Rule Of The Minute, The Interesting Japanese Method To Combat Laziness

Laziness is one of the biggest obstacles that keep us from reaching our goals. In the beginning it gives us a slight sense of well-being and carefreeness, but in the long run it is the reason for strong episodes of stress and frustration.

It is very common for us to reach some point in life when we want to make significant changes, start new projects and adopt habits to improve health, however, when it comes to doing them, we end up postponing them again and again until we put these ideas aside.

What also happens is that we start the plan and, from a moment on, that softness appears that prevents us from following good customs with discipline.

One of the factors that most influence this type of result is that  we almost always want to notice positive changes immediately.

This reverberates on a physical and mental level, increases the feeling of tiredness and makes us think that no effort is worth it.

Willpower and the ability to achieve concentration are two main keys to getting this obstacle out of the way. Luckily, there is a very interesting method that can help achieve this goal.

Kaizen method or rule of the minute to combat laziness

The Kaizen method  ,  or the Japanese minute rule, invites us to get into the habit of  doing a certain task every day at exactly the same time. 

The term Kaizen is constructed from the meanings of “kai” (change) and “zen” (wisdom).

A minute is a short time and laziness will not be an impediment to enjoying it. In this way,  these tasks that, in general, take us several minutes can be performed in a matter of seconds.

Its foundation is based on the fact that with small steps one can achieve results that seem to be far from being achieved.

Jumping rope, doing sit-ups, or reading another chapter in a book are just a small part of the things that can have a positive impact on our lives if we spend that one minute of the day with discipline.

More about the method

One of the main advantages of being able to adopt this method as part of the routine is that little by little  we will be able to overcome that strange feeling that makes us feel tired  and prevents us from feeling the satisfaction of having accomplished a task.

In fact, once the laziness of doing the tasks is over,  we can gradually increase the time  to three or five minutes, and so on.

The creator of this interesting rule is called Masaaki Imai, who believes that  this concept is a true philosophy of life  that can even help to improve many aspects in the professional and personal sphere.

The biggest secret of the minute rule lies in its simplicity and low demand. It doesn’t force us to use a lot of energy, being able to accomplish any goal without feeling pressure for the time we have to invest for it.

This way it  is easier to overcome the feeling of laziness and those negative thoughts  that convince us that we will not be able to achieve what we so much desire.

You could say that this is a mental trap that we put in the brain so that it doesn’t perceive tasks as an impossible challenge, but as  a minimal effort that won’t cost much to perform every day. 

Ready to take on the challenge?

It is not strange that many, right now, are laughing or even thinking that this is an absurd technique because most of the activities that we must perform require a greater investment of time.

However, the invitation is to at least  make the attempt to prove that it actually gets to be quite effective. 

Even though we’ve been taught that getting good results takes a lot of effort, it’s also true to say that in many cases these projects that require a lot of energy end up discouraging the person, without allowing him to achieve the results he would like.

As the creator of this technique said,  “a long road starts with the first step, and there’s nothing wrong with being short”. The essential thing is not to take a single step and try to walk every day.

Pick a goal, apply the rule of the minute, and in a matter of days, you  ‘ll notice that laziness has subsided  and you’re stuck on a path to overcoming it.