This title and blog post came to me at a very crucial time in my life. When I found out I couldn’t work. I hated the thought of touching my computer and typing into it. I couldn’t even research what I needed to write. And this continued for a long time.
One of the things I love doing is work. Of course, some days I have to force myself to do it but most times, I work with so much gusto and excitement. It feels good to be a copywriter, you know—winks.
However, for almost a month, I couldn’t do anything. Luckily, I had done quite a lot of work ahead so my clients didn’t notice I was unavailable.
After a long time of not doing anything for weeks, I started getting worried. I berated myself for being lazy. I was not happy with myself.
After a while of being sad about my situation, a realization came to me, “You are not Lazy. This is not laziness.”
This realization really helped me get back on my feet. But before then, I had to get to the root of the problem…
Many weeks before then, I had overworked myself. Naturally, I love my job but this time when I was overworking myself, I was mostly doing it because I wanted to earn more money. So, I worked into the night. I wrote about 5,000-word articles in a day. It was exhausting but I didn’t mind. I worked really hard.
However, many weeks passed and my written articles were not yet published. Apparently, there was an overflow of work so the editors couldn’t publish a lot of articles at the time.
Not publishing the articles meant I would not get paid as much as I wrote until the articles were published.
That was when I crashed.
I felt angry and mostly tired. I couldn’t write anymore.
I had exhausted myself and didn’t get any results. And until a long time passed, I didn’t realize what had caused me to stop writing.
And I will tell you what they were. It wasn’t laziness. It was Discouragement and Disappointment. It was a Burnout.
Also read: How To Get Work Done
I thought about how many people struggle to get work done every day, whether in school at work, or even at home, and how much they are told “You are Lazy” or how much they tell themselves “I am a lazy person.”
The word “laziness” is just a cover-up. A deceptive word that hides the real reason behind your inability to do anything. I decided to inform you, maybe (just maybe) I could help you get out of your rut and get back on your feet.
However, Burnout is not the only reason people find it hard to do anything, there are many other reasons and I will be sharing them below.
You don’t have the right mindset
Sometimes, when we find it hard to work, it is usually because we lack the right mindset towards that work. Think of it like this. “Why are you working?” or “Why do you want to do this?”
If you don’t have answers to these questions ready in your mind, you might find it hard to do anything. It will be easier to procrastinate and say I will do it later.
If you understand the importance of what you are doing or what you are about to do, it might save you from not doing it.
Think of it like this: If you have a deadline and you know the inability to submit at the designated time means losing your job or getting your boss/workplace in trouble, this might cause you to get to work.
But if you have no reason to be efficient or productive, you will most likely be inefficient.
You are not lazy. You just don’t have the right mindset.
You may also like Stuck In a Rut?! 10 Ways To Get Out Of a Rut.
You are burnt out
If you have read my blog post on writer’s/creative burnout, then you will know how important this is. Burnout is a serious issue that affects 70% of employees, with millennials being the most burned-out generation, and gen-z being the generation that burns out faster than others. Many have overworked themselves all in the bid to make money (like I did). Some never have time for recess or fun. Just work all day.
There will come a time when your body can no longer take the stress and it just crashes naturally. Then you find that you cannot do the things you used to do anymore.
You are not lazy. You are just burned out.
You hate your job
Don’t we all, sometimes? However, there are times when you are not just saying it as a form of cruise but you really mean it. Either you have a mean boss or you are not paid what you are worth. This can cause your work attitude and vigor to deteriorate. Think of several reasons why you are not functioning well at work.
If you feel like you are lazy, you might not be. You might just be tired of being mistreated and undervalued.
You are not lazy. You hate your job.
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You are depressed
The sad part about this is that many people don’t know they are depressed until it has gotten deep. Yet, one of the signs of depression is the inability to work or the dispassion for everything else, even what you are passionate about. Healthline also attests to the fact that depression can be a major cause of fatigue or loss of interest.
Sometimes, people can’t get work done because they feel hopeless, dispassionate, and tired—which might be signs of depression. You can also check out for more signs to be sure.
You are not lazy. You are depressed.
You are afraid
Fear is one of the leading reasons for inadequacy in our world today. Many give it different names to hide what it really is but a lot of time we can’t get things done because we are afraid.
- Afraid that you are not good enough
- Afraid it will flunk
- Afraid you won’t get the results you desire
- Afraid you won’t do it well
- Afraid! Afraid! Afraid!
I would have written this post earlier but I was afraid to start.
If you check the root of a lot of inadequacies and drawbacks, you will realize it all boils down to FEAR.
Procrastination also has a lot to do with fear. You are afraid you won’t be able to do it. You are scared you don’t know the right thing to do, then you wait till the deadline, and the adrenaline takes your fear away and replaces it with excitement or anxiety that boosts you to efficiency.
Editor’s pick: 6 Things to do When you Feel Unmotivated
You lack discipline
This had to be said (for real). There is a part of our mind that pushes us to not do things each passing day and it grows stronger whenever we listen to it.
Think of it like this. When you are about to go for an exercise because you know it is good for you. There is that voice that holds you back and says “Why not take a rest, check a post on IG, watch a TikTok video, or sleep, instead of exercising.” Then it brings all of these impossibilities and reasons why exercising is not a good idea into your head.
The next step is either you succumb or you choose to ignore the voice/thought and do it anyway. But most times, many of us succumb.
And the result is that the voice gets stronger while your resistance gets weaker.
You are not lazy. You are indisciplined.
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If you can diagnose what exactly is wrong with you without hiding the real problem under the word “laziness,” then you can find a solution to the problem.
