Dealing with Laziness

[Sanctum]

Im sure most of us suffer from laziness, how do you deal with in at school. My GPA isn't looking very good and im a sophomore so i have 2 more years to raise it, but laziness gets the best of me no matter how many times i said im going to do my homework through out the day when i get home i either fall asleep or get caught up in something else. Homework is a vital point for me because i do my homework regularly i can ace the class with no problem without actually "studying." So what are some ways you guys keep yourselves on track and how does Laziness effect you in your life.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Hire someone to keep you focused and motivated. They can snap you out of it when your mind wanders and modulate your mental stress.


Ok, but I doubt anyone will pick up on that, so.. I listen to music, but it doesn't really help lethargy much. I know that physically exhaustive activity alleviates mental stress for me and helps me become more focused but my own inertia and lack of physical intelligence to know which activity to pursue remain obstacles. Positive social interaction is also stabilizing though that is hard to come by as well.

All I can really suggest is to do your work in increments, and give yourself quotas.

 

[GYX_Kid]

Wouldn't writing (organized) papers, in theory, be a lot of work for all our functions?

 

[Words]

Do them with your classmate-friends(motivational agents). They motivate either through egotistical means(impressing them) or more preferably, as intellectual-receptors. If you really can't have those, then reflect on your goals in life(it helps to write it down), rationalize on the necessity of your homework, and just "do it."

I do well without doing too much homework or studying, so it doesn't affect me. I bet that my overconfidence will soon get the best of me though...

The intuitive meaning of "Laziness" is erroneous in my opinion. We act based on our values, and laziness simply means acting based on values that have shorter life spans, whatever "short" means.

 

[Amagi82]

The intuitive meaning of "Laziness" is erroneous in my opinion. We act based on our values, and laziness simply means acting based on values that have shorter life spans, whatever "short" means.

^ This.

Also, turn your laziness into something positive- efficiency. I want to do the minimum amount of work possible, while getting the maximum results.

 

[Minuend]

Block out your feelings.

Don't think about what you want to or not, find somewhere without a computer, get up early and sit there for 8 hours no matter how much work you get done. The first hours in the mornings are often crap, but eventually I manage to concentrate hours at a time.

It is a mental trick where you decide to do something without considering whether it's fun or not.

 

[Mello]

Do what you want.

 

[BigApplePi]

Laziness has to do with conflicting motivations. That is, we want to do it (lazy or not), but it's a little painful so we don't. It's do versus don't.

Here's a trick. Determine to do a little by setting aside some time for it. Doing a little won't be so painful. Then here is where luck is involved.

Once doing that little if you don't get involved (filling your mind with the activity), quit when you don't want to go on as you would anyway. If you do start to feel involved (your mind is occupied non-lazy), take advantage and run with it. You've outwitted yourself. If you decided to quit after a short-term try, reset yourself and determine to come back later and try again. Hopefully you will build up to doing it. If not, you are lazy for doing that thing.

 

[Dapper Dan]

Realize that thinking about it is the enemy. Stop thinking, open up the assignment, and start working on it. You know it's usually not that bad once you've started.

If applicable, you can also schedule some time with other people to work on it. This pretty much ensures that you won't procrastinate.

 

[dala]

If you're falling asleep, maybe that's a sign that you're not getting enough rest. Teenagers need at about 8-9 hours of sleep per night to be properly rested. I would try taking an hour-long nap when you get off of school, and then doing homework. Also, it is perfectly fine to sleep until noon on weekends.

 

[Amagi82]

If you're falling asleep, maybe that's a sign that you're not getting enough rest. Teenagers need at about 8-9 hours of sleep per night to be properly rested. I would try taking an hour-long nap when you get off of school, and then doing homework. Also, it is perfectly fine to sleep until noon on weekends.

Yeah, it's pretty damn stupid that high school starts earlier than middle school, which starts earlier than elementary. Teenagers desperately need the extra sleep. Back when I was in school, I could never get to bed before about 2am, so getting up at 6:30 for class starting at 7:20 was ridiculous. I ended up sleeping through at least an hour or two of class every single day. My record was 5 and a half hours of sleep in a 6 hour day.

 

[Dapper Dan]

Yeah, it's pretty damn stupid that high school starts earlier than middle school, which starts earlier than elementary. Teenagers desperately need the extra sleep. Back when I was in school, I could never get to bed before about 2am, so getting up at 6:30 for class starting at 7:20 was ridiculous. I ended up sleeping through at least an hour or two of class every single day. My record was 5 and a half hours of sleep in a 6 hour day.

