Lazy hacks for a busy life

Calling all full-time workers, part-time studyers. Aspiring athletes with 9-to-5 jobs. Students who work to pay rent and young adults who refuse to sacrifice their social life.

Calling anyone who wants to live a busy life lazily.

Boy oh boy, do I have some hot tips for you.

I’ve been living the busy-lazy life for years. I started in school when I was rowing 10+ times a week and getting straight A’s (bar Math B, but tbh I’m more than happy for a log to be a bit of tree and leave it at that).

I embraced the busy-lazy life during college when I worked three days a week and studied full time.

And last year, I reached expert-level lazy. All while doing the classic full-time work/part-time study scenario, with the fun additions of living out of home and maintaining a non-negotiable daily exercise regime.

So, enough babbling, here follows my top tips for getting the most from the absolute least (aka living a busy life lazily):

1. Always eat the same thing and NEVER cook

Disclaimer – I’m obsessed with food. However, I’m not obssessed with the effort/time required to cook or the cost of eating out.

So, every week-day, without fail, I eat oats for breakfast and a salad for lunch. And I could not tell you the last time I used a “recipe” to cook dinner. 90% of my dinners are either fish and veg or (now don’t judge me cause its my absolute fav meal) veggie burger patty in a bowl with peas and hummus (So yum! See pic below!).

On Sundays, I prep five containers of overnight oats and four salads (‘cause treat-yo-self on Fridays). It saves me money, time and decisions. Whatta win.

2. Only own clothes you actually wear

The fewer clothes you have, the fewer options, the less time wasted deciding what to wear, Every. Single. Morning.

Don’t be a stage five clinger - listen to Marie Kondo and donate what doesn’t ‘spark joy’.

To really commit to the lazy life, I’ll spend 5 minutes on a Sunday organising my work outfits for the week ahead. This means I wake up and BOOM – OOTD already sorted. Effort level, zero ✔

3. Throw away your iron

For years I have stubbornly withstood my Mum’s disbelief and disapproval at my lack of ironing.

In the grand-scheme of things, I simply see the creases in my shirt to be entirely insignificant. Turns out the University of Queensland’s Sustainability Office agrees, claiming that we should all Make Peace With The Crease to save energy.

So be proud of me, Mum! My recusancy to ironing is not only a lazy hack, but an earnest attempt to save the planet 😇

4. Never make a decision when you wake up

There’s nothing harder then trying to conjure motivation from the comfort of your soft, warm bed. So, help yourself out and do the hard work the night before. Go to bed having decided why and what you’re waking up for in the morning. Trust me, it’ll make it so much easier to [read in sing-song Kylie Jenner voice] ‘riiiise and shiiiiine’.

5. Shower at the gym

In the mornings, it takes me ten minutes (ok, 15 if I’m being precious) to go from sweaty-betty to work-ready. I’ve packed one outfit, so I can’t listen to the voice telling me to redress because that top doesn’t look good anymore. I’ve got one option, get on with it.

6. Forgo the foundation

Another perk of tip 5 is minimal make-up. No lazy-busy person can be bothered to lug around 15 different products in their gym bag – let alone apply them. Keep it simple. You’re already beautiful, darling!

I’ve had some sort of acne/scarring since high school - so it’s not from lack of necessity that I choose to forgo foundation. Most days, I simply cannot be bothered. Body confidence means skin confidence too, right!? @abbiechatfield

7. Study less (more often)

(Ok – this is important, so prepare for a spiel.)

I’m so inspired by the commitment of the students who stay up late studying, or cram for their exams. Unfortunately, as an inherently lazy person, I care much too much about sleep to stay up late studying and my attention-span would rival a gold-fish, so no all-day cramming for me.

So, how am I on track to graduate with a 6.5 GPA without ever studying beyond 10pm? (Keeping in mind I also work full-time.)

Simple - I study a little bit, everyday.

Think of it like this: what’s more achieveable – running one kilometre per day for 100 days or running 100ks in one day? As a lazy person, I’m always going to choose the easier option. Aka, you will neeeeeever see me run 100ks in one day.

Or, for another exercise-related analogy: walk without breaking a sweat, instead of sprinting at the last minute and losing your breath.

Get it? Doing a little each day is easier than doing a lot in a little bit of time. Be consistently lazy – a little a day goes a long way.

(I acknowledge that some degrees require more than a few hours study per day, but as a Business/Communication student, this has worked perfectly well for me.)

8. Delegate your finances

The thing about being lazy, is that it can take some effort. Think of it like a vaccination – a little bit of discomfort for long-term gain.

If you don’t automate your savings – start now.
If you don’t have Apple or Google Pay – get it.
If you don’t pay rent via automatic transfers – set them up.
If you don’t automate your GoCard/Opal/Myki/Oyster top-ups – just do it!

Put in the effort to automate what you can, by definition, it will reduce your workload.

If you’ve got this far, kudos! Just because you might be lazy doesn’t mean you’re not committed.

As a thank you for persevering, I’ll offer you the secret to a living a busy life lazily:

Be lazy about the little things, and smart about the big things.

I clearly remember my year 7 teacher telling the class that being ‘lazy’ was one of the worst things you could be. I disagree.

It’s probably clear by now, but I’ll say it anyway. For me, being lazy is synonymous with being efficient.

So, what are you waiting for? Go forth and get the most out of your day, your week, and your life ⭐⭐⭐