Sluggard. Apathetic. Careless. Inattentive. Lackadaisical. Lethargic. Passive. Sleepy.
These are all synonyms for “lazy.” We’ve all been guilty of this sin at times (and yes, laziness is a sin). I have, you have, even the most productive person you know has unwittingly practiced being lazy at times.
But this is an article about how to stop being lazy, so let’s stop talking so much about it and start figuring out how best to show laziness the door!
How to Stop Being Lazy
Dictionary.com defines “lazy” as:
“Averse or disinclined to work, activity, or exertion; indolent.“
The Bible has a lot more to say about sluggards, laziness, lazy people, and how to stop being lazy. Here are just a select few of the holy suggestions offered.
- “Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.” (Proverbs 19:15)
- “Because of laziness the building decays, and through idleness of hands the house leaks.” (Ecclesiastes 10:18)
- “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6)
- “How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep—So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man.” (Proverbs 6:9-11)
- “He who gathers in summer is a wise son; he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.” (Proverbs 10:5)
- “Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.” (Proverbs 20:13)
3 Tips on How to Stop Being Lazy
1. Realize that “Laziness” is real and it’s trying to get you! Being lazy is not just something other people deal with. Laziness wants to trap us all. One of the first tips for stopping it from overpowering you is to realize it is always there, hiding in the shadows, just waiting to find a chink in your armor.
2. Create “systems” in your life to assist you in your goal at being lazy no more. In fact, create a daily or weekly schedule to help you get everything done and done efficiently and on time. (Here is a FREE template I created to help you do just that.) For example, if you’re struggling with wanting to sleep in, rather than waking to exercise, create some morning motivation systems the night before to help you get out of the bed and attack your day.
- Set your alarm clock in the next room, away from your bed, so that you’re forced to actually get up out of your bed to turn it off.
- Set your coffee maker on a timer so that your necessary morning brew is waiting for you in the kitchen. (Make it easy on yourself!)
- Lay out your exercise clothes the night before. The fewer decisions you have to make in the morning, the better.
- Have an accountability partner hold you to your exercise promises/goals. This person could exercise with you each morning, or not. Some people find that hiring and paying for an exercise trainer is exactly what they need. You still have to pay for the exercise session even if you don’t show up, so you might as well get to the gym and experience what you’re paying good money for!
3. Memorize Scripture to motivate you on how to stop being lazy. For Christians, nothing has more power to motivate us than God’s Holy Word. Memorize key Scriptures, and why these are important, and then recite them to yourself EACH AND EVERY TIME you are entertaining laziness rather than diligence.
For example, Proverbs 6:6-11 says the following:
“Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep—so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man.”
Here are 10 things you can learn about how to stop being lazy from an ant.
- “Go” – Get out of the physical environment that fosters your sleep, slumber, and laziness.
- “Consider” – Think about your lazy actions and how they contrast to the innate actions of one of the smallest creatures to be seen with a naked eye.
- “having no captain, overseer or ruler” – The ant doesn’t need a mentor, a coach, a boss or manager, nor even an accountability partner. The ant does what it needs to do because that’s what it was created to do.
- “in the summer” – There is a time for everything in life, and the summer time serves as a season to begin providing for your needs. It’s not a time of slumber.
- “in the harvest” – You can’t enjoy the fruits of the harvest without first putting in the time in the summer. There is an order to enjoying the spoils of victory.
- “How long” – Posed as a question, the one asking it does so because the lazy person has been sleeping for too long and during the most crucial of times, as well.
- “When will you rise” – Will you ever rise? Certainly our bodies need sleep and rest, but there has to be an end to it.
- “little” – Stated three times, for obvious reasons. To the lazy sluggard, the amount of extra sleep only seems like a little, not a lot. But a little here, a little there, a little more when no one is watching…and that’s when the problems begin.
- “come on you” – As in SUDDENLY! Poverty crept in unawares during your “little” naps. Now you have nothing.
- “your need” – There is tremendous need because the sluggard slept in the summertime, thus no harvest. In other words, what you do today will result in what you enjoy tomorrow. Conversely, what you lack today is directly related to how long you slept yesterday.
The Answer on How to Stop Being Lazy
What’s the golden ticket answer for the question: How to stop being lazy?
Answer: Diligence, diligence, and more applied diligence!
“The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, but diligence is man’s precious possession.” (Proverbs 12:27)
“Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.” (Ecclesiastes 11:1)
So, wake up, stop sleeping, and start acting diligently!
IN CONCLUSION: The answer for how to stop being lazy is to practice diligence instead. And this can be applied by habitually practicing these three tips.
1. Realize that “Laziness” is real and it’s trying to get you!
2. Create “systems” in your life to assist you in your goal at being lazy no more.
3. Memorize Scripture to motivate you on how to stop being lazy.
Do you have any other productivity tips, hacks, or tricks on how to stop being lazy?
I like your suggestion on creating a schedule to keep the day flow going. I do that often, but many times it gets messed up because something pops up, like working extra hours, feeling bored and tired, daydreaming, etc. Simple things that I could manage on my own. I’m think that maybe it would help to find an environment that helps me focus more. I can’t focus at home at all, so being outside or in my car outside of a park usually helps me study because I don’t have many distractions like food or a bed calling my name, haha.
Also, it helps to give myself some encouraging words before I start anything. Like for work, I tell myself I’m going to do the best I can today and make everyone smile. Or for homework, I tell myself that I’m going to get this done, that done, and it pumps me up to start doing it.
Those are all great ideas. Having a great work space that fosters and stimulates creativity is a must. Keep at it!
The state of being lazy is a rebellion against God unfortunately. The body is designed to work, we are designed for work and the curse of Adam was that it will be hard. It is our job to do what we are created to do.
“The puritan work ethic and the spirit of capitalism” is a fantastic book that illustrates why the puritans worked so hard. They believed it is the best way to honor God.
I subscribed to your mail list because I wanted the eBook “ambitious”. please I haven’t gotten it yet. How do I get it?