I left my job in January, and since then, I’ve had the time to truly understand myself — which is how I realised just how deeply lazy I am.
I’ve noticed that I procrastinate even on tasks I don’t particularly dislike. Interestingly, once I manage to start them, I often get so absorbed that I lose track of time. This made me realise that laziness isn’t always driven by hatred or fear of a task.
More often, it seems to be about comfort. As humans, it’s simply more comfortable to do nothing — even when it comes to the things we genuinely enjoy. Does that mean comfort, in some way, is more insidious than hate or fear?
Let’s think.
I rarely felt lazy when I worked a regular 9-to-5 job for several years before January. Why? Maybe it had something to do with routine. Back then, I worked from the office 90% of the time. This meant waking up at a fixed hour, braving Bengaluru’s notorious traffic, and, for part of the year, even squeezing in a gym session before work.
Perhaps laziness has more to do with structure and physical activity than we realise.
Take today, for example. I had been procrastinating about writing on this website for a while. So, what finally made me do it? Well, today, I woke up earlier than usual, got ready quickly, and did some push-ups, pull-ups, and leg raises. From this, a pattern emerges: having a schedule and starting the day with some physical activity seems to be a reliable way to ward off laziness.
The ability to follow a schedule demands discipline — and sometimes, a bit of courage to show up even when the task is daunting. That’s probably why we make children wake up early for school and attend assembly prayers at 8 AM sharp. It instills the habit of showing up, regardless of how they feel. “Teach them young!”.
On the other hand, comfort breeds laziness. And I believe it’s worth asking ourselves, every time we feel comfortable:
“Do I really need to be this comfortable?”
Instead of seeking constant ease, we should practice making ourselves just comfortable enough to achieve our goals — to keep our minds, bodies, and loved ones happy.
While an act of balance would be deemed healthy when it comes to comfort, I believe one of the greatest skills man can ever acquire is the ability to achieve their goals while being utterly uncomfortable.