Meghan S.Crazy celebrities, influencers, and people on LinkedIn who want to feel validated for neglecting their families will tell you that you have to work 25 hours a day, 8 days a week (with no sleep) in order to achieve your goals. Instead of sleep, you need to spend all of your waking hours making business happen. You don’t need to just exercise occasionally, you need to suffer while doing it. As fun as it sounds to live a miserable life in the hopes of being fit and successful, it does make you wonder if there is another path — as opposed to one full of burning debris and obstacles — that is easier to traverse, while still ultimately getting you to where you need to go in the end. Sure, this route could be considered easier, and appeal to the lazier among us, but that does not mean it can’t still be effective. On that note, here is a lazy day wellness routine that actually works.
The Laziness Paradox
Despite what influencers may have you believe, it is entirely possible to achieve a whole lot while seemingly doing fairly little. I call this the “laziness paradox,” whereby seemingly doing the easiest thing can yield great results. That’s because if you perceive something to be easy, you won’t mind doing it for longer than you otherwise would if it were difficult or annoying. Here are some examples of easy additions you can make to your wellness routine for those days when you are feeling particularly lazy.
Get Some Rest
You don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn every day to be productive. On some days, it can help to sleep in a little longer than usual, and take advantage of that extra restfulness to get through the rest of the day a bit easier. For the average adult, anywhere between 7-9 hours is a totally appropriate amount of sleep. Any more or less than that and you are likely to feel groggy and less attentive. However, that does not mean you can lean into that range a bit and try to sleep closer to 9 hours than 7. Being well-rested will help you get through the rest of your lazy day with even more ease!
Easy Hydration
Ever stress about just how much water you are drinking, and whether you really ought to be drinking much more? Well, stress no longer! Simply keeping a bottle of water on your bedside table will help you get sips of that life-giving liquid in the morning when you wake up and just before bed when you lay your head down at night. When you get some water early in the morning, it helps wake you up and get your body ready for the mostly lazy — but oddly successful — day you have ahead of you.
Simple Meals
Breakfast does not have to be complicated and difficult. As great as it sounds to spend each morning with a blini and caviar or an eggs benedict, that does not mean you have to spend each morning wearing a chef’s hat and apron, busying yourself in the kitchen with all of the gusto and energy of a homegrown Gordon Ramsay. Whether you are eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you can live on some rather simple meals rather than arduous, difficult-to-make, and overcomplicated hors d’oeuvres. Just a banana as a snack, a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or a quick and delicious quesadilla can help break up the monotony and routine that make cooking meals at home such a dreaded experience for many. Ditch the intricate cookbooks. Embrace simplicity.
Easy Exercise
You do not need to have immaculate form, biceps the size of semi-trucks, or expensive workout equipment in order to exercise. As cool as all of that sounds, you really only have to do simple, easy workouts and you will still get some great results. Try going on walks around the neighborhood, or some impromptu yoga or stretching exercises around your house. Squeezing in 10-minute sessions here or there can help you get over the hump, and turn a lazy day into a healthy day at the flip of a hat.
If you incorporate these simple tips, then you are all ready to have an effective wellness routine on your lazy day; it won’t be as gritty or serious as a lot of the ones you will find online, but it will be effective, and you’ll be able to get through it easier than you think!
