3 Ways I Fight Off the Lazy Day Feeling

I know I talk a lot about living a healthier lifestyle, keeping up with fitness and exercise, eating right, and all that good stuff, but I’m not immune to that lazy day feeling and how hard it is to fight it off.  Especially when I forget to take my weight loss pills for energy. No matter who we are or how much we love living a healthier lifestyle, that sensation can get us. I live a busy life, I have two kids, and I make a priority of taking care of myself. That all takes up massive amounts of time and energy.

Can’t Be Perfect All the Time

While I feel very proud of myself because I’m getting the job done – uh, most of the time – there are days when all I want to do is stay in bed. I find that feeling strikes really hard at this time of year after the time has changed. The days get shorter, the sun sets earlier, and it’s getting colder out there.

Why would I want to get out of bed early to get myself up just so I’ll have enough time to get two rambunctious children ready to go? Then take care of all the things I have going on in my life only to make sure I get my workout in, make dinner, prepare lunches for the next day and then get the little ones ready for bed before I drift in and out of consciousness for an hour in front of a TV show I’m supposed to be watching before I head to bed myself? The draw to just sleep in and then spend a few hours reading before even thinking about getting up is pretty strong.

Getting Real to Fight Off the Lazy Day Feeling

Obviously, I can’t do that. None of us can (OK, at least not the people I can talk to without feeling like I’m turning all shades of envy green).

Life needs to happen.  We need to get things done.  We do need to learn to fight off the lazy day feeling and get back on board to being productive.  The truth is, when I do get things back under control and push the lazies away, I usually feel a lot better.

I feel great when I get stuff done.  I rave to all my family and friends about all my accomplishments when I spend a weekend checking off everything on my to-do list.  It’s just a matter of overcoming the urge to sit still and laze about.

3 Great Ways to Fight Off the Lazy Day Feeling

So, I’ve come up with 3 sure fire ways to kick the lazy day feeling and get back into high gear with my life. They include:

1. Making a list and focusing on one thing at a time.That way, my life doesn’t feel overwhelming. After all, I’m only paying attention to one task – the one I’m doing.
2. Exercise right at the start of the day.I drag myself out of bed early every morning to give myself time to exercise. I hate getting ready for it. But once I’m exercising, I’m instantly alive. When I’m done, I’m full of energy and ready to face the world. It seems weird but forcing yourself to move is such a great way to put laziness behind you.
3. Be lazy when it won’t hurt anything.I give myself some time every Saturday to just be lazy. Whether it’s first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening, I always make sure I get some lazy time just for me. That way, I have the motivation to push through the feeling the rest of the time. After all, I’ve let myself have that lazy time, and I’ll do it again, so there’s no reason not to get up and go when I really don’t have time to do nothing.

The Importance of Tip 3

As important as those first two points may be, that last point – knowing when not to fight off the lazy day feeling – is equally important.  It’s healthy to take some time just to shut down and be unproductive.  There is value in relaxing, in watching some mindless movie or show, or just sitting back and reading a book.

Of course, it’s not good to do that all the time, but it’s healing and motivational to have some downtime to recharge.  Once the batteries are full again, it’s time to get back to fight off the lazy day feeling and conquer life yet again.

Remember, too, that just because you don’t feel like getting everything done, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get anything done. Sometimes, I just can’t face that full workout.  However, I can go for a walk and then do some yoga poses before bedtime. It’s not everything I’d set out to do, perhaps, but it’s something.