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Lethargy as described by any dictionary - is a state of sluggishness, drowsy dullness or apathy. They should also add “The silent killer of the soul� to it. Lethargy or inertia is probably the greatest killer of the wannabe great writer or for that matter anyone who wants to achieve something in their lives. Working out of home and lethargy can be a dangerous combination, at times I have got sucked into it so badly that it’s like being on a slope with roller blades, absolutely no control, and it’s a scary feeling. Many a times have I battled with it only to keep it away for a few days and then to have it creep back on me with a vengeance. As always I reached out to the net for help and it spewed out a few thousand things. I have tried a few of the methods that people have suggested that have helped me to a great extent; I have added a few of my own to those. So here goes a few ways to overcome lethargy.

My all time best is the reward yourself bit. This is the tried an tested Pavlov’s method and it has worked wonders, I kinda make promises to myself, something to the tune of this “If I finish 3 pages by today then I will reward myself with 3 hours of my favorite game�. Not that anything is ever going to stop you from playing the game first. But it works for me, I make sure I concentrate on writing and then it’s guilt free 3 hours of pure pleasure. The rewards of course work proportionately to the amount of time I have put in for my work. For me this works most of the time.

Taking that first step is probably the most important one, it’s something that you hate doing on days when the L-bug has got you, switching on the comp or more importantly starting up the word processor. It’s important to take that step, especially if you have a ritual. What I normally do is start the comp, do a bit of browsing, all the time keeping the word processor open and that’s all the guilt I need, eventually I end up switching to it.

Another thing that works for me is watching inspirational movies or reading books or articles on success, especially about how someone has struggled through their lives and made a success of it. Reading about how JKR struggled in her earlier days has now become my all-time favorite.

Sometimes the L-bug hits you when you need to do that bit of research or need to do a follow-up interview to complete the work and you keep putting it off, it becomes a vicious circle, what I normally do in such cases is, if it’s not very essential I skip that piece of research and start writing instead. It’s definitely not a recommended option but it has helped me a few times.

Physical exercise of any kind, running, swimming, cycling or even pumping weights, has always helped me overcome lethargy in the biggest possible way, I always feel charged up after running a few blocks, it not only makes me get off my butt but also clears my mind and ideate.

I bet there are a lot of things besides this that people do to get over lethargy, all suggestions are welcome to fight the dreaded L-bug.

Posted in Overcoming lethargy | self improvement simpleman | | | | 975 reads