One of the best parts about having long hair in high school is being able to sleep undercover. Just prop your head up on your hand and open your book so you look like you're following along in the text.

If they get suspicious, they may call on you. That's when you go INTP beast-mode and answer the question anyway.
Then right back to sleep.

 

[MEDICaustik]

One of the best parts about having long hair in high school is being able to sleep undercover. Just prop your head up on your hand and open your book so you look like you're following along in the text.

If they get suspicious, they may call on you. That's when you go INTP beast-mode and answer the question anyway.
Then right back to sleep.

YES.

 

[Fghw]

I have a hunch (or rather a hypothesis) that if it were entirely of my own accord, I would be the most studious person I know. The problem is that in school there is a limit of achievement. I reached that limit at 6 and I have been falling from it ever since.

 

[Mabuse]

Prioritize and only put significant effort into things that are interesting to you, require extra depth, or require a complex thought process.

The last two years of high school are actually just enough time to bring up a GPA.

By prioritizing, you can rattle off the busy-work and focus effort and anxiety toward things like large projects, papers, or analyzing. Note that unless you're a science wizard, any science subjects will require extra effort. Not always the case with mathematics.

And something that gets easier in the last years of high school is utilizing empty time, especially if you have empty periods (because there are no classes left for you to take). Try to get all homework done at school, or at least the maximum (the minimum can be done before you class the next day). Keep telling yourself that "homework" is not for "home".

Prioritizing is the easiest system and if you keep turning work in on a regular basis, teachers (at least in my case) will cut you a break towards the end of the year when...um...you just stop doing any work at all. Doing homework all at school is more difficult, because high schools have the tendency to kick you out at the end of the day and unless you have a car, there isn't a place for you to work other than at home.

And you will never ever catch up on sleep. If you can refine the art of sleeping in public spaces, do so, because it's really useful. Polyphasic sleep isn't really an option in high school, but definitely something to consider after those four torturous years.

 

[xanthus27]

When I was in nursing school, I had the same problem. I've realized since that it wasn't laziness...it had to do with my introverted personality. I was so exhausted after spending the days surrounded by people and all the chaos of school and work, that when I came home, my brain was INCAPABLE of absorbing any more stimulus.
My solution was to go ahead and rest in the evenings, and then I'd wake up at 0500 and study for a few hours before classes--OK, I only actually studied on test days. Point is, it worked great for me! My mind was fresh and receptive in the mornings, and the quiet of early morning was a great environment for studying. And I graduated with honors, by the way.
I wish I'd known to do this in high school and during my early years of college, when I dropped out or failed out from several schools. I took some time out to pursue what I thought i really wanted to do, and finally went back to school for nursing at the age of 28. By then, I was ready to "apply myself" (which is what all the school counselors always said I didn't do!)
I'm actually back in school now to advance my degree, and I'm really glad you asked this question and made me think about what worked. I've been strugggling to get into study mode, so I quess I'll start getting up at zero dark thirty again!
Good luck to you!!!!

 

[Architect]

The only effective way is to eliminate the habit. If you have a habit of laziness you'll be lazy, if you have a habit of getting things done you'll do that too. Some people here thing I'm an INTJ because I actually get stuff done. What they don't realize is that I've spent about 25 years working on my habits, and found a way to be lazy while actually doing something. Which is one of the keys.

• The best way to change a habit it to not try and not do it, but by replacing it with something else. So don't try and be not lazy, work on doing something else.
• One way to do this is to have a short list of activities you can do when you are lazy. So you go home and sit around. Make a deal with yourself, when you catch yourself sitting around instead do something from the list. Here's an example list
  • Pick up the house and think about what you were going to think about while sitting around, or think about your homework.
  • Exercise and do the same (like if you were going to be lazy and watch TV, watch TV and do pushups at the same time), or exercise and think about your homework (what do I have to do? How do I solve that problem?).
  • Do homework, and every five minutes on give yourself five minutes off, for a hour. Use a timer.
• Do this for a month. Don't let yourself backslide, except that you actually CAN be lazy when you finish your work
• Important point, give yourself explicit time to be lazy, later in the day. Say 8-9 PM you have permission to be totally lazy. Implicitly that means you should be doing something useful the other time

It takes about 4 weeks to change a habit. If you go cold turkey you'll get there in a mere month. All you have to do is have a reminder to do something on your list every time you catch yourself sitting down.