I find it hard waking up to a gray overcast, a lightness shining through my window panel to being productive on my laptop. I flip the screen up, type in the password and most naturally click on the Google Chrome shortcut button to immediately go to Facebook, Twitter and Gmail. Usually I will also check my Android smart phone for any updates usually linked to Facebook, Twitter or Gmail. Sometimes I will wake up to a tiny ringing or bird chirping on my phone just like this morning which began at 10:30 am. Eventually, after randomly browsing on the Facebook’s massive home page I get lost in the void of articles when I really should be focused on applying my resume and cover letters to job posts or even adding content to my own blog.

But something happens and I procrastinate holding off those tasks that need to be done because it is ‘work’. The job hunt is like a full time job and is difficult to get myself to be conscious of its importance when I am flooded with tons of updates, emails, tweets and the consistent notion of a growing blog community and/or site views. So the real question is how do I get out of this laziness? Although, I usually get plenty of sleep in the night, about eight hours, I still feel very much out of it. Why is that? Maybe I need to change my routine. Normally, I wake up and use the bathroom and then make myself some eggs (scrambled, fried or cheese omelet). Some days I go simpler with a bowl of cold cereal, hot cereal such as Cream of Wheat or even oatmeal. After I clean up the dishes and settle back in my room I either hunch over the computer browsing random pop culture stories or lay on the bed against my back facing the ceiling. Half of me wants to fall back into slumber while the other half screams in my mind to wake up and start a day of productivity. Sometimes I take a shower in the morning and sometimes I wait til later in the day.

“It’s already 2 pm, stop being such a laze and stop reading up on an article of the Avengers or watching people playing Friday Nights At Freddy’s on YouTube. It’s stupid and a waste of your precious time. Time that can be more spent applying to jobs, growing a network, writing this blog. And for the love of god take a shower, you stink!” Those sentences are what go through me everyday. It’s almost 3 pm and I am still in pajamas. What am I doing? Why am I so lazy? Maybe I should put off drinking beer before bed. I do that to drown my sorrows, I am not the happiest of individuals, but on other days I am delighted as a weightless butterfly, let’s not say butterfly, more like a free mongoose. It is unfortunate that I was given a gift for a field that is extremely difficult to have a future in. It isn’t fair because if I wanted to be a doctor I would pursue that in a heartbeat. Everyone needs medicine and health. But my own inner passions and self tell me that I never wanted to be that. So here we go writing and living in a life of challenges and uncertainty. I guess I am most happy when I’m writing because I feel productive. Things are being created at the exact moment. Words are forming and sentences are building into paragraphs. You get the rest of what happens.

I get random calls almost everyday on the student loan forgiveness. At this point I’ve just blocked all those numbers. However, it is upsetting to know that the only people calling me are prerecorded and automated versions of a service that is most likely a scam. I have experienced loathes of scams that I’ve become a master at detecting them. We live in a world where a large portion of people or groups will try to manipulate or scam you. Another part is people that are unreliable and show little to no concern. It’s frustrating because usually the people and groups you want to be apart of will be the later while the other forms of spammers never leave you alone. I need to find myself somewhere in the middle which is hard to come by these days.

Going back to the main question, ‘How to Not be Lazy?’ I do not have the answer to that so if you were looking for one then I am sorry to have disappointed you. The truth is, I think we all can be lazy and productive. I have spurts of being extremely busy where I multitask and get things done while other times I can be really lazy and just stare at my computer screen while slouching in my chair and crack opening a beer. Since my bed is behind my chair, usually I push the chair back and then do a quick backwards lunge so that I do not have to stand up, lying face on my belly wondering when cool things will happen. This is not exactly an answer but as a suggestion, it certainly helps to go to bed early at night to wake up earlier. I think weather plays an important role in our energy and emotions. I know for certain that on dreary, cold and dark days, I tend to be much lazier and a bit depressed. Whilst, during the summer and spring in a time of light up skies and yellowish sunny mornings, I am as sprout as a dandelion. Hygiene and cleanliness plays another role that differentiates a person from being a star to a hermit. I believe that taking good care of one’s body and having a clean room with hardly anything on a desk or bed does wonders to your self-esteem and energy. Self esteem is probably the most important aspect to ones productivity versus laziness. I’ve applied to so many jobs in the past and have written so many tremendous cover letters that I’ve burnt out or least on the verge of. Not hearing back after all that is a huge shot to my self esteem. I know I have free will but I am trapped within my own limits like a spider stuck in his own web. Laziness is an imprisonment and a tenacious force that binds you to its definition. I need to tell myself as you should, “I’m worth it.” I need to break out and conquer all the odds; facing others, society and myself. The ‘self vs. self’ is by far the most challenging conflict every human being faces. We are our own worst enemies. So wake up early, take a shower and do what you have to do. Even though that sentence was directed towards you it was really a self therapeutic way of handling my own problems. So don’t take that personally. Being active and productive is one important step for a better fulfilling life and to climb out of laziness.

Procrastination is another killer of productivity. It is less subtle and creeps about as you work on a project or apply to a job. The internet is stacked with tools to draw you into their world by leaving your current one. The internet is a giant breathing ground for procrastination. I procrastinate everyday because I loathe finishing up a task that yearns for perfection. I’m not even writing this post consistently. I stop after a few sentences, read through what I wrote and assess what I still want to cover. I think intently and I even jump on my bed to quickly remind myself that I need to get this task done.

Finishing off the post I want to remind the world that laziness can be overtaken by organizing your day with a set of tasks, exercising, eating healthy, staying clean and changing up your morning routine. Maybe tomorrow morning, instead of crawling at my desk to get on the laptop, I will wake up earlier and take a jog while playing my favorite tunes watching as the earth surrounding me unfolds and thrives in existence. Being a sponge of the atmosphere is better than getting caught in the web of procrastination. And I say all this because I do not have a day job and want to have a purpose in life. I do not want to be a zombie walking around as an empty vessel but a shock of energy that experiences life to its fullest. I want to continue to learn and to observe each day. Hopefully my talents can be put to good use as I start a long career on a life of action and adventure. I cannot be stuck blogging on a computer forever waiting for the arrival of fame and fortune. I need to pursue with every ounce of my inner laziness even if it hurts. Being lazy is the easy way out while not being lazy is the true challenge. On a scale from lazy to productive, where do you fall?