is, of course, the unfulfillment of desires and needs. While a person is “swinging” and getting ready for some activity, others have long been active and got what they wanted.

Why did you advance in your career, personal life, etc. You can lie on the couch for half your life, dreaming of a good car, a job and a beautiful house, or you can go earn money somewhere, gradually getting closer to your dream. Really, right?

Health problems

A sedentary lifestyle and lack of interest in what is happening around causes excess energy in the body. Only by receiving something from others and practically not giving back does a person “inflate” like a balloon.

Sometimes this even shows up on the figure. Stagnation of energy provokes the occurrence of various diseases. Accumulating is just as dangerous as experiencing an acute shortage of something.

Difficulties in relationships

Few people dream of a partner who simply knows how to relax and unwind. Harmonious and healthy relationships are not built on the initiative of only one party. This is a two-way process.

And if only one person invests in them, then over time his passion will dry out. Irritation, even aggression, will appear. And this is quite understandable and explainable.

Basically, only infantile individuals can afford the luxury of doing nothing and expecting that someone else will solve life’s issues and problems instead of them, providing comfort and coziness.

What does laziness lead to?

The consequences of laziness can be terrible, including loss of a job or expulsion from a university, loss of family and condemnation from loved ones. After all, initially a person does not think about what laziness can do to a person, but understands this after a while, when, often, it is already too late. But the main thing is the realization that you wasted so much time, but you could have already achieved a lot.

How to deal with laziness and apathy?

There are several ways to overcome laziness and apathy in yourself:

1. Start communicating with colleagues.
2. Do not communicate with people who are pessimistic and see the world only in gray tones.
3. Get rid of old and unnecessary things lying in reserve.
4. Diversify your leisure time.
5. Set goals and achieve them.
6. Play sports. It has been noticed that when laziness and mental fatigue set in, there is nothing better than getting up and doing some physical exercise.
7. Reward yourself for victories.

How to deal with laziness to study?

The fight against laziness at school age should begin with identifying the causes of its occurrence. Often this is stress caused by failures in learning. For your efforts to be successful:

• understand the cause of stress and, if possible, remove it;
• master quick calming techniques;
• lead a healthy lifestyle;
• organize your time correctly;
• learn to distribute attention;
• choose a hobby.

How to overcome laziness and start playing sports?

Laziness is the number one reason people don’t play sports. These tips are for those who are wondering how to overcome laziness and play sports:

• set a goal and develop a plan for achieving it, follow it strictly;
• use the carrot and stick method - if you have achieved any, even the smallest, result - reward yourself;
• lie in complete silence for an hour a day;
• overcome laziness in other areas of your life;
• learn to believe in yourself and not give in to difficulties;
• look at things realistically, without overestimating your capabilities and without setting unattainable goals;
• take a contrast shower, which invigorates you in the morning and tones your body and skin.

Religion

Christianity

Main article: Laziness (deadly sin)

One of the Catholic Seven Deadly Sins is sloth, which is often defined as spiritual and/or physical apathy or indolence. Laziness is discouraged in Hebrews 6:12, one of Jesus' parables to the Thessalonians in Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 25:26). The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes say that laziness can lead to poverty (Proverbs 10:4, Ecclesiastes 10:18).

Islam

كسل (Kasal) is an Arabic term used in the Qur'an to denote laziness, inactivity and slowness. The opposite of laziness is Jihad al-Nafs, which is the fight against one's ego. Praying five times a day, as well as on an empty stomach, is part of the action against laziness. In Islam, it is believed that laziness comes from Hell.

Buddhism

Main article: Kausīdya

In Buddhism, the term kausīdya is usually translated as "sloth" or "spiritual laziness". Kausīdya is defined as unhealthy activities such as lying down or stretching.

The fight against laziness - Orthodoxy

In Orthodoxy, laziness and despondency are considered not just a vice, but one of the 10 deadly sins. According to the clergy, this is a disease of the soul, when you don’t want to do anything and the whole wide world becomes unkind. Soul and body weaken. It is proposed to fight this vice by singing psalms, reading prayers, attending services, that is, directing all efforts to strengthening the spirit. You need to start every business with God's blessing and be patient.

If you don’t know how to overcome laziness in yourself and all of the above methods did not produce results, because laziness has already become a part of life, and perhaps it is a symptom of some disease, then in this case it would be right to consult a specialist. In some cases, a heart-to-heart conversation is enough, and sometimes there is a need to resort to taking medications.

Notes[ | ]

1. Baron Robert S., Kerr Norbert L., Miller Norman.
   Social psychology of the group: processes, decisions, actions.. - 2003. - 272 p.
   — ISBN 5-94723-041-0. Archived copy (unspecified)
   . Access date: July 13, 2013. Archived April 29, 2014.
2. Gleb Arkhangelsky.
   Time drive. How to have time to live and work. - Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2011. - P. 18. - 272 p. — ISBN 978-5-91657-335-0.
3. Laziness // www.naritsyn.ru
4. Otet // Explanatory dictionary of the living Great Russian language: in 4 volumes / author's compilation. V. I. Dal. — 2nd ed. - St. Petersburg. : Printing house of M. O. Wolf, 1880-1882.
5. THE PRIESTLY OFFICE ABOUT THE SEVEN HOLY SACRAMENTS

MOTIVATION. HOW TO OVERCOME LAZINESS?

Motivation is a word that appears in psychological literature and in corporate trainings. Do ordinary people use it? Do you think about your motivation for activity or lack thereof? I remember this word as soon as procrastination and overwhelming laziness appear. For example, you are too lazy to run in the morning, but you want to be slim and beautiful, so you have to motivate yourself with something very desirable. I don’t know what the life of humanity would be like without motivation, but it would be less successful for sure. After all, it is she who moves mountains and helps to persistently pursue the goal.

Literature

• Laziness in the ideas of everyday consciousness / Mikhailova E. L. // Psychological problems of self-realization of personality / Ed. L. A. Korostyleva. - St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg University Publishing House, 2004. - Issue. 8. - pp. 274-282.
• Grozdanovich D. The art of doing almost nothing / Transl. from fr. O. Churakova. - M.: Text, 2013. - 2888 pp., 2000 copies, ISBN 978-5-7516-1149-1
• Sans-Tsvetkova T. I'm lazy. - Simferopol, 2014. - ISBN 978-966-1691-92-5 [ unauthorized source?
  2150 days ]
• Alexander Vereshchagin. How to manage everything? 4 Skills for Effective Time Management. — St. Petersburg: “Ves”, 2020. — 224 p. — ISBN 978-5-9573-3105-6.

Movies and TV shows

• The Big Lebowski, a landmark 1998 film in which the protagonist "The Dude", an unemployed slacker with a laid-back approach to life, created his own religion, Dudeism.
• Juan Tamad (Lazy John), Filipino folklore character.
• Sloth, along with the other 6 deadly sins, appeared in the episode "The Magnificent Seven" in the TV series Supernatural. The role of Leni was played by S. Ernst Hart.
• Laziness, along with the other 6 deadly sins, appeared in Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist manga. Laziness is the result of Trisha Elric's transmutation.