The One Minute Method for Overcoming Laziness
Dear friends around the world,
Those who know me will know that I have always liked Japan. It is a country that I find to be very peaceful, neat and safe. I love Japanese architecture and the small quaint towns there. No matter how rural or small, Japanese villages are very aesthetically pleasing, timeless and they connect with nature. Urban Japan is also spectacular and beautiful. I find their culture and traditions admirable and their people, many of whom practice Zen Buddhism and pursue that way of life, are very spiritual and honorable.
Japan is also undeniably world-famous for its advancements in modern technology. The Japanese are extremely creative, hardworking, have excellent aesthetics, and they always come up with new ideas and solutions to improve their quality of work and living standards, thus allowing them to live their lives better.
With so much innovative thought and progress in Japan, it is no surprise that the Japanese have come up with a tried and tested method for continuous self improvement. Do read this short article that elaborates on the one-minute principle for self-improvement. I hope you too are inspired to make a change in your lives.
Tsem Rinpoche
A Japanese Technique For Overcoming Laziness
By Helen Noronha on Wednesday December 28th, 2016
Image: Nishikawa Sukenobu
The One-Minute Principle For Self-Improvement
“At the heart of this method is the idea that a person should practice doing something for a single minute, every day at the same time.
Almost all of us periodically set ourselves a new goal or challenge — and just as often in the end we fail to achieve it. We end up telling ourselves that we’re just not ready yet, that we’ll do it next week, next month…next year.
We might even pursue them with zeal at the start. But once we’ve made a small amount of effort, we’ll tell ourselves we’ve done enough, and it’s time to take this whole “starting a new life” thing more slowly.
Why does it always turn out like this? The answer’s fairly obvious: because we try to achieve too much, too fast, we get sick of the new responsibility and, because it’s difficult to change old habits and try something new.
Kaizen is the simple technique of practicing something for one minute every day.
Just One Minute A Day
In Japanese culture there exists the practice of Kaizen, which includes the idea of the “one-minute principle” for self-improvement. At the heart of this method is the idea that a person should practice doing something for a single minute, every day at the same time.
“You can’t do Kaizen just once or twice and expect immediate results. You have to be in it for the long haul. – Masaaki Imai
Clearly, it shouldn’t be any trouble for absolutely anyone — even the laziest person — to carry out a given task for such a small amount of time. Whereas you will more often than not find an excuse not to do something when faced with carrying it out for 30 minutes or an hour a day, you should be able to do it without any misgivings for just 60 seconds.
Even the biggest mountain can seem smaller if you take it one step at a time.
The Pursuit of Continuous Improvement
Whether it’s doing press-ups or reading a book in a foreign language, in this case the task before you won’t seem like something unpleasant which you have to get through, but will instead be an activity which brings you joy and satisfaction. By taking one little step at a time, you will move on to the path of self-perfection and achieve great results.
“When you’re inspired by such feelings, you will gradually begin to increase the amount of time you spend doing the task you have set yourself.
It’s important to overcome that lack of confidence you might have in your own abilities, as well as free yourself from those feelings of guilt and helplessness.
A simple technique that requires daily discipline to achieve noticeable results.
Celebrate Each Step Forward
You need to experience a sense of victory and success to move forward. When you’re inspired by such feelings, you will gradually begin to increase the amount of time you spend doing the task which you have set yourself.
Maybe at first just for five minutes more, but then this will soon turn into half an hour, and then even longer after that.
In this way, the one-minute principle lets you see the progress you’re making right before your eyes.
Each step that you take in your personal growth is a cause for celebration.
Change and Wisdom
Kaizen originated in Japan. The word itself contains two roots — “kai” (change) and “zen” (wisdom). It was invented by Masaaki Imai, who believes this philosophy can be applied just as successfully to the world of business as it can to one’s personal life.
“The word itself contains two roots- “kai” (change) and “zen” (wisdom).
At first glance, this practice might seem doubtful and ineffective for people who have grown up in Western culture, with its emphasis on the idea that results can be achieved only by undertaking immense efforts.
Imagine what you could achieve through the pursuit of continuous improvement.
Applicable for Everybody
But elaborate, challenging programs of self-improvement which deprive a person of huge amounts of energy can simply end up exhausting them, and leave no tangible results. Kaizan is something that anyone can attempt in virtually any sphere of their life. In Japan, for example, it is often applied to improve management techniques.
All you have to do is understand what it is you want to achieve, and you’re already set to go.
Source: http://upliftconnect.com/japanese-overcoming-laziness/
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Thank you for the article that elaborates on the one minute principle of self improvement.Kaizen is a good method to slowly push and change ourselves to become better and less lazy.
