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People think I work hard but I’m actually really lazy. I’m just proactively lazy.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

I love being lazy. When I walk around the house after I slept in, not worrying about the laundry that needs to be done or dishes that need to be washed, I feel almost no stress at all.

I’ve woken with a clean mind ready to continue to do whatever I want. This particular Saturday morning, I was lucky enough to wake up in time to watch my favorite college football team play.

They played at noon that day and I woke up at 11:55 am! Pretty lazy, right?

How was I able to do this? A series of habits empowers me to be lazy.

These are habits made from combining doing things I want to do with things I don’t. Either way, they get done before I can give myself permission to be lazy.

I really never thought to coin a term for this personality trait I have but I think Mr. Clear characterizes it appropriately: proactively lazy.

How I am Proactively Lazy

Schedules

At the beginning of this year, I committed to not only get my household chores on rails but to take my fitness to the next level. I did this by making schedules.

Schedules are more or less defined days or times when you will perform a certain action. I change my sheets and towels and go to the grocery store on Sunday. I clean the bedroom on the first weekend of the month, the bathroom on the second, the kitchen on the third, and the living spaces on the fourth.

My workout schedule hangs on the bedroom wall right next to my dresser. When I change into my workout clothes, I check to see what workout I have for today. I already made a plan for what days are strength vs. cardio vs. recovery. That takes the thinking out of it and all I have to do is execute at that moment.

To get these habits started, I needed to set reminders. They didn’t come easy as life would somehow get in the way but the reminders from my phone buzzing help me stay on track.

Routines

I like to call these productivity habits, routines; Mr. Clear calls them habit stacking. In either case, this is a technique where new habits are always completed immediately before or after a habit that always occurs.

For example, to take my fitness to the next level, I committed to workout Monday thru Thursday and both weekend days.

For the weekdays, some people like to wake up early and workout before going to work. I tried and just couldn’t be successful in doing that. So, I made it a habit that when I came home from work and I changed out of my work clothes, I immediately put on my workout clothes.

On the weekends, I do what most people do when they workout before going to work. I change out of my pajamas and straight into my workout clothes. I eat a quick banana and I’m out the door to the gym. Before I have a chance to wake up and question my decision, I’m already on my way to the gym.

This puts me in the mindset that I am about to workout, not about to sit on the couch and watch tv. I trained myself to stay committed to my goals by fixing my schedules and my routines.

So when am I lazy??

Yeah, you’re probably asking this question since all I’ve talked about so far are the things I try to accomplish. But that’s the point!

If I am efficient with my time and my day, then I can be lazy, or have fun, or do whatever I want the rest of the time. I know that I completed my tasks for the day and it makes the lazy times so much better because I don’t have the guilt cloud hanging over my head.

The other day, I had plans on a Sunday that I was looking forward to. As I said earlier, I am supposed to change the sheets & towels, workout, go to the grocery store, and possibly clean part of the house. There was no way I was going to be able to do all of this and have fun at my Sunday plans if I wake up at my normal weekend time.

So, I woke up earlier than usual for a weekend (before 9 am 😳), did my workout, went to the grocery store, did my chores, and was ready to go by the time we had to leave.

This might sound trivial to most people, but I like to snooze my alarm way too much. If I did that this morning, I wouldn’t have gotten everything done that I needed to for me to have a stress-free time with my friends.

Once I got back home, it was Sunday evening and I already had dinner ready because I went to the grocery store earlier, I met my fitness goal for the day, and I didn’t feel guilty sitting on my clean couch to watch some tv before I climbed into my nicely made bed.

For ~2.5 hours of my day, I was hyper-productive. Because of that, my time was free to do what I want and my mind was guilt-free if I wanted to be a lazy couch potato. I love being lazy…