Laziness is the most preferable of all courses of action. It is also the most regretted one. Choosing to be lazy is very pleasant to the self; idleness means the least effort to be made, and making an effort is hard. What is hard doesn't seem pleasant. But what is easy isn't either. We despise our easy lives and resent lazy fellows. What is it then that we actually feel when we prefer idleness over action? Two factors are involved here: the burden of action initiation and the burden of routine preservation. Let's consider the first of these in this blog first.
It is very heavy on our shoulders to start doing something. If we can save effort and energy by not acting, why should we act? We should have a very good reason for that. We are very economical creatures. Saving what we don’t have to spend is always a priority. If you think you can stay alive without reading that book or going to that gym, you won't do it; at least you must have a very good reason. Such actions require a huge amount of effort and energy to start, which your mind will be very reluctant to spend unless you persuade it.
Think of your mind as an old miser who won't invest a penny for no good reason. In addition to the real effort that action requires for its initiation, your mind, filled with the anxiety of being forced to act, will exaggerate the intensity of effort and amount of energy you need for that action. So, you have an exaggerated conception of the required effort with a miser mind unwilling to spend what it regards most valuable.
To overcome this, you first have to persuade yourself that that action is not as overwhelmingly difficult as your mind presumes. Have an accurate idea of what it is like to do that action. Think about it. Think about doing your homework: what exactly are the tasks needed to accomplish the goal, and what are their detailed steps? When you think in detail and in-depth, you shall find out how mild the pressure of doing that task should be. Your mind won't be terrified anymore. The reason is that when we have blurry, ambiguous ideas of unpleasant things, we tend to exaggerate their unpleasantness.
But once we improve our sight and look into the details, things appear in their realistic shape, which is usually very tolerable. So, after having your mind aware of the feasibility of your task, persuade it with all the reasons you may have for doing it. Think how important is completing this action for you. How it is necessary for your happiness, and how not acting will decrease your mental well-being. Once you give it good and accurate reasons to act, things shall be very well, and you can see how readily it will go for acting.
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