We should applying this method for our own improvement .This is training us on the path of achievement towards perfection of self.
This one-minute method is a good and practical way to train ourselves to be disciplined and not be lazy. The time frame is short enough and should not be a problem for even the busiest people.
Rinpoche has taught us “gratitude meditation” where we think/reflect about the kindness of the people in our lives. Some couple of examples are the people who taught us in school or those who helped build our spiritual home. This would be an excellent meditation for this one-minute method as the results of this meditation will help us lessen our anger and in time, we will see a positive change in ourselves.
Thank you this post, Rinpoche. Am sure that it would be very useful for those who would like to overcome their laziness or just want to become better versions of themselves.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing the article of how to overcome our laziness with effective methods from Japanese culture. Laziness is the showstopper almost in many aspects of our lives where there will be no progress can be achieved if we do not apply adequate efforts in our routine job, relationship, family as well as spiritual practice. On top of that, laziness is also the opposite of one of the Six Paramitas, right effort where consistency is very significant to be upheld from the start of one’s work or practice until achieving the ultimate goal and objective.
The one-minute principle for self-improvement as described in the article is a good and effective start for those who really wish to leave their comfort zone, which could be long habituated since they are born, and embark into a new practice of life by gradually cultivating the habit of consistency with efforts applied. Many times, positive results will not appear to us by attempting to work on something for one or two times but consistently reviewing the plan for any opportunity to progress further, trying with any available logical ways to close the gap and improving on the productivity to get us closer to the goals and objectives. No one is born perfect, only practice makes perfect.
Humbly with folded hands,
kin hoe
Laziness is harmful to us and other in the end. Kaizen and the one-minute method helps us to get consistency in something we do and by doing it everyday we increase the time and change it into a habit. I learned that it has been applied since many years in Japanese companies to solve problems. If we apply it also in our private life we can find the solution for delaying things and get it done, which in the end makes us happy.
Japan culture has many similary way with Chinese culture and share their knowledge and wisdom together. Kaizen is definitely interesting method to practice overcome habitualation and laziness. I guess when we pull ourself practice and self discipline . We will able overcome weak point transform become better. Leaning and practice always training us stronger overcome laziness.
Well, interesting one minute method. what can we do in one minute? We challenge ourselves to do something that we think we cannot do or lazy to do. By doing that for one minute is easy to achieve hence we do not give up easily. By achieving that one minute result we gain confidence. Confidence comes joy and we wanted to do it again. I think that one minute a day create a new habit too. Without knowing, it has turned what we struggling to do for the first one minute into a habit already. When things become a habit, which means we will just do it naturally everyday without struggling and hesitating. Most important is we will do it without any effort.
We shall apply this one minute method into our spiritual path. I think this will benefit ourselves and people around us.
The Japanese are a well known race of disciplined people. Employers take their staff welfare seriously and instill care and kindness to their employees. This one minute method for overcoming laziness is just an example to weed out procrastination for procrastination is the thief of time.
“Never put off for tomorrow, what you can do today” – Thomas Jefferson
Kaizen is an interesting method that often focus continuous small improvements, daily changes that result in major improvements over time. i.e small ideas which, if possible, can be implemented on the same day.
There is always room to make small improvements, challenge the status quo, and tune processes and practice on an everyday basis. In fact, everyday we spend a minutes to do something without calling it “change” or even “continuous improvement”. We are already getting real benefits from the intuitive approach to continuous improvement. And over time, all of these incremental changes add up, and make a significant positive impact on us.
There can be all sort of method but what the most important key factor is the effort and consistency to do it. Kaizen emphasize on small work/effort but consistent application to make a small change at the beginning in order to see the result immediately and gradually with the consistent application we will see bigger result which actually became our habituation to do things immediately and consistently for bigger results
It’s pretty much similar to what H.E. the 25th Tsem Rinpoche always advice us to put effort and consistency in whatever we are doing.
This is a very good method. One minute a day, everyday, to better ourselves! Just a small change but in the long run it helps to change for the better.
It might sound easy but being consistent is not easy for many. How many things have we done consistently? Especially something that will benefit us in the long run. Motivation is also another important key to this. In the long run, it becomes a good habit and we become more mindful of what we are doing. I recently picked up something and pushing myself everyday to be consistent although it might not be at the same time everyday. I see the results and I am glad that I did it. This also show that if we put our effort and time, we can do it.
“At the heart of this method is the idea that a person should practice doing something for a single minute, every day at the same time.”
