How to Solve Your Laziness and Productivity “Problem”* - Part 4
*It’s only a problem in the sense that you are telling yourself it is - i.e., you are telling yourself that you are lazy or unproductive and making that a referendum on your worth as a human being. By solving it, I mean how to stop trying to motivate yourself with shame and guilt.
Want to stop shaming yourself for being “lazy” or “unproductive”?
Give your brain contradictory evidence. Challenge the idea that you are lazy at all.
With actual facts.
When you have the thought “I’m lazy” or “I’m not doing enough,” especially if you have it often, your brain is going to look for and manufacture evidence that you are lazy.
It’s going to focus your attention on the times when you were less productive than you told yourself you should be and create a story around them (as opposed to just offering facts).
Like when you didn’t finish your (overly ambitious) to do list. Or you took that Saturday off when you “should” have been working. When you didn’t go to that thing you “should” have gone to. When you didn’t meet that goal you “should” have met if you just weren’t so “lazy.”
Give it evidence of the opposite.
How is it NOT true that you are lazy or unproductive?
Spend just 5-10 minutes writing down things you’ve accomplished in your life. Or even in the last week.
And take a broad view of “accomplished.”
Anything you’ve done that has required any bit of effort.
Can you come up with 25 things? 50? 100?
Here are some examples - YMMV:
Got up every morning or most mornings for ## years
Fed yourself for ## years
Brushed your teeth for ## years
Completed elementary school, middle school, high school
Got your GED
Completed college
Worked a job for ## years of your life
Participated in law review, moot court, a sport, a club, drama, band, or some other extra curricular in school
Went to grad school
Took ## classes
Took a professional exam
Ran a marathon
Walked around your block
Went to the gym that one time or a million times
Started your own law firm or business
Went to court ## times
Took # pro bono cases
Created ## presentations
Wrote # briefs
Helped with # deals or projects
Had a kid or two or more
Took care of those kids in whatever way you took care of them
Wrote a book
Read a book
1, 2, 25, 50, 1000 Peloton classes
And most importantly, you have human being-ed every day of your life so far.
With all the emotions and effort that come with that.
No matter how well you think you did it. You have done it.
I bet your list is really long.
Especially if you think about your life creatively.
Without judgment.
Save your list. Look at it every time your primitive brain or that mean girl in your head tells you that you’re lazy. Keep adding to it. Give your brain evidence to prove it wrong.
Make the case for why you aren’t lazy.
Drop a piece of evidence in the comments for why you aren’t lazy.
This is the final tip in this series - check out my profile to see prior posts in this series.
P.S. On a related note because of this laziness indoctrination we get, we tend to lead really busy lives. Overly busy. If that’s you, check out my 10 Ways to Be and Feel Less Busy: https://mailchi.mp/jenndealcoaching/10ways
