Are you feeling lethargic and tired all the time? Ouch, it’s time to do your taxation again. “I will do that soon. I will sort through all the paperwork and get cracking, it’s all going to be finished on time this year. BUT, not right now, its too much hassle.” You’ve been meaning to start that running program again, drop a little weight, get a little fitter, but not tonight – you’re your tired. You’re at work and you’re “sneak-surfing” the internet. Whenever anyone passes by, you alt-tab quickly back to your bogus spreadsheet. You know you need to get back to work but you can’t stop, you just can’t get focused.
Procrastinating
Do any of these scenarios sound like you? Maybe it’s not taxes, exercise, and work that you’re putting off? Maybe it’s a heart-to-heart conversation with your child? Maybe it’s cleaning out the junk drawer in the office, kitchen or garage? Maybe it’s folding a basket of laundry mowing the lawn or washing the car. Whatever it is, you are feeling lethargic and tired all the time. You just can’t seem to get motivated to do anything!
I’ve spoken before about fear of failure or success but sometimes its not that that holds you back. Sometimes it’s just plain old lethargy, and if that’s the case, you probably won’t finish reading this article, because when you’re feeling lethargic, the last thing you want is to actually be motivated.
I don’t know about you, but often when I’m feeling lethargic but otherwise perfectly healthy, I have conflicting voices running in my head. One voice wants me to snap out of it and get things done. Tasks that I promised myself or other people, that would get done. The other voice complains and says, “Leave me alone.”
Here are two techniques that I use to snap myself out it and get moving on things again:
Action Creates Energy
1. Movement creates movement and action creates energy. Once you make any move at all, you’ve begun creating momentum, so it’s easier to keep moving. Sometimes it seems to require the force of the entire Universe just to start and launch that first little bit of movement. Sometimes you have to bargain ruthlessly with yourself. I promise myself some great reward for a small effort. It’s silly when you view the concept from afar. “Just open the folder on the computer that has the document I need to work on. Then click on the report and it will open. THEN I get to have a nice cup of coffee.” Once you start and I’m sipping a warm brew, it’s easy to jump right in and get to work on it.
You get the idea. Just do what you need to do to get moving.
Inner Child
2. Placate your inner child. It’s the little child in you that doesn’t want to do what you, the adult, is asking yourself to do. Maybe your inner child is complaining that you never let it have any fun. Maybe it’s afraid that once you start working, it will be all work and no play. Prevailing wisdom is that you need to reward yourself after a task has been completed, which is the theory behind the first strategy.
Lets do the opposite. Whatever it is that you’re doing that you don’t want to give up, negotiate a little more of it in exchange for starting whatever it is you’re putting off. If you’re watching a movie but you need to exercise, promise yourself that you can watch to the end, finish the chapter in the book you’re reading, or have that snack you’re dying to have. Give your self a limit and then follow through. The easier you make it the faster good habits will develop. Its all about momentum.
Feeling Lethargic And Tired All The Time
Don’t forget to eliminate all the obvious lifestyle issues if you are feeling lethargic and tired all the time. Consider your overall health – do you need to see a doctor, nutritionist or naturopath? Have you thought about lifestyle changes, such as getting more sleep, getting more exercise, and improving your eating habits.
“The less you feel like it, the more you need it.” Fit people often feel like exercising, but out-of-shape people rarely do. People who eat healthy diets often have a tendency to eat unprocessed food, but people who live on a diet of junk rarely do. Highly productive workers do take breaks, but they don’t let them interfere with their productivity – they take a short break, and then they get on with their work.
You get the picture, Are you putting something off right now because you just don’t feel like it? Comment below or join me and comment on Facebook
