What To Do When Feeling Lazy: 10 Tiny Tasks for Easy Wins

Everyone needs some easy wins, especially when you just don’t know what to do when feeling lazy. These are some of my favorite tiny tasks, and really great when you’re struggling with overthinking… Consider these as baby steps for how to stop being lazy. 🙂

white throw pillow and blankets on white couch with pink text overlay tasks you can do when you feel lazy

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Why You Need Easy Wins to Stop Feeling Lazy

Sometimes when you’re just completely exhausted, all you really can do is sit on the couch.

And that’s totally fine for a while. You might call it being lazy. You might call it recovering, or self-care, or whatever. 

However, eventually you’re going to hit a point where you start to feel a little bit guilty for all that couch-sitting. And at that point, you know you should do something. 

Maybe you even WANT to do something. But you’re probably not ready to jump right up and run a marathon or clean your whole house or declutter everything in sight.

What you CAN do is start out with some small, manageable tasks. So I’ve come up with a list of 10 tiny tasks that you can do when you feel lazy.

FYI, these have all been tested by yours truly. 😉 Hey, somebody’s gotta do it.

Stop feeling like a lazy bum with these 10 tiny tasks for when you don’t want to get off the couch. Pants optional. #productivity #reallife Click To Tweet

10 Tiny Lazy Tasks to Help You Feel Productive

Now, I could give you a list of things that will immediately get you off the couch. You know, the classics like play music and dance, make a coffee date with a friend to force yourself out of the house, set the timer for 10 minutes and clean… 

But this is a real-life post for the days when you KNOW you’re not going to do anything that requires an effort even as big as wearing pants. 

1. Turn off the electronics 

Yep, everything. 

Sit with your thoughts.

Why is this a tiny task? You’re not actually doing anything, right? 

But it’s getting your brain back to rights, removing a little of the overwhelm. A lot of times when you feel like you can’t get up and do anything, it’s because your brain is racing and you can’t figure out what to do first.

There’s so much going on. You think, ‘I should be doing this. I should be doing that.’ But what you really need to do is just step back.

So, just turn everything off. Turn off the TV, turn off the music, turn off the computer, your phone, your tablet, whatever other devices you might have. Turn them off.

Listen to the silence.

Instead of numbing ourselves with constant input, it forces us to let our minds work out what’s really going on. Sometimes that leads to a major life realization. Sometimes not so much. 

But it may just lead to you realizing what you actually CAN do right at this moment. And then you might get off the couch to go do that thing.

Not bad for a tiny task, eh?

2. Write down 3 things you’re grateful for

Use a real piece of paper and your favorite writing instrument. Some people find writing by hand helps their thoughts flow more smoothly.

This task will start to get you into a positive mindset. If you have the time or desire, either make a longer list or write about why you’re grateful for those three things.

If you feel like writing more, grab this printable gratitude workbook and journal bundle.

brunette woman wearing red sweater holding mug sitting on leather couch with blanket and journal while feeling lazy

3. Declutter 10 items within arm’s reach 

Declutter that stuff in the pile next to you that you accumulated while you’ve been sitting on the couch for so long.

Then get up to take care of the ‘declutterings’. Pitch them, put them in the donation box or recycling… whatever. 

It will get you moving a little bit. And only take a minute.

Plus, if you get up, you might stay up for a while. Who knows?

4. Write out a menu plan for the next week

This works best if you can figure out meals using what you already have so you don’t have to go grocery shopping. 😉 

That means you MAY have to spend a few minutes looking at what food you’ve got in the fridge, in the freezer, and in your pantry. But think of how much time you’ll save if you don’t have to go to the grocery store!

This is a big one for me because my closest grocery store is 15 minutes away. And when we do a big grocery shop to those stores that are less expensive, that’s like 45 minutes away. And I really, really would rather avoid those stores and the crowds.

So… yeah, if I can make a list and have enough meals for the next week so that we don’t have to go to the grocery store, I am a happy mama.

Now one caveat — for that list of meals, make sure they’re things you’re actually going to cook and eat.

