Is procrastination eating into your valuable study time? Does it stop you from making the change to a healthier lifestyle or affecting your performance at work?

We all have our lazy, unproductive moments, when we really don’t feel like doing anything. The problem is, when these lazy moments become too frequent and actually stop us from moving our life forward.

Here are 5 powerful, butt-kicking ways to stop laziness, beat procrastination and get more done.

Uncover the true reason behind your laziness

The answer to ‘How to stop laziness’, starts with the underlying factors behind it. Laziness just like procrastination can be caused by deep psychological emotions such as feeling overwhelmed, stuck, afraid of failure or simply uninspired. Not every task or activity is exciting and fun to do.

Frequently, we may find ourselves stuck with tasks that seem complex, time-consuming and boring. It’s absolutely normal to resist doing them, but it helps to know what causes this resistance, so that you can figure out the best way to deal with it.

Find your ‘hot buttons’

Discover what really motivates you. Not in a ‘blah-blah find your passion’ way, but here and now.

What usually helps you to spring into action? Is it an approaching deadline? The sense of responsibility? Tony Robins’s inspirational video on YouTube? The thought of an upcoming vacation? A little reward that you promised yourself? Or the fear of looking like an underachiever in the eyes of your colleagues and your friends?

We all have these ‘hot buttons’, based on either moving towards something pleasant or avoiding something highly unpleasant (like a stern look from the boss or a parking ticket).

When you find what motivates you, it will be much easier to use this knowledge to your advantage and stop laziness.

List 3 things you want to accomplish before you go to bed

It’s that easy. You don’t need to write a laundry list of things that you want to get done. You just have to pick 3 tasks and write them down. Putting something in writing is a sign of commitment. It’s like a contract that you sign with yourself, promising that you will finish these tasks before you go to bed (even if it means staying up an extra hour).

When you get in a habit of listing 3 things and getting them done, you will no longer have to worry about laziness or procrastination. Just three small, but consistently met tasks a day can add up to some jaw-dropping positive life changes by the end of the year!

Work in blocks of time and take breaks

We often procrastinate, because we are physically and mentally tired, not because we don’t want to try harder. Seemingly unrelated things such as lack of sleep, a heavy meal at lunch, or too many hours spent sitting in front of the computer, have a huge impact on our productivity, concentration and performance.

You may push and you may pull, trying to keep up with your expectations and the expectations of other, but eventually you will wear yourself out. So don’t push yourself to the point where your body and mind are crying out for a break. Schedule your procrastination by allowing yourself to take 10-15 minute breaks after every 40 minutes of work. Get up, move around, breathe some fresh air, change your surroundings and you’ll notice that it is much easier to create momentum when you get back to work.

Allow yourself One Lazy day

If you force your body on a strict diet, it will go into starvation mode. Which means that every time you eat something caloric, your body stores these calories as fat, trying to protect itself from starving again in the future. The same mechanism may be triggered by pushing your mind and body to work harder, instead of letting yourself relax, rest and recharge. They will take their down time whenever they can (even if it means procrastinating at work).

Don’t force yourself into ‘down time starvation mode’. Slow down. Let yourself enjoy one lazy day and just do nothing, without feeling guilty or stressed out about it. It may go a long way towards stay productive throughout the rest of the week.

Arina Nikitina is the author of Real Goal Getting guide and she is on a mission to help you achieve your goals and keep yourself focused and motivated. If you want to know her advanced tricks to laser-sharp focus and unlimited motivation, get her free 4 Goal Setting Strategies guide at www.arina.ca/goal-strategies