Resting vs. Laziness

Two people can be lying on a couch watching Netflix and having completely different experiences.

One has completed the work they planned. They feel proud, relaxed, and ready to enjoy the time off.

The other is avoiding the work. While the show plays, their mind keeps telling them what they should be doing. They aren't producing the result, but they aren't really resting either.

In Episode 382, I explored that distinction: resting versus laziness. I want you to work efficiently, rest well, and stop letting not feeling like doing something decide whether it gets done.

Don't make lazy your identity

Be careful about calling yourself a lazy person.

Labels are thoughts you can end up proving true. When you explain your behavior by saying that's just who you are, you make it harder to see the decision available in the moment.

Not wanting to do something is normal. It doesn't mean you're lazy, something is wrong with you, or you've chosen the wrong work.

For this conversation, the behavior I'm calling laziness has two parts: you don't feel like doing something, and you don't do it.

The first part isn't the problem. The second part is the choice you can practice changing.

You can carry the feeling with you and complete the task anyway.

Look at the results you are producing

How do you distinguish needing rest from putting off the work?

Look at your results. Are you producing at the level you're capable of? Are you completing what you decided to accomplish?

In Monday Hour One, we put results on the calendar rather than simply scheduling activity.

Instead of an hour of writing, the commitment might be one completed chapter. The difference is what will exist when the hour is over.

You can spend an entire day doing things and still not produce the result that matters to you. Being busy doesn't answer the question.

When you create the results you planned, the time you take off afterward is rest. Sitting on the couch, staring at the wall, or watching a show doesn't make it laziness.

Rest belongs in your schedule. I schedule plenty of time when I'm not working.

Efficiency creates more room for rest

More hours working doesn't automatically mean more results. Efficiency matters.

If something could take 20 minutes and you give it an hour, you may spend the extra time checking messages, scrolling, and distracting yourself.

Then you've lost the opportunity to finish in 20 minutes and use the remaining time to genuinely relax.

Give yourself less time to produce the result. Create a demand for efficiency ahead of time instead of waiting until a deadline forces it.

People tell me they do their best work at the last minute. Often, that's simply when they finally do the work.

The deadline makes it impossible to keep indulging in perfectionism. You have to complete something.

You can make that decision earlier. Choose B-minus work and a clear time to finish. You don't need the stress of an external deadline to give yourself permission to complete an imperfect result.

Don't wait for magical inspiration

There are tasks that support the life you want but don't feel appealing in the moment.

Making offers, writing a blog post, recording a podcast, and handling things around the house may all bring up resistance.

Waiting until you feel inspired doesn't make them easier to finish. You can take care of your future self while feeling the current reluctance.

I had a couple of hours before a scheduled call and wanted to record a podcast. I could have waited until afterward. Lounging, getting ready slowly, and texting friends sounded more appealing.

I chose to record first so I could enjoy relaxing after the call with the podcast already done.

Once I was recording, I enjoyed it. I had to move through the initial preference to do something easier.

Your brain's preference to conserve energy is normal. It isn't proof that you're a lazy human.

Let familiar brain noise be there

Your mind may offer reasons not to begin. You're afraid of rejection. You doubt the topic. You wonder whether anyone will read what you write.

Those thoughts can be familiar habits of thinking. You don't have to wait for them to disappear before producing the work.

Thoughts create feelings, which drive actions and results. Learn what fear feels like, understand the thinking creating it, and get to work with it there.

Putting the work off because you're afraid doesn't resolve the fear in the long run. It postpones the experience and can create more fear.

I still hear doubt in my own brain. Sometimes I work through a new thought with the Model. Other times, it's the same old noise I've already worked on.

I have a schedule. I want the result completed, and I want to enjoy my rest afterward. Familiar noise doesn't have to keep getting the deciding vote.

Notice the quality of your rest

Your opinion of yourself while resting matters.

After completing what you planned, you may feel accomplished and proud. You aren't carrying an unfinished commitment into every minute of the time off.

When you rest ahead of the result by avoiding it, your mind may keep telling you that you should be working. You dread the task while trying to escape it.

That isn't the same rejuvenating experience.

I'm not suggesting you ignore actually being sick. I'm asking you to notice when you've become practiced at explanations for why the results aren't happening.

You don't need a day packed with endless activity. Plan a day that includes producing results and resting.

Some people prefer a result, then rest, then another result. I prefer a concentrated period producing results and then time off. Choose the pattern that works best for you.

Practice doing what you decided

Not feeling like it will remain an option. You can also choose to do it anyway.

The more often you practice following through, the less authority the invitation to put it off has.

You may have been practicing excuses and getting very good at them. You can begin practicing a different response.

Don't turn the resistance into a character trait. Complete the result you planned. Then rest in a way that lets you feel proud and replenished.

That is the balance I want you to experience: efficient work and genuine rest.