The entire task is pointless if you’re just writing down meals that are things you COULD make. But if you hate them, or your family hates them, or it’s 100 degrees and this is something that has to cook in the oven for 10 hours… it’s probably not gonna happen. 

Just make sure they’re reasonable meals for your family and lifestyle.

5. Play a game with your family 

You don’t even have to get up for this one. Use your coffee table or a portable folding adjustable height table.

Say it’s summer and your kids are bored. You’re exhausted and don’t want to budge from the couch in your sort of cool living room because it’s 100 degrees outside.

You don’t want to step outside to exercise or play in the yard or go anywhere. Unless you’re going to the pool. You could be lazy by the pool. But that involves the activity of getting ready and packing up for the adventure… which sounds overwhelming when you’re feeling lazy. 

Instead, say, ‘Hey, want to play a game?’ Then have them pick something out and set it up.

So you’re at home, sitting on the couch, playing a game and talking to your family at the same time. 

The point isn’t that playing a game is uber-productive or anything like that. Rather, it’s interacting with your family and building relationships. 

And that’s just as important as all the things you ‘should get done.’

mother and son sitting on dark gray couch and playing chess to build positive relationship

6. Unload the dishwasher

Do this the next time you go to the kitchen for a beverage or snack. 

Seriously, in two minutes you can have that dishwasher unloaded. No, I didn’t pull that number out of thin air… I’ve timed myself. 😉  

If you’re making yourself a cup of tea, you already have to wait for the water to heat up. Unload the dishwasher while you’re waiting. 

Or if the dishwasher is already unloaded while you’re waiting for the water to boil, load it back up. That sometimes takes a little more than two minutes because you’ve got the whole dishwasher Tetris thing going on, but you can do this over more than one trip. Just a little teeny bit here and there. 

And when it’s done… do a mini happy dance! You did something. Actually, you did what I call a ‘tidy task’ — which is even more awesome because it contributes to you feeling better about how your house looks. And that makes you feel better about yourself.

Then you can go right back to the couch and be lazy.

7. Fold some laundry

When you’re feeling too lazy to get off the couch, at least fold some laundry while you’re sitting there. And it’s totally okay to watch your favorite movie or television show at the same time.

This is absolutely productive TV-watching, and it’s probably the only time in my life I can make multi-tasking an actual reality. 

So fold that mountain of laundry and catch up on your favorite shows absolutely guilt-free!

8. Do a brain dump

I actually have an entire post about how to do a brain dump

Too lazy to read that post? Sign up here to get the free printable brain dump worksheet.

What you want to do is just take 10-15 minutes and write down all those thoughts and ideas that have been swirling in your head. 

You might have done the first tiny task where you sat quietly with your thoughts and tried to calm your mind a little bit. But those thoughts always come back. Always. If you don’t get them out, they’re just going to start swirling and drive you crazy. 

So get them out on the brain dump printable page or into a notebook. Or you can use something like a spreadsheet, a Word doc, or a list app. 

I like Google Keep for many of my lists, but it’s not always the best choice for doing a brain dump in digital form. I find the fastest way is to do it in a spreadsheet because there’s so much in my head that I just fill hundreds of lines. Seriously…  hundreds.

Give it a try, you’ll probably be surprised at how much comes out.

blonde woman holding orange mug sitting on couch looking into distance while considering what to do when feeling lazy

9. Breathe more

Are you wondering what in the heck that means? 

Maybe you’re thinking it’s along the lines of meditation? Or taking a very deep breath and holding it while counting and then exhaling? 

Nope, it’s different. 

It’s more of a healthy practice that I didn’t even know was a ‘real thing’ until last year.

Last summer, my husband had some health problems. Then, weeks after the health problems were under control, he mentioned to his doctor that he felt like he wasn’t breathing right. At this point, all the tests were coming back okay, so my husband couldn’t figure out what was going on.

His doctor said, ‘You’re not breathing enough.’

My husband was like, ‘What? Is that a joke? Breathing is automatic.’ Honestly, I had the same thought when he told me about the conversation. 