This sound easy and it is very easy to do something for just 1 minute, but what’s difficult is to do it everyday, even just 1 minute a day may seems difficult when we need to tie it with consistency, we may start for a few days, few weeks or few months, but eventually it will stopped.
Habits are sometimes compulsory. New behaviours can become automatic through the process of habit formation. Old habits are hard to break and new habits are hard to form because the behavioural patterns which humans repeat become imprinted in neural pathways, but it is possible to form new habits through repetition. So this training can be powerful when we do it consistently, when we do it everyday, then we will form the new habit and it would not be difficult anymore.
I have heard about Kaizen before from my uncle who use to work in semi conducting company for a U.S. firm, and they did business with Japanese.Kaizen is one of the successes of Corporate Japana, the Japanese employed this methodology to so many of the Japanese corporations. This is a very good method to slowly push and change ourselves to become better and less lazy. As long we are willing to push ourselves to take baby steps with posititve motivation. Thank you Rinpoche for this very beneficial article to improve on our laziness! 🙂
This is achievable. I am famous for being lazy. In fact when I was working after graduating, I was called the short-cut princess. Hahahaha… Plus I am sure that I have some form ADHD. If this works for me, it will work with many others.
It is of course deeper than just laziness, we are also addressing our attitude with time and urgency.
1-minute is really all it takes to have a fulfilling and effective day!
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article.
Kaizen is one of the successes of Corporate Japana, the Japanese employed this methodology to so many of the Japanese corporations, and anyone can suggest betterment to the company from the humble tea lady to high powered executives. In fact it feels like the application of kaizen makes the Japanese salarymen work like a hive or a collective.
Then this Kaizen is applied through one’s personal development. I feel meditation could be one that suits this once a day thing, that we keep on doing. Would be nice if the article also talked about some examples fro practitioners of this ideal.
I think it’s a very good suggestion for a kick start practice this method.Besides, Kaizen can train us to be more consistent on things we need to do and in fact thru Kaizen can change our bad habits to better.
To overcome laziness, we need to cultivate ourselves into habit of willingly to learn or being into curiosity.Attentiveness is also important in applying into our daily job task. For me, by keeping myself busy will overcome laziness(LOL).
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this short yet meaningful article, is to constant remind us to be more consistent and mindful. Thank you again.
I always believed that practice make perfect. Kaizen is something like we practice everyday but in a little time. We should go step by step to achieve our goal in order for us not easily give up in achieving our goals.
Kaizen will train up our consistency steps in achieving our goals.Everythings must do it in moderate ways to avoid exhausted to ourself and let go our goals.
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing and inspiring more pepola to practice one minute merhod to overcome laziness.
Jason
I think this principle will be a game changer for me because it’s universal and absolutely impossible to ignore which is perfect for me. Everyone can always spare 1 minute and then to feel like you have accomplished something you only have to add 1 more minute at a time. It makes it seem really easy and approachable to spend time doing meditating/mantras/sadhanas. No one will argue that 1 minute is better than no time at all doing these things. You can also start with 30 minutes, maybe if you are more advanced and feel like 1 minute isn’t enough time. It’s a scaleable meditation system with a low entry bar. I am going to try and remember this for the rest of my life.
Yes, we need to take one step at a time and be in the moment of every step. We cannot expect to run before we learn to walk or walk be fore we learn to crawl. Each action requires prior knowledge and practice of the previous step.
When we try too hard, we tend to burn out faster which defeats the purpose as we will then drop out of our pursuit. So, slow and steady does it and we can run a longer race.
This applies to a lot of things on life, even our dharma practice. We need to pace ourselves to last the distance. We have to remember that that dharma path is a marathon and not a sprint.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this. Although I have not been to Japan, I am deeply fascinated by Japan culture and way of living. They have indeed many good invention which has improved the ways of lives of millions in the world.
I strongly believe this kaizen method is workable. There are many times where I want to cultivate a habit, I need to get it into some kind of routine. When I am in some kind of routine, the mind automatically reminds me to do that task, and in most cases, it works.
Yes I like Japan a lot too.
They do have good work ethics. Most of them cannot tolerate lack of efficiency, punctuality, thoroughness, knowledge and expertise.
But with everything else, there are always extremes. Some Japanese companies and bosses take good work ethics too far and the culture they set expects workers to work on overdrive, clocking in way above and sometimes double the official number of working hours. Yes, they produce results but sometimes at the long-term detriment of the employees.
I know of at least one acquaintance who decided to leave the highly stressful working culture in his home country to come to Malaysia to work, taking home a lesser pay but happier nonetheless.
