Raise your hand if you ever missed your weekly deep conditioning session, felt too lazy to do your pre-poo or kept your hair in a bun for weeks on end out of pure laziness!?! C’mon I know there’s a few of you out there. I’m sure I’m not the only who has fallen guilty of this deadly sin. Yep, you betcha! I’ve done it too and I will probably do it again.
Shocked?! Don’t be. Listen, I could be here sugar coating all this, but the truth is laziness is part of human nature. Do we like saying we’re lazy? No. We normally justify our inertia by trying to convince ourselves (and others) we didn’t have enough time, we missed the opportunity, it was somebody else’s fault or something prevented us from doing what we were supposed to be doing in the first place. Yeah, that’s how it rolls.
The truth is we can’t guarantee it will never happen again, we can only hope that it doesn’t. However, we can’t rely entirely on hope (it can be another deadly trap for idle minds) we must put systems in place to avoid falling into laziness and end up damaging our hair. So, don’t be shy and raise your hand with me. Let’s all agree that somewhere along the journey we’ve done it, or will in the future. My goal here is not to criticise you, my goal is to help you overcome laziness in your hair regimen.
In fact, there’s a free workbook waiting to be downloaded to help you succeed over laziness. This workbook is part a library of resources available to all my subscribers. Ready to start working? Download the Free Overcome Laziness Workbook and keep reading them.
Yes, I confess to the jury, I “neglected” my hair due to laziness.
Back in January, I shared with my subscribers that in December last year when the Christmas Holiday Season was in full motion and family and group festivities kept our weekends busy, I had “neglected” my hair during that time. I confess I totally gave into my deadly sin and skipped a whole washing day… yep, no pre-poo, sulphate-free shampoo or deep conditioner. So that means I went for two weeks not following my hair regimen. Can you imagine!? For me, that was the first time ever doing that in my transitioning journey to natural hair which, at the time, meant 29 months.
What happened after that, you ask? Did I damage my hair? Was my detangling session a nightmare? Was my hair too dry? Well, all I can tell you is that I didn’t damage my hair and that there is a “science” to being lazy (insert smiley face). But, I’ll leave that for another post if you’re interested in knowing exactly how that goes (lemme know!).
The point is, although my hair was left undamaged, the experience was enough for me to notice a difference in my transitioning hair. My hair was OK indeed, but it wasn’t as soft, shiny and as moisturised as it normally is when I follow my hair regimen.
Being lazy had left some unwanted effects on my hair (nothing bad really, but still…). To me, that was a one-time event and it never happened again since then. Mainly because I prefer my hair soft, shiny and moisturised (ha!). Had I been lazy for a longer period and my hair would have certainly pay for it. So I set up a system to avoid falling into idleness and instead go straight into action. Care to have a few tips on how to achieve this? Yeah, I thought so.
1| Set An Alarm Or Calendar Event
Does setting up an alarm or calendar event sound strange to you? I admit it can be a tad bit “cu-cu”, especially if people notice it popping up on your mobile screen. But, because you don’t owe anybody anything and you’re a very goal orientated gal (right?!) doing this will come up as a reminder.
Of course, this will only be effective if you label it with a compelling message. Kinda like affirmations, something that will actually spring you into action, otherwise it will be just like the alarm clock you set for a morning workout, but keep failing to leave the bed (remember?).
Label your alarm clock or calendar event something like:
- Great Hair, Needs Great Care!
- Success if not for the Lazy one!!
- Get Moving, [insert action] your hair!!
- Laziness Determines Your Hair Journey’s Success.
- Healthy Hair Needs Caring Hands.
- Hair Goals Depend On What You Do In The Present!
When the time comes the message will come up on the screen and you’ll feel compelled to act. It may also be a good idea to set several alarms/calendar events with some of these different labels if you’re one of those people who likes to hit the snooze button a few times. You see, different quotes popping up on the screen may be more convincing than the same one.
2| Accountability Partner
This is a great option if you want something that is more interactive and doesn’t depend solely on your will. This may be the best out of the three options I have for you. An accountability partner will motivate you, help you achieve your goals, will give you support during your struggles and help you overcome them.
The catch, with this option, is that you need to find a trustworthy partner. You need someone who will challenge you and take responsibility for their role (be reliable) and someone who will put you in check but won’t criticise you. It’s a tough balance, I get it, but if you know you suffer from “lazynitis“, you really need this in your life. This way you’ll achieve the goals you set for your transitioning journey much sooner.
Oh, but you have to be willing to do the work, your partner is not responsible for your mistakes or weaknesses, he/she can’t force you to do something. It’s not OK to divorce yourself from your responsibilities. Define a consequence if you fail to do something that was agreed.
Where can you find accountability partners? Well, if you’re part of a natural hair forum or community you can look for one there. Maybe there’s someone you know and trust who can partner up with you and that way you can help each other. You can also ask a friend or family. This has to be someone you respect and know won’t let you slack on your goals. Preferably, this person should be natural or be going through a natural hair transition as you’ll be able to relate better.
3| YouTube Notifications
This is what gets me out of my laziness cloak whenever it starts to feel just a little too comfortable. It’s not very often, but still, it does creep up from time to time. So how can YouTube notifications help my lazy behind? Well, if you’re anything like me when I started my transition to natural hair, YouTube was the place to go to feel inspired and motivated.
You get to see your favourite vloggers and their amazing hair and think “Oh, wow! One day I’ll be where she is”. It also helps when they’ve been through the same struggles you’re now going through and you have proof that you too can overcome them. I have a YouTube app on my iPad and in there I subscribe to all my favourite vloggers and get notifications pop-ups of their newest videos. Watching the videos get me prompted to try a new hairstyle or keep track of my hair goals and I get more motivated to do better or keep it going.
You see, it gets me from idleness to action! It’s great, isn’t it? You should try it. Oh, there’s one caveat, though. You can only watch the videos the night before your washing day or right before you start your hair routine (but you decide what works best for you). This way you build momentum to act.
Did you like my tips?! I hope so ’cause I have an extra tip for you guys, but it’s only available on the workbook below. This tip is to help solve something that is normally associated with laziness but is actually something else. Wanna know what it is? Then download the Free Overcome Laziness Workbook and discover.
Now, for some people, one approach may be enough to conquer their laziness, but for others, they will either need a combination of two or the whole bag of tricks. The important thing is you know your shortcomings but you’re creating systems to prevail over them.
What are your strategies to overcome laziness? What was your biggest lazy sin?
