Hey everyone and welcome back to the Easy English Podcast.
I'm your host Oliver, and today we are going to be looking at a topic that I think we can all relate to laziness.
Why are we sometimes lazy?
Why do we sometimes feel like we just don't want to do anything?
And is being lazy always a bad thing?
In this episode we're going to really explore what laziness is, some of the science behind it and also some tips that experts recommend to overcome it.
If that's what you want to do, of course.
So sit back, relax, grab a cup of tea or coffee, and let's get started.
So let's start with the basics.
What exactly is laziness?
Laziness is often defined as an unwillingness to do work or use energy.
For example, it's when you know that you have tasks to complete, but you just can't seem to find the motivation to get started.
Instead, you might find yourself scrolling through your phone, watching TV or doing anything except the thing you're supposed to do.
But here's the thing.
Laziness is not always about being bad or unproductive.
Sometimes it can be your body or mind telling you something quite important.
Maybe you're tired, stressed, or even overwhelmed.
Let's talk a little bit about that later.
But let's first get into some of the science.
You know I always love to do this.
I like to get into a little bit of the scientific reasons or research showing why it exists or why it's a thing.
So from a biological perspective, our brains are wired to save energy.
Back in ancient times, our ancestors didn't always know when their next meal would come.
So conserving energy was very important for survival.
So keeping their energy was very important for survival.
This means that sometimes our default mode, what our bodies and our brain wants us to do is to avoid unnecessary efforts.
In modern times, of course, we don't have the same survival challenges.
But our brains still try to take the easiest path, the easiest route whenever possible.
There's also something called the dopamine factor.
Dopamine is a chemical in your brain that makes you feel good whenever you achieve something.
If your brain doesn't expect a reward for a certain task, it might trick you into avoiding it altogether.
That's why we often procrastinate on things that feel boring or maybe unimportant altogether.
And don't forget about fatigue.
Sometimes what we label as laziness is actually exhaustion.
If you've been working too hard or not getting enough sleep, your body might force you to slow down, even if you don't want to.
But is it always bad?
Now let's challenge this idea that being lazy is always negative.
In some cases, what we call laziness might actually be rest.
Rest is essential for our health and wellbeing.
It's really important.
If you're constantly pushing yourself, just pushing and pushing, doing work, not taking breaks, you could burn out, which is much worse than a lazy afternoon on the couch.
I'm sure we've all had moments where we have burnt out.
Just continuing to work, do tasks, and not focusing on our health or relaxation.
Sometimes i have had this experience too in the past.
Maybe i've been really into a project, i've had a lot of work in my job and i don't really think about relaxing and eventually it catches up with me and i can start feeling very tired, maybe stressed.
My sleep gets worse, and so sometimes resting is very important.
Actually, resting every day a little bit is important, taking time for good sleep and relaxation.
But in fact many great ideas do come from periods of rest or relaxation.
Have you ever had a brilliant thought or idea while taking a shower or lying in bed?
That's because your brain needs downtime to process information and be creative.
So maybe being lazy every now and again is actually quite productive in its own way.
I think that we all need some lazy days, lazy afternoons and evenings too.
Our bodies need it.
That said, there are some times when laziness can really hold us back.
If you're avoiding some important responsibilities or maybe missing out on opportunities because of it, it might be time to make a change.
Chronic laziness can also be a sign of deeper issues, like depression or anxiety, for example.
So if you're feeling unmotivated all the time and it's affecting your daily life, it's important to talk to someone about it.
Maybe a friend, a family member or a professional like a doctor, and to make the necessary lifestyle changes that could help you to feel more active, feel more energy and feel better overall.
But if you want to just fight general laziness, to be more active and get more done, there are some tips that experts have shared which might help you.
One of these essential tips is to break tasks into smaller steps.
Big tasks can feel very overwhelming and difficult to start.
I know this feeling.
If I have a big idea or maybe a big job or task that I've been given to do, it's very hard to find a place to start.
And it also seems for our brains Like it's a really long way to get the achievement of completing it.
So it's better to divide these big tasks or jobs into smaller, more manageable parts.
With a simple example.
Instead of saying I need to clean my whole house, you might say let's start with just one room or one corner.
Okay, another tip that I've recommended before on this podcast is called the Pomodoro Technique.
And this is great for language learning.
And what you should do is set a timer.
You should work for 25 minutes and then take a five minute break.
So knowing that you only have to focus for a short time can make it much easier to get started on your work.
And it also gives our brains a chance to rest in between tasks, because it's very hard for us to focus for long periods of time.
This lets your brain refocus and you'll find that you're much more productive with your language learning or whatever task you wish to complete.
And also important with these tasks, once you've broken them down and you manage your focus with regular rests, you need to make sure that you reward yourself.
So to give yourself a treat or a reward after completing a task.
And this helps with the dopamine, because not always do we get dopamine from completing a task, especially if it seems quite boring or unrewarding.
So this is an important step to get that reward.
Another tip is to find your why.
Sometimes we feel lazy with a task because we don't see the purpose behind what we're doing.
Take a moment to remind yourself why this task is important and why you're doing it.
I see this all the time with people learning English.
Maybe they've been doing it for so long they forget their goals, why they're doing it and what they want to achieve.
It's so important that we know these and that we keep reminding ourselves why we are learning.
Maybe it's to get a better job.
Maybe it's to make international friends or to travel.
We need to remind ourselves of these reasons.
And finally, just make sure that you're getting enough sleep, eating well and staying hydrated.
A healthy body will lead to a more motivated mind and allow you to not feel so tired and maybe too relaxed, so that you can get your tasks done.
In general, I think it's all about having a good balance.
Understanding when we're too stressed and we need a break.
Understanding when we're avoiding something because it's boring or we don't know how to start.
When we know why we're not doing something, it becomes a lot easier to fix it and to get it done.
So the best way to get around this is to have a think about why you're feeling lazy, why you feel like you can't do something.
And then once you've identified the reasons, you can start to take actions to correct them.
But of course, it's not always a bad thing.
It can be your body's way of telling you to slow down and recharge.
But once again I want to say if it is a serious thing in your life and it's getting you down or you feel really bad, don't do talk to someone about it.
It's important to pay attention to our bodies and our minds and to really react and try to fix things.
So thank you so much for listening to today's episode.
I hope you learned something new and feel a little bit more motivated.
And I want to quickly mention that we have a brand new website.
And with that website there is a new weekly free newsletter with English learning tips and strategies.
So if you go to easyenglishpodcastcom, you can sign up for the newsletter and check out the articles and blog posts there.
That's easyenglish.com Thank you so much for listening and I hope you enjoyed this episode.
Goodbye.