But his doctor explained that most of the time, we breathe so shallowly and irregularly that we’re not getting enough oxygen into our system. 

We’ve all heard you need to breathe from way down deep, from the bottom of the diaphragm. But we never do it, or we think it’s something that’s just for when we exercise. 

Now that I pay more attention to my breathing, multiple times a day I will realize that I’m actually holding my breath. 

Good grief, what’s up with that?!

I don’t know if we just think so deeply that we forget to breathe, or what. But a lot of us simply don’t breathe enough. AND we don’t breathe deeply enough. 

When I really pay attention and breathe more, my brain works better and my muscles tend to feel less tense… imagine that!

So, that’s something you can definitely work on… like a totally healthy thing you can do when you’re feeling lazy.

10. Read a motivational book

You can do either paper or digital for this. It’s the words and inspiration that are important, not the format.

You know that book membership you paid for? Get some motivational books out of it — not just the fun books. 😉

Example: I’ve been reading Hal Elrod’s ‘Miracle Morning’ on Kindle Unlimited. Love it, but it’s pretty blunt. I don’t think Hal would approve of a day spent on the couch. Still, you have to begin with mindset, right? 😉 

Words in print aren’t your thing? Listen to an audiobook! Try a free Audible membership and get up to two free books. Just imagine the inspirational books you could absorb!

Reading (or listening) + Implementing = NOT LAZY 

bright room with white couch pillow and blanket ready for a lazy day

Will These Tasks Help Me to Stop Being Lazy and Unmotivated?

So what’s the point of doing these tiny tasks?  Are you wondering if they will REALLY help?

It’s like I mentioned before I listed the tasks… it helps get your brain working.

A few tasks I mentioned involve you actually having to get off the couch, even just for a couple of minutes. And a lot of times that getting off the couch is the impetus you need to start moving and start working on other things. 

But even if all you do is sit on the couch for a weekend because you’re just feeling like the laziest bum in the world, you could still work on the other things that don’t involve… you know… moving from your spot. 

If you come up with a realistic meal plan, that means you’re ready to feed your family for the week. 

If you do a brain dump, your head will be clearer. And you’ll have a list of tasks and goals that you can later prioritize. Then you start to get excited about one of those tasks or goals, and it actually makes you want to get up and get moving on it.

Don’t discount the power of healthy breathing and positive thinking, it all works together to contribute to your mindset and capacity to take on new tasks. 

So even if you’re sitting on the couch and think you’re being lazy, these easy wins will either get you off the couch or help you do something productive without going all out, feeling like you have to be 100% productive, 100% of the time.

Because that’s not always what your body needs. It’s not always what your mind needs.

But being lazy for days or weeks on end, that’s not what you need either. So now that you know what to do when feeling lazy, try these tiny tasks and get some easy wins. 

Building positive momentum WILL help you become more motivated and less lazy.

More Tips to Beat Laziness and Procrastination

5 Ways Overwhelmed Overthinkers Can Beat Procrastination

Stop Thinking and Start Doing: A Goal Setting Starter Plan

Exhaustion Can Be Disguised As Laziness – The Startup – Medium.com

6 Powerful Life Hacks You Need to Stop Being Lazy

Why Being Lazy Is Actually Good for You – Time

The ONE FOCUS Method: A Step-by-Step Guide to Transform Yourself From Overwhelmed to Accomplished

Next Steps…

Here’s the thing… These tiny tasks will only take you so far. Eventually, you WILL have to get off the couch. When you’re ready to do that, you CAN have the productive life you’ve always wanted.

Pretty soon, you could be the most productive, organized, NON-lazy person you know. These productive things to do every month will get you well on your way to that goal.

When that happens, remember that it all began with 10 tiny tasks from a list you read because you were wondering what to do when feeling lazy and didn’t want to get off the couch.

Then you can have a happy chuckle and get on with your LIFE.

Build Your Best Life — and always remember that YOU ARE AMAZING!


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blonde woman holding orange mug sitting on couch against blue wall with text overlay 10 tiny tasks to feel productive

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