I don’t know about you but I absolutely hate when I feel lazy.

I feel like it sucks the life out of me and it’s weird because I know I am happier when I get things done but I can’t seem to get started. It’s terrible because I feel like when you are lazy, it takes so long to get out of if you’re not careful. It really could last days, and it affects all parts and people in your life. It truly is a slippery slope.

Hopefully if you do a few of these steps to prevent a rut you can bounce right out of it and get back into the groove. Here are a few steps I do to get out of my rut of laziness. 

I have read this time and time again on other blogs but that is because it truly helps when you are prepared. When you wake up you have a head start to the day. Get everything ready so you don’t have to waste any time or energy doing  meaningless things, such as picking out your clothes, figuring out what to make for breakfast.

It’s a good practice to lay out your clothes or at least have a very good idea of what you are going to wear. I get little details that are often overlooked all prepared, such as my toothbrush and toothpaste ready on the counter next to the sink. I have all my clothes hanging or folded in my closet. Anything I need to bring to work or out somewhere, it is sitting next to the door so bring out.

I absolutely don’t want to think about anything that is stressful, I don’t want to forget something because I was in a rush or just thinking about something else. I like to just go about my morning in a happy bubbling mood, getting excited for what the day has to give me.

When I forget something at home and I am at work, I secretly curse myself and my stupidity for forgetting. It’s a waste of time to go back and money for the gas to drive back and forth. That puts a little needless frustration in my day and it can be preventable.  These are the little things that I want to prevent.  

TRY:  

•  Getting your clothes ready for the next day. Everything, down to the last detail. Don’t forget socks, panties, bra, even jewelry if you have different accessories you wear. Make it so you really just have to wake up and not think.  
• Go through your morning routine (Try my 7 habits to a smoother morning!) and see what you can prepare ahead of time. What about breakfast? What about your shower (get your towels ready, any creams afterwards, etc.)?
• Throughout the day make a list of things you need for the next day, and when you get home just go through the list and get it ready at the door.
  

Two is better, but start with having at least one glass of water. Dehydration is a big contributing factor to being foggy and dragging your body. It is best to be sipping water throughout the whole day because it helps your body absorb the water easier.

By adding a couple glasses of water early in the morning and late at night it helps your body to avoid dehydration while you sleep and as soon as you wake up.

Seeing as our body is made mostly of water, including our brain, a little dehydration can make you very lethargic. But don’t get fooled into thinking you need special water with added vitamins or specific blend of lemon and perfectly lukewarm water to release the toxins inside your body. It really isn’t necessary, water alone will aid in the detoxification and cleansing of all  your organs, including your skin.

If you hate the taste of water, which is ironic because there is no flavor, then you can add lemon, lime, cucumbers or something along those lines.  But be weary because the acid in the fruits isn’t too great for your teeth if your sipping on it all day long. 

Just slowly drink more water, the more you drink the more you will crave and therefore the more you will want to drink just plain, delicious, thirst-quenching water.

TRY:

• Right when you wake up and after you brush your teeth, drink a glass of water. 
• Figure out how you like your water. Do you like it ice cold? Then keep a couple bottles or your jug of water in the fridge. Your teeth are a tad sensitive, try room temperature water (this is the best temperature for maximum absorption of water) that way you will want to drink more all day long.
• Drink a glass before you go to bed or at least within the hour prior to going to bed.
• Don’t be hard on yourself if you keep forgetting to drink your water. Look for personal cues. For me, my lips start to get dry and crackly, once I feel that I drink a glass and my lips are back to normal without any lip balm. 
• Try bubbly water. It give you the sense of something different but it still is water and just as good. The burn of the carbonation is just delightful!
  

This one rings so true to me. When I start my day doing something productive it  helps to set the tone for the day. I begin to work and want to get things done and it will keep going.

In my nightly routine I make a list of a few things that I want to get done. I also have a list of things that I get done daily and when I didn’t make my list at night because I had a long evening or I just didn’t have time, I always have my daily list to fall back on to get started. It feels wonderful to check tasks off my list and see my hard work finished. (If you can’t tell, I love lists!)  

The best part is that it doesn’t even need to be a big chore that gets accomplished. It can even be clean the mirror or shine the bathroom sink so there are no water spots. That very little chore brings quite a bit of impact because it looks so good with such little effort.  It starts the ball rolling and that ball will be hard to stop!

Once you’ve got dressed and ready for the day, this is when you do your little chore, or even better, incorporate some little chores into your morning routine. There really are so many ways to do this step, just very simply put, do a chore or task after you get dressed. You will be ready for the day and because you have ready did some tidying you will feel like you can do another little task whether it be cleaning, working, paying the bills.

TRY:

• Fine tune your morning routine. See where you can quickly fit in little chores while you’re getting ready. Some examples are after you brush your teeth, wipe down the faucet and sink with a towel to make it sparkle. Wipe down the mirror in the bathroom, once you’re done your morning routine, you’ve already got a few things checked off your list. 
• Look at your list and do something. Start with a small chore that will get the most reward. Try clearing a table, dusting is great but I feel the reward is greater when clearing off table tops. The visual impact is better!
• Something you like doing. Is it folding laundry? Vacuuming? Do something that you enjoy because for obvious reasons, you will want to do it and not just procrastinate.
  

