How to increase productivity and get rid of laziness?

Most of us have the misfortune of not being able to make a living by working out and competing. And so we have a lot of work to do every day, obligations, errands,... and sometimes we don't even want to go to the gym. Sometimes we are just exhausted and there is nothing special about it, but very often it is just laziness that makes us procrastinate and destroys our productivity. So in our article today, we'll look at how to improve productivity and get rid of laziness once and for all.

What is procrastination or why are we lazy?

A bit of theory to start with - procrastination can be defined as the tendency to put off activities for another time. We often slip into procrastination with the following things:

• Those that are difficult at first glance.
• Those that are tedious and take a long time to complete.
• Those that are uninteresting

Either way, our procrastination can bring with it later things and activities that we otherwise look forward to - like exercise. But it's important to distinguish procrastination from relaxation. We all need relaxation, it just needs to be controlled and have a purpose. Once you relax at the expense of your responsibilities, it's always bad.

Relaxing is definitely better than forcing yourself to work and not being productive.

How to overcome procrastination and be more productive?

We encounter procrastination very often and not only in our sporting life. After a whole day at work, you still have to go to the gym and of course you also have to prepare food for the next day... Who wants to do that, right? But luckily for you, we have some tips to increase productivity and overcome procrastination.

Set a goal and focus on it

In order to manage to be as productive as possible, you need to have goals that you want to accomplish. These should be both long-term (lose XY kilos by the start of summer) and short-term (prepare honest meals all week). Most effective of all, write a list of your goals on a piece of paper and assign the activities you need to do to achieve them. When you suddenly don't feel like going to the gym, remember why you started in the first place and where the effort you put into this sport will lead in the future.

Commit to the activity

The vast majority of activities and tasks seem much worse at first than they actually will be. And sometimes, the most effective method is to just get over yourself and get to work, kind of against your will. You may well find that the task isn't as difficult as you actually thought, or that you even enjoy it.

Do you ever feel like you don't want to play sports, but if you still commit, it's not so bad after all?

Focus on one activity at a time

Multitasking (trying to do multiple things at once) doesn't work, and scientific studies have repeatedly shown this. So we definitely recommend taking your time and always focusing on one activity and giving it your full attention.Once one activity is done, it is only appropriate to get on to the next one. In the same way, it is also not good to check, for example, messages on your phone while you are working, because you will lose your current work pace. In order to keep track of your activities, it's a good idea to track both time spent working (for example, using the online tool Toggl) and time spent procrastinating on your phone (this is where the StayFree app can come in handy).

Reward yourself for successfully completing a task

Much better than procrastinating before completing a task is relaxing after completing it because you already have a clear head. Of course, the length and form of the reward is up to you - for most of us, the best form of reward is the chance to go to the gym, but some people enjoy going to a restaurant, getting a massage or even going on holiday after completing a long-term project. There's no limit to your imagination.

For some people, the best reward is a holiday, for others it's just a visit to the gym that makes them happy.

Quality sleep should be a priority

We talked about sleep in one of our previous articles on Daytime Fatigue, among others, and it's definitely worth mentioning here. When you're not getting a good night's sleep, you tend to procrastinate, you don't feel like doing anything, and even seemingly simple activities can take a long time to complete. So it's a good idea to put your phone down for a while before bed and read your favourite book, get some air or even take a short walk. In terms of sleep efficiency, it may be best to go to bed and wake up at the same time so that your body develops certain routines.

Keep a good environment around you

If you feel good, you tend to be more productive. So there's nothing worse than having a room that's warm, unventilated and cluttered. Rather, take a few minutes to spruce up your workspace so that you feel good in it and you'll see it pay off later.

In order to be productive, you need to work in an environment that feels good.

Why even try to be more productive?

You may be wondering why even try to be more productive and that you are not a top manager who needs tips like this. But once you are more productive (at least in most professions), it will only bring you benefits. You'll get more work done (which sometimes comes with more reward, sometimes doesn't) and because of this you won't have to work under pressure. This will translate into lower stress levels, which will ensure that you don't come home from work as tired and, what's more, if completing a task is a requirement of your working day, you'll be able to leave earlier.By leaving earlier and feeling better, you will have more time to exercise and prepare a full meal and therefore your results will be much better.

What to take away from today's article?

The main thing you should take away from today's article is that procrastination, i.e. putting off tasks until later, is quite common but rarely desirable. If you want to improve your productivity, set a goal, give it your full attention and reward yourself when you reach it.

Also, try to get enough sleep and work in a comfortable environment that makes you feel good. When you are more productive, you will see that your whole life will be better and, besides the fact that in a number of professions this can be rewarded with better pay, you might also come home from work less tired and therefore better able to concentrate on your training and everything associated with it. And while we probably won't be professional athletes, being more productive and getting more out of going to the gym is never a bad thing.