4 Self-Discipline Tips For When You’re Lazy
At first glance at this blog post, you may find it a bit odd. Why, on a blog where I promote that it’s okay to be lazy, am I writing a post about how not to be? As much as I am all for being lazy and listening to your body more – sometimes, we just have shit to do.
I’m such a homebody and I love nothing more than cwtching up on the sofa with some snacks, a hot chocolate, and a movie (blog post coming soon). But I wouldn’t be able to create content or go to my day job if that’s all I did (and it would probably get pretty boring).
It’s important to learn why you’re maybe not as disciplined as you’d like to be, in order to learn how to overcome it.
I know that, for me, when I don’t believe in myself enough or feel good enough to be doing what I am doing, then I procrastinate. ‘If I leave this until the last minute and it’s rubbish, that’s because I didn’t have much time to do it vs taking more time over it and it still being rubbish’ – yes, I quite often have this mindset and it’s awful! If you too procrastinate a bit more than you should check out this blog post. Obviously, when I spend too much time procrastinating, I’m lacking the self-discipline to get myself to do my work.
So, here are some tips to help you (and me) to be more self-disciplined. But don’t worry, this lazy girl isn’t going anywhere!
1. Minimise Self-Sabotaging
An example of this could be that you’ve decided you want to have a more productive morning (I say that I want to start doing this multiple times a week). In order to do this, you know that you need to prep a little the night before – plan your outfit, pre-make your lunch and/or breakfast, get an early night so you have more energy in the morning etc. But in the night, when you should be doing those things, you tell yourself that you’ll be fine and instead you watch one (or several) more episodes of your current YouTube binge – anyone else guilty of this?
If you know that current you needs to do something to help future you, even though you probably don’t want to, try and make the effort to do it. Your future-self will definitely be thankful. And, in-turn, it should put you in a better mood. This means you’ll be less likely to fail with any other self-discipline tasks that you decide on.
2. Write Down Your Plan
I write down EVERYTHING! This is partly because I absolutely terrible memory and if I didn’t, I’d never remember anything or get much done. But the other reason I do this is because it helps to keep me accountable & on track with whatever I need to be doing.
I don’t always write to-do lists (although I do love a good to-do list). Sometimes all I need to do is a big ol’ brain dump and write down everything that is wurring around in my mind. From this, I will look at how I can improve any negativity or action any tasks that I need.
By getting everything out onto paper (or my phone notes app), it helps me to have a clearer mind. And, as I’ve already mentioned, when I’m feeling good and better about myself, I’m much better at being self-disciplined.
3. Reward Yourself
Obviously, as a lazy girl like me, you too will likely enjoy having a relaxing evening of pampering, or watching movies, or reading or any other relaxing activity. If you do everything that you need to do in the day, you’ll feel so much more relaxed in the evening.
You probably heard this a lot growing up – ‘if you finish your homework you can watch *insert your favourite childhood show*. But this process still stands throughout adulthood too. If you spend too much time relaxing today, then you’ll have even more work to do tomorrow and less time for relaxing – which means that you’ll likely end up stressed…
I’m sorry if I’m sounding a bit like a mother right now. But I think both you and I will find this a helpful reminder!
4. Enjoy The Journey
I say this about self-acceptance and general life too. We often get so caught up in the end destination that we forget to enjoy how we get there.
Each time you do something in terms of self-discipline, allow yourself to feel good about whatever it is that you’ve done. By doing this, it’ll help you feel more accomplished and happier in becoming more self-disciplined.
Self-discipline isn’t something that you can just achieve overnight. It takes time and effort. But it’s also important to remember that we’re all human and we’re not perfect. We make mistakes and we’re unlikely to ever become the most self-disciplined person ever – but that’s okay!
Do you have any tips that you swear by when it comes to self-discipline? Let me know in the comments below!
I hope you’re doing well!
Cerys x