This one is very important because if you are unrealistic then there is no better way to be discouraged. Sometimes when I want to get a lot of work done (especially being so lazy), I will be optimistic and want to do something drastic to be crazy productive and not feel like I wasted my whole day watching a marathon of Grey’s Anatomy.

Well one thing about being lazy is if you have a task that seems daunting you will continue putting it off, you will procrastinate. Trust me. It happens to the best of us.

When time comes to see what you need to do for the day, don’t think you will instantly transform into super woman and now can accomplish 20 big things that day. Even though you started knocking off your list you may only get six things done, you will feel like you didn’t do much because you didn’t even do half your list.

Another factor that contributes to your work load is be realistic of the mood you are in. Are you under the weather, give yourself a break, keep it light. Did you pull an all nighter? Don’t think you will have all the energy in the world and there isn’t enough coffee to help you out!

TRY:

• Be true to yourself. Don’t try to do too much too fast because it won’t happen.
• Understand how your feeling with your current circumstances. 
• Figure out what is more important for that day. If it is spending time with your loved ones, put that into account when you are making our to do list.
  

Being on social media is similar to spending an evening in the casino, you will lose track of time and then after you feel drained and exhausted you realize you wasted 4 hours and got absolutely nothing satisfying out of it. Next thing you know its three in the morning and you will only be getting a few hours of sleep. This will ruin your morning, therefore, setting up your next day for disaster.

Just terrible!

I know that I when I get on the computer or smart phone first thing in the morning it really sucks the life out of me and truly makes me feel so lazy because it feels good at the time to look at Pinterest but then afterwards I feel like I wasted my time. Get something done first!

Use social  media as something that you go on when you get tasks done, a reward. You will be excited to get things done and when you know that you spent time doing things you needed to get finished first then you can look on Pinterest or Facebook and truly enjoy your time surfing.

TRY:

• Go on the internet when you have accomplished some work.
• Allow yourself time during your day to do things you enjoy so that you don’t feel like all your doing is slaving away.
• Try and limit yourself everyday.
  

I don’t know about you but if you are anything like me then you will see the most random things on your  kitchen counters. There are days that I find pieces of dog bones, loose change and the lint it comes with, dirty dishes, run away coffee grounds, junk mail, and burnt out matches. None of these belong and it really prevents your kitchen from looking elegant.

Clutter is known to really make you feel anxious and probably procrastinate or at the very least, make you want to leave your house and get nothing done.  It is best to clear that clutter and put things back. Like the saying goes, clear house is a clear mind.

TRY:

• When you walk past your kitchen always try to make sure that your counters are clear, and if they aren’t, just take a handful of things and put them where they belong. In no time will your counters be organized.
• Spend 5 minutes, set the timer on your microwave, (or if you are watching some television show, do it every commercial break) and clear everything away. You would be very surprised how long 5 minutes really is! You might not even need all that time. 
• Avoid clutter and don’t allow things to pile up. When you are walking by grab something that doesn’t belong. This constant cleaning will prevent anything overwhelming from happening on your counters.

I have read somewhere that if you place some fresh cut flowers that has the same stimulating effects as caffeine does. Now I am not completely sold on that, however, I understand where they are going with that.

I feel that when I rearrange my furniture or decorations, or purchase some beautiful orchids, it makes me want enjoy my house. By enjoying my house I usually want it to look its best so I will make sure everything looks neat and orderly. This spills out onto other things that I need to get done. It’s hard to be lazy if my house and car look beautiful.

I know when I find that my house is clean or more specific if my closet is clean I will put in extra effort to keep it clean and organized. I will make sure it is full of clean laundry. I will be sure to have all my shoes lined up facing the right way and shined up. It is really addictive and it rubs off onto other parts.

It’s hard to just throw in a dirty sweater on a shelf where it doesn’t belong when the whole closet is organized. You go the extra mile.

TRY:

• Buy some flowers and put them around your house. 
• Light a wonderful smelling candle, anything really that just makes you smile. 
• Hang some beautiful towels in the bathroom . 
• Fluff up some throw pillows in the living room that will give you the perfect splash of colour.  
• Look at every room in your house and see where you can improve on the layout of your furniture.
  

This is like a band-aid situation. You just need to tear it off and suck it up, so rather, just get up and move.

Do something!

Look at what you need to do, whether study for a test, clean your house, go to the gym, run a few errands, just grin and bear it. Get up, and just do it! This is a great way to make you more motivated.

Unfortunately, there is no magic pill or step that will make you instantly productive, or not make you lazy. This is a hard step but sometimes it just has to be that way.

TRY:

• Moving your butt and getting it finished!
  

Being lazy is a luxury and for house cats.

Well, there you have it, a few tips to combat laziness. Nothing is wrong with a little laziness, but if you have been in your pj’s for more than a day or two I think it’s time to act. Trust me when I say that you will thank yourself for getting up and getting work done. Start small and enjoy every minute of it. C’mon life’s too short to be wasting away inside watching a puppy make cute faces or cucumbers scaring kittens on YouTube.

Until next time,

Unleash your elegance!