Do you know this feeling – you are neither tired, nor stressed out, nor overwhelmed. Just a little bit bored, a little bit apathetic, a little bit unmotivated, and a little bit of everything that makes you not want to work… or think hard…or feel obligated to do what you know you should be doing.

There is just some kind of mental resistance that does not allow you to be productive or creative. As if someone has turned off the inner switch of your excitement and desire to make things happen.
I wonder where this feeling comes from and what it is all about?

I know that when I felt like that as a girl, my parents usually called this delicate emotional state of mine – being lazy. Well, if I had to come up with a definition of commonplace laziness – the symptoms would match, but it is still hard to accept that years later– conscious and hard-working individuals can fall prey to something as banal as laziness.

But the fact remains – there are days when we leave some of the tasks on our to-do list unchecked, and there are days when we resist doing anything.

So how do we overcome this laziness state? How do we turn our excitement and productivity back on? How do we re-motivate ourselves to get going?

Some of the tricks I use to get myself back on track

1. Have a plan. Often laziness strikes us when we are not sure what to do next. We lack clarity of what has to be done and why. If this is the case a detailed daily plan or a to-do list can quickly eliminate confusion and funnel your efforts in the right direction.

2. Act on impulse. Do not over-think work. Even the slightest spark of desire to get something done is enough to start your inner productivity engine going.

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If you were born in France or the Northern part of Italy the idea of eating frog might not sound so terrible at all, but I meant this metaphorically.

I believe that it was Mark Twain who said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”

Now, even if you love and enjoy your work, you will still have to face a few occasional tasks that are unpleasant, too challenging or boring. And then the idea of procrastinating will surely form in your mind. It is our natural desire to escape what is unpleasant (or at least postpone it for later), but at the end this little habit of procrastinating becomes the main cause of our missed deadlines, conflicts and work stress.

Today I stumbled on this video, created by a great motivational speaker and author Brian Tracy, and I did something I normally never do – I packed my suitcase to go to Verona first thing in the morning, instead of postponing it to the last possible minute. And only after that did I go on to write this post.

I must say, it feels great and my day has surely become much brighter and less stressful.

I encourage you to watch this video and, hopefully, it will inspire you to make a few changes in your morning routine as well!

“Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can’t afford to lose” – Thomas Edison.

If lately you have been feeling stressed out and overwhelmed with how much you have to do, if you believe that you can be more productive or learn to manage yourself and your time more efficiently, if you have an incredibly busy week ahead of you – take a few minutes to read about the 7 Biggest and Boldest Time management Lies that are the main cause of our stress, burn out, and procrastination.

You might be surprised to catch yourself telling at least one of these lies before lunch time!

1. I Can Do It All!

This is one of the most frequent lies I tell myself. And then some few hours later, I have to admit that I was wrong. There simply is not enough time to do everything we usually plan on doing. Nor is there the need to do all of it. Often we are the ones who willingly put too much on our plate and then stress out about it.

So next time the thought “I can do it all!” crosses your mind – take a few deep breaths, relax and remind yourself that effective time management is not about doing more in a shorter amount of time. It is about enjoying what you do and doing it well!

2. It will Only Take a Minute!

This is another frequent lie I am guilty of. It just seems easier to get small tasks off your hands first and then dedicate yourself fully to the priorities on your list. However, priorities are called this, because you should complete them “prior” to any other tasks.

Do not kid yourself with the idea that “This will just take one minute”. Nothing ever takes just a minute – and even if it does, any such interruption usually costs you anywhere from fifteen to thirty five minutes of your productive “flow” time.

3. If I only had more time…

We often rationalize that if we only had more time we would be able to accomplish more. But the truth is that we are not going to get more than 1440 minutes a day, regardless of what we do or do not do. And no Time Management System will help us accomplish this. What makes the difference is not how much time you have, but how you choose to spend it.

4. I can do it better/faster than anyone else!

I often catch myself with this white lie. In fact, it might not necessarily be a lie. You could do something better and faster than your colleagues, assistants and employees. But it does not mean that you have to do it. This is so important that I am going to repeat it once again. Doing something better and faster than other people DOES NOT mean you should do it!

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