Do you ever feel like you just don’t get enough time to truly unwind and enjoy being lazy?
La-Z-Boy UK’s Long Live the Lazy campaign is all about reclaiming the right to relax, slow down and make the most of your downtime. But when the world is so busy, it can feel like a challenge to make space in your day to sink into your favourite La-Z-Boy sofa or armchair and fully rest.
For this year’s National Lazy Day (August 10), we’ve put together a list of useful life hacks to free up your time so you can take it easy.
1. Block out your day
Rather than starting every morning with a long to-do list you never seem to get to the end of, organise your day into blocks of time. Intentionally create time in your day for taking a break and relaxing and stick to it.
Time blocking is a useful productivity technique which encourages you to focus on one specific task at a time, rather than attempting to juggle everything all at once. Creating blocks of time specifically intended for relaxation will allow you to sit back and unwind without any guilt. Knowing you have definite breaks planned can also make it easier for you to stay focused at other times of the day as well.
2. Treat rest as a non-negotiable
At the end of every day, spend a few minutes setting your goals and tasks for the following day and make sure to always include something relaxing. People often regard rest and downtime as optional and view it as a nice-to-have rather than an essential.
But recharging your energy levels is one of the best investments you can make in yourself. Trying to do too much will increase your risk of both mental and physical illness and ultimately make you less productive.
Once you start to see rest as a must-do task which will help you perform better in all other areas of your life, you’ll soon find it easier to build it into every day. Of course, how you relax is completely up to you. You may want to sit back on your La-Z-Boy recliner and watch a movie marathon or read your favourite book or you may prefer doing something more creative or mindful like painting a picture, completing a jigsaw or even meditating. Whatever it is that works for you, make it a non-negotiable and protect and prioritise your downtime.
3. Make space for silence
Rushing and multitasking when you’re busy and have a lot to do often ends up making you more prone to mistakes and can end up wasting your time. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to just sit still, close your eyes and breathe.
Embracing silence gives your brain time to reset. If you’ve been stuck on a problem, you will probably find that taking time out to simply do nothing will get the ideas flowing again.
If the idea of sitting still with no distractions feels too challenging, try a short guided meditation or listen to some relaxing music. Some of our La-Z-Boy UK ranges even include in-built Bluetooth speakers to make this even easier. Just a few minutes will be enough to give you the boost needed to keep going with your day.
4. Achieve more by doing less
This may sound counterintuitive but doing fewer things will not only save you time, it will ultimately make you more productive. Prioritise the tasks which really matter to you. For other jobs, think about whether they really need to be done or whether they could be delegated to someone else or wait for another day.
Decide which are the three most important things which need to happen and tackle them first so you don’t end up running out of time for the tasks which really can’t wait.
5. Disconnect from the doomscrolling
While looking at social media can be fun and sometimes even relaxing, it can also stress you out and take up a lot of time. Mute your notifications while you’re trying to focus on important tasks and set aside short periods to check your emails, messages or social media platforms. Set a time limit so you don’t end up doomscrolling for hours. This will prevent you from feeling like you are always on and can’t switch off.
At the end of the day, log out of everything and take some time away from your newsfeeds and messages so you can really relax.
La-Z-Boy UK’s collections are designed to make being lazy even more enjoyable with clever features including power recline, adjustable headrests, lumbar support and heated seats. Some of our ranges even include cooling cup holders, wireless charging, hidden storage to help keep your home clutter-free and stereo systems. Explore our collections today.
