{"id":10554,"date":"2018-04-10T08:50:14","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T12:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alifeofproductivity.com\/?p=10554"},"modified":"2022-09-01T04:57:59","modified_gmt":"2022-09-01T04:57:59","slug":"how-to-structure-life-around-your-laziness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/how-to-structure-life-around-your-laziness\/","title":{"rendered":"How to structure life around your laziness"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Takeaway: <\/b>If you consider yourself lazy when it comes to tasks like working out, eating well, or staying productive, add some structure around those habits to give yourself no choice but to do them.<\/span>\nEstimated Reading Time:<\/strong> <\/span><\/b>3 minutes, 44s.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\"\"
\nConsidering I write about productivity for a living, it often surprises people when I tell them how lazy I am.<\/strong> While I have a good deal of energy most days, the truth is that I’m one of the lazier people you’ll meet. My ideal day doesn’t consist of adventures: it involves laying on the couch watching documentaries and reading, while gorging on copious amounts of takeout food. As someone without kids, I struggle to get out of bed many mornings, especially on the weekend. While my fianc\u00e9 loves traveling the world, I’d much rather stay at home. If I do go somewhere, I’m more of a vacationer<\/em> than a traveler. And on my days off, you’re far more likely to find me at the spa than on a hike or a road-trip.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a little secret: this laziness is one of the primary reasons I invest in my productivity. Becoming more productive lets me accomplish work in less time, which gives me more time to chill out. Over the past several years, I’ve also figured out how to structure my life<\/em> so I can stay productive, healthy, and <\/em>lazy.<\/p>\n

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I recently chatted about this idea with David Allen, a friend of the blog and author of Getting Things Done<\/em><\/a>. During our conversation, he immediately started talking about how lazy he himself was. “People often ask whether I’ve always been organized,” he told me. “My answer is \u2018no, I’ve always been lazy.\u2019” This is also what makes him so interested in productivity: “I wake up thinking, \u2018how much easier can I do whatever it is I’m doing?\u2019 If you know what you’re doing, efficiency (and style!) are your only improvement opportunities.”<\/div><\/div>\n

Like <\/strong>preemptively blocking distractions<\/strong><\/a>, the trick to structuring your life around your laziness is to address this characteristic before<\/em> it gets out of hand.<\/strong>
\nThere are two steps to doing this. The first is to realize laziness is an art, and that you’re probably not lazy about everything you do. The second step is to add structure around the things you are lazy about.<\/p>\n

Think about the boundaries of your laziness:<\/strong> what you\u2019re lazy about, and what you aren\u2019t. For example, I’m lazy when it comes to getting out of bed, eating well, and resisting work distractions. However, I’m far less lazy when it comes to doing work, because I love what I do.<\/p>\n

After figuring out your boundaries<\/strong>, add some structure to the tasks that trigger laziness. This structure will prevent you from indulging too much. I’ve done this in countless ways:<\/p>\n