The house is not clean, the table is littered with papers, and tomorrow is the deadline for submitting a report that is not yet ready. Something needs to be done urgently. But where to start? Probably with the report. We move the pile of papers, connect to the Internet... we decide FOR A SECOND to look to see if a new message has arrived in the mail. In between times, we look through the news. We visit a couple of interesting links... A familiar picture? When something important needs to be done, we find a bunch of other “urgent” things to do. Cause? Fits in one short word - “LAZINESS”. The most common definition of laziness is a lack of willpower. The longer we allow ourselves to sit idle, the more difficult it is to get ready to work. And even more so - for work with high efficiency. Scientists have experimentally found that 1 hour of laziness a day reduces labor efficiency by 28%, 2 hours - by 63%, and 3 hours - by as much as 88%! SECRETS OF “ANTI-LAZINESS” DOING A WARM UP. If you force your body to move energetically for just a few minutes, then it will be much easier to get down to business. WEDGE WITH WEDGE. Try to stand in the middle of the room and do nothing: don’t eat, don’t drink, don’t read, don’t lie down, don’t listen to music, don’t think. Not even five minutes will pass before you want to get down to business. FIX THE START AND FINISH TIME. Train yourself to use a diary, which will indicate the start and end times of each task. For example, I will write this article from 10:35 to 12:15. It’s important to beware of “vague” planning like “I’ll spend ABOUT 1.5 hours writing.” This formulation is very relaxing. LET'S TAKE THE FIRST STEP. Make it a rule to take at least the first step. Need cleaning? Take out the trash. Start – 50% success! BIG JOB IN PIECES. If the task is very “voluminous”, its implementation seems like an unrealistic task, and our enthusiasm instantly evaporates. Break down all complex tasks into stages. Treating each part as one small task. SMALL REWARDS. Reward yourself for part of the work done, and you will have an additional incentive. Have a cup of coffee with your favorite cookies or just relax for 10-15 minutes. In anticipation of such “pleasures”, the completion of work blocks will proceed faster and with greater optimism. DON’T POSTPONE UNTIL TOMORROW. “Tomorrow” is the busiest day of the week: after all, we delegate all matters to it. Try to do everything “here and now.” After all, something even more important will appear tomorrow, or you will again postpone what was planned to the next day. SWITCHING. It happens that routine work becomes boring. Switch (for a pre-limited time) to performing some other task. And then you can return to the boring task with new strength. CHOOSE A MOTIVE. Find your POWERFUL motivation to get things done. For example, “after writing this report, my professionalism will increase significantly”: “I am doing this for the sake of my loved one”, “I will prove to everyone that I am capable of much”, etc. PS REMEMBER: LAZINESS IS NOT A CHARACTER ATTRACT, IT IS A RESULT YOUR CHOICE. With wishes of good luck in implementing your plans, Evgenia Shramchenko, psychologist (www.psycholog-kub.ru).