Laziness is surely one of the things many of us would like to change in ourselves. If you want to overcome laziness, a simple Japanese principle may help. Laziness can cost you in many ways, and it also affects those around you, including your employer.
You might not be lazy all the time, and you may be very productive when motivated. But laziness can show up when you need to do the simpler tasks of everyday life that no one feels motivated about. And here is the answer to that problem: you can overcome it if you find the motivation to get even the smallest piece of work done.
How to Up Your Motivation
A very simple and effective way to up your motivation is through the principles of Kaizen. This Japanese philosophy was made popular around the world by Masaaki Imai, who described it in his 1986 book "Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success". The philosophy is so simple that you may find it hard to believe. The idea is to accomplish a certain task through a series of small steps. This is quite contrary to the popular belief that big tasks require big steps and hard work.
Although you do need to work to get things done, you shouldn't make big changes to accomplish your goal. One of the most notable principles of Kaizen is that small changes accumulated over time will give you the big result you desire. If you think about it, taking big steps to make big changes has often led people to feel burnt out and overwhelmed. With Kaizen, you find motivation in the quick, tangible results of performing the task in small steps.
Example
You are looking at a huge pile of laundry and the first thing that comes to your mind is "Sorting, washing, drying, and folding will take me a whole day". But this isn't the right approach to take when you have a more demanding task in front of you. It's counterproductive. Instead, set the timer on your phone for 1 minute, which to your brain is minuscule, and at the end you can see your tangible, actual result. You will think, "Look what I did in one minute! This won't be so hard, after all."
Then you do another minute, and then you set your timer for 3-4 minutes. You see results from the baby steps you make toward getting the job done. You can try Kaizen with any task. In the beginning, set the timer for smaller chunks of time, do the task, and step back to see the result. In this way, you will get new motivation every 3-4 minutes. The key to this philosophy is to be constantly conscious of the things you have accomplished.
Kaizen and Companies throughout the World
The long-term competitive strategies of some of the largest companies in the world are based on this so-called "continuous improvement" philosophy. With the help of Kaizen, they run their businesses more successfully and efficiently. These principles have been used for more than 30 years to improve the workflow of many large corporations. So, imagine what they could do for you as an individual, and for that pile of laundry.
Additional Tips
1. Don't Be Focused on the Problem All the Time
This can be very refreshing when we have a somewhat demanding task to do. Sometimes you just need to set your mind aside for at least 5 minutes, because you might find your inspiration right then, when you are not focused on the problem. This short "brain rest" will widen your "inspiration net".
2. Teach Others How to Do Things You're Good At
Another way to expand your "inspiration net" is to help others do something you're good at. You'll be surprised how someone new to something has an all-new way of doing things, which can help improve your own understanding of the topic.
3. First, Focus on Yourself
Only when you have tried Kaizen on yourself can you teach others about the results of this Japanese principle. Most importantly, the dedication to your improvement effort should come from within.
Via David Wolfe