A Lazy Human's Fast Guide to Living Alone

One of the biggest challenges of living alone is the fact that you obviously have to do everything yourself. This is why it's important to really push ourselves to learn the basics of life while we can. However, as much as we try to be productive, laziness can strike even the most unlikely people. This can happen for so many reasons - it might be because of situational distress, mental health problems, the weather, or maybe even for no reason at all - or you could be chronically lazy and find solo living so much more difficult to navigate.  

Here are some baby steps you might want to take to help you get out of the lazy slump:

Clean as you go

What a way to start this, huh? I figured, let's get the heaviest task out of the way first. It is true that cleaning is for everybody, and most days, this does take a lot of physical and mental power to be joyful.  

One thing you have to know about cleaning a space is that it only gets worse if you let it pile up. Do you think that one plate is too much to wash right now? Well, wait until you have another meal and another one adds up to the pile. The same goes for almost everything else—laundry, mopping, vacuuming, etc.

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The trick of the trade in cleaning for lazy people is to do it a little at a time. Don't try to convince yourself that you'll do something all at once, because if you're too lazy to do one little bit, then you'll feel more lazy about it when it piles up. Spending less time in a more frequent manner will feel less like a task, and it is also a good way to practice a habit.  

One-pot meals

If you're one to spend quite a bit of time on TikTok or YouTube, how about making your way into the one-pot meal videos? They're really great if you can't be bothered to clean up more than a pot and a spoon. Yes, most of these one-pot meals or rice cooker cooking videos can be consumed straight out of the pot. 

It is a good idea to look for these videos if you find that you're always too lazy to cook so that the next time you hit the grocery store, you know what to stock up on.

Below are a couple of videos by @nutritionbykylie on Tiktok who is a registered dietitian. She has a series of quick, but healthy meals that can be cooked using just one rice cooker or using a microwave. 

@nutritionbykylie Episode 7 of realistic nutrition tips Rice cooker meals are some of my fave meals since they can be so delicious yet require minimal effort 😌 Recipe: - Rinse 1 cup of rice until it runs clear and add 1 cup of water - Add 1/2 cup diced carrots, 2 sliced baby bok choy, 1/2 cup frozen edamame, 1/2 block of diced firm tofu - Mix together 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp shaoxing wine, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 inch grated ginger, 1 minced garlic clove, and 1/2 tbsp sugar - Drizzle over food - Cover with lid and turn on rice cooker - Once cooked, mix everything together #ricecookermeal #easymeal #onepotmeal ♬ original sound - Kylie, MS, RD, LDN 

@nutritionbykylie Microwave Meals Part 2 this is basically my very, very low effort version of Chinese steamed fish! #easymeal #EasyRecipe #microwavemeals #asianfood ♬ original sound - Kylie, MS, RD, LDN

Meal prep

This trick will take a day or a couple hours when you have a good amount of energy and willpower because it involves doing one heavy task, so you can take it easy the rest of the week. 

In case you're unfamiliar with this concept, meal prep is cooking large batches of meals and then storing them in the fridge to consume the following day. There are freezer-meal recipes. If you do want to cook your regular meals or familiar dishes and store them in the freezer, be sure to refer to trusted sources or websites on how long you can keep them in the fridge or freezer and how to properly store them.

 

Keep a functional space

By now, you may have noticed the recurring theme, which is that getting things done the lazy way still depends on how you prepare for those days. It's like preparing a sandwich while you're sober so your future drunk self has something to eat when you get home later that night.

Another good way to still have some things done even on your lazy days is to keep a functional space. Don't let things just lie around unnecessarily. Even the most basic organisation of your things can go a long way. For example, if your clothes are sorted based on the frequency of how you use them, you will save yourself the time of going through your entire closet each time you get dressed for work. Another way is to keep your most worn footwear near the main door of your place. 

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This is very subjective and will highly depend on your routine. So, think about a systematic arrangement of your things based on how they're used or how they work together.

One step at a time

Sometimes laziness starts with the mere idea of thinking, "Oh, I have a lot of things to do" or "There's too many; I don't know where to get started." When overwhelming kicks off this early, it becomes a good breeding ground for the lazy strike.

Get one task done, take a rest, and decide on what you want to do next. You can also plan this out when you're just lying around doing nothing.

You don't always have to multitask. 

 

Take it one step at a time. Don't expect yourself to finish everything at once.

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