19 minutes per day. That's the average time I've spent on Instagram this week. And if you're a social media user, studies confirm that the average person now spends an average of 3 hours and 35 minutes per day on mobile devices. While I can tell myself "it's for business," phone time is often used for procrastination when I can glaze my mind over instead of focusing on a hard business problem. Laziness is something I'm familiar with and it can often be the reason some people never start a business.

You might tell yourself "I'm not smart enough" or "I don't have enough money" to get started but often the real reason could be that you're lazy to put in the work it takes to start a business. Lazy hours can add up. Here's how you can combat your laziness and you can too to starting a business.

Less talk, more action.

I've heard so many friends over the years say they want to start a business or side hustle. Few actually do it.

It doesn't take hours a day to start a business, in fact, if you work at something daily for 10-20 minutes, you can build something slow overtime. (Even keep your day job.) Two years, ago I built an e-commerce store and each day I spent 10-15 minutes per day managing it. Over time, it's grown to be a thriving business.

I'll never be one of those people who preach Gary Vaynerchuk's advice that every waking hour should be spent hustling. When you're on your death bed, it's not about how much money you made, but the experiences you have with friends and family.

That said, if you have dreams of starting a business, you actually have to take the plunge and do it. This month, every time you think about a dream, then think about the actionable steps that you can take to get there. Take action by registering a business name this week and setting up a simple website. Even making a business card for your new endeavor can get the ball rolling for your business.

Use lazy time as a reward, not your default state.

I'm no saint. I've spent more hours on Netflix than any human should. There are often days I'd rather put my mind on autopilot and watch 10 episodes of Mad Men. But over the years, I've learned to treat my lazy time as a reward for putting in a hard day of work.

If I'm feeling guilty about watching TV or going to a party on a Friday night, it usually means I slacked off during the week and didn't accomplish enough. When I have been working hard, these fun times feel even more fun and gratifying.

You should relax it's necessary to recharge as long as you feel like it's a reward after you've completed a hard day of work. It shouldn't be a part of your routine that happens without putting in any effort.

Set small goals instead of big ones.

Starting a business can feel daunting. Sometimes laziness stems from just being overwhelmed.

When you break down action items into small easy tasks it can feel less overwhelming and help your laziness take a backseat. Starting a business isn't easy but by breaking your to-do list into small manageable chunks, you'll feel less overwhelmed.

When I'm feeling overwhelmed, I often make a list of the things I need to do and do the easiest ones first--doing something is always better than doing nothing. Right now, I'm sitting here needing to do my taxes but my lazy brain is telling me to do something more fun. To build momentum I gathered all my receipts today instead of telling myself I needed to finish the whole process today. 

When you're starting a business, start small, get something out there and put in effort each day to make your dreams a reality.

This article originally appeared on : Inc.