I suppose each to his own. Everything is relative. Some people may be able to function on 2 hrs of sleep a day and spend most of the waking hours slogging to put food on the table. Some may not be able to function. They may be able to stretch it to a certain extent, but when gone too far, something is going to give. After all, they are not super-humans or Buddhas yet.
It’s not an easy task to change from what we have been extremely used to it.
However, by combining attitude, consistency and effort, together they will help us to make things happen.
Nothing is impossible, it’s just difficult.
It’s feeling great coming back and see what I’ve commented and shared over here after 1 year! ?
Strict observation and consistency of myself are the hardest things to train them as habits for ourselves to be a better version of myself. In short, making positive & beneficial habits. Understanding why we want to do certain things or want to achieve is important, if we go deeper, the MOTIVATION of doing things or achievement are crucial!
Same activity completed with same method & individual but with different MOTIVATIONS, the result will definetely vary.
Etc., helping a homeless lady,
1) with good motivation, it ‘ll be “I want to help this lady because she is feeling cold and hungry in such harsh environment, it will be dangerous for her to stay out here, hence, I’ll bring her some hot food and beverage and introduce her into a home.”
2) with bad motivation, it’ll be “Hmm..I ‘ll be looking good & kind in front of my crush if I help this dirty poor lady, I’ll quickly buy her some food & drinks so the SHOW end as soon as possible
Same ending, Nothing is impossible, it’s just difficult.
Kaizen practise is a good method to start training our mind to push ourselves and do something new everyday for 1 minute. Because it start with 1 minute, we would not have reason to not do it. Once we started to learn something new and continuously doing it, we will get use to and improve it further.
Thanks you Rinpoche for sharing this article.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing article on how we can improve ourselves by using the one-minute method for overcoming laziness. If we can spare ourselves one-minute a day to do something beneficial repetitively, for sure the results will be great and it overcomes our laziness of giving excuses for not doing anything. This method of cause can be applied in anything that we do everyday.
With folded palms,
Vivian
The Kaizen method of achieving something by doing the same thing every day at the same time sounds simple. However, the principle behind it is profound. If you do something achievable and consistently over a long period of time, it will definitely produce results . Change that comes from taking little steps to effect that change is surely born of wisdom
It is generally easy to do something once a day at the same time for just five minutes. Continuing with it and not giving up will begin to yield tangible results after a while. Then when we see this,our confidence will grow and we will start to feel a sense of winning and success . This will in turn motivate us toward greater effort and we will naturally want to increase time spent on it to 15 minutes, 30 minutes or even to 1 more hour!
This is training us on the path of achievement towards perfection of self. This seems to run counter to accepted Western belief that in order to achieve success you must apply tremendous effort. Unfortunately, this technique of immediately applying tremendous effort will cause us to burn out very soon and very fast, leaving us without the will and the zest to carry on. Just as a little drop of water will eventually create an ocean, so too will taking a little step at a time ultimately lead us to overcome even the highest mountain.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article. Kaizen is a very good method not only apply in out life, it is good to apply in work and management. We can start doing things bit by bit, like reading, sadhana, going puja, exercise, social media etc, and slowly it will become our habit. We should applying this method for our own improvement. In the whole, if the management of a company start applying this method, it doesn’t only improve the quality of the staffs, but improve the whole company. Thank you Rinpoche. _/\_
This is also one of the reason why i love Japanese culture too. Their attitude towards work is second to none and we can only see the results shown by their ‘hardwork’ all these years, from an almost torn apart country due to the nuclear bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima to a strong nation. We should adopt these methods in life and work ultimately if we want to achieve a good result.
Taking baby steps to train up our consistency and persistency is really a cool innovation from the traditional “cold turkey” approach. Since this is a trust and proven method, we should give it a try and conquer one of our limitation. Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing.
A very good idea to practice Kaizen which include the application of “one-minute principle” for self-improvement. Most of us like to give reasons not to do good, don’t want to change or face the new challenge. This kind of bad habituation leads to bad desires which may prevent us to achieve practical wisdom.
In order to inspire the people to do more and involve in self-improvement , this is good to have the encouragement from others so that the people will be inspired and move forward. Nevertheless, from the point of view of dharma, we should give up the worldly concerns and concentrate and focus on becoming enlightened beings to benefit more others.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this interesting article.
“You need to experience a sense of victory and success to move forward.”
Kaizen is very appealing to me because it stresses on positive reinforcement in small daily bites. This helps us build up what might be called positive momentum which is very important in order for us to build good habits in the long term.
I think this makes sense and will be a good practice for anyone, young or old.