Time Wasters – 12 Time Wasters To Avoid At All Costs
Are you interested in deleting the time wasters from your life? Here are the top 12 time wasters you need to avoid at all costs.
Let’s chat about time wasters in life.
Even if I don’t know you personally (though I wish I did!), I’m guessing there is one thing that is true about you: you don’t feel like you have enough time to do all the things you want to do.
Here’s the thing – we ALL feel this way, like we don’t have enough time.
But not many of us are in a rush to put our hands up and admit that we waste a lot more time each week than necessary.
That’s because the perfect timewaster is usually enjoyable, allows the time to fly by, and is highly distracting.
No surprise then that we feel tempted to cling onto them.
Nowadays, there are a lot of distractions that fit the bill of a perfect distraction.
All in all, timewasters are mostly just habits that provide us with little to no meaningful reward for the time invested but still we get sucked into doing it.
If you really want to have more time up your sleeve, avoid these timewasters at all costs and you’ll soon be adding more hours to your day to do what really matters to you:
TIME WASTERS TO AVOID TIP
1 – Clutter.
Clutter is a huge time waster.
Everything seems to be in your way.
It’s hard to find the things you need.
It’s emotionally stressful, too.
Have you ever wasted time trying to find something you need?
I know I have!
Before deciding to put my phone in one spot (and one spot only), I was always using FIND MY PHONE to try and track it down.
Alternatively, have you ever noticed how peaceful a sparsely decorated room feels?
You too can create that same environment simply by decluttering.
TIME WASTERS TO AVOID TIP
2 – Worrying.
Worry is another sucky timewaster because your worry does nothing to change the external world. It isn’t helpful; it only makes you feel crappy and sad.
So feel free to ditch worrying about the weather, your debt, your kids, or your relationship.
- Worrying only creates physical and emotional stress. It takes up unnecessary brain space so that you have no room to focus on how to be more motivated and positive in life. It also makes you less productive and less capable of dealing with the issues at hand.
TIME WASTERS TO AVOID TIP
3 – Perfectionism.
Ooooh this is a big timewaster that you can honestly ditch today!
Ask yourself how well something needs to be done and strive to attain that level of quality.
It doesn’t need to be A+ perfect.
Perfection is in fact an impossible goal and requires far more time and stress from you than it’s worth.
TIME WASTERS TO AVOID TIP
4 – Electronic devices.
I would say this is the biggest time waster of all (next to social media).
Ask yourself now: How much time do you spend each week watching TV, surfing the internet, or staring at your phone?
Do you play video games?
Count up all of that time and ask yourself if there’s something more productive you could be doing.
TIME WASTERS TO AVOID TIP
5 – Social media.
In theory, social media is a great thing, when it is used in moderation.
But in practice, it takes up a lot of time and creates stress, especially when you get sucked into the rabbit hole.
Check out your screen time stats on your phone to see exactly how much of your precious time is going to this unnecessary activity.
TIME WASTERS TO AVOID TIP
6 – Multi-tasking.
This one might be a surprise for you.
Maybe you thought multi-tasking would save you time but did you know it’s far more effective to do one thing at a time?
Consider refocusing your attention on one task at a time (or batching) because the truth is multiple tasks takes time and destroys any momentum you’ve created.
TIME WASTERS TO AVOID TIP
7 – Commuting.
This one sometimes can’t be helped but did you know that a 30-minute drive to work adds up to 250 hours a year, or the equivalent of over six 40-hour work weeks.
Crazy right?
That’s six weeks of vacation!
Living close to your place of employment can save a lot of time.
- If you can’t live close to your work, you can turn your commuting time into productive time instead. For example, listen to informative or inspirational podcasts if you drive. If riding, you can also read, journal, send emails, or make phone calls so that you make good use of this commuting time.
TIME WASTERS TO AVOID TIP
8 – Maintaining your life.
There are plenty of things that we do that don’t enhance our lives but merely maintain our lives.
This includes tasks such as shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, cooking, and mowing the grass.
If possible, see how you can outsource some of these tasks.
Can you get your groceries home delivered?
Can you get someone to mow the lawn for you or do your cleaning?
I know it isn’t always possible but if you are time-poor and have the extra fund you may consider paying others to perform these tasks for you.
TIME WASTERS TO AVOID TIP
9 – Indecision.
You probably thought indecision was a smart choice (in order to avoid making the wrong mistake).
But did you know that f you lack a clear direction, you’re likely to do nothing.
Making decision is like a muscle.
You get better at it the more you practice.
Learn to make up your mind quickly.
Trust your gut and choose what feels like the best decision for you right now and get busy putting it into action.
TIME WASTERS TO AVOID TIP
10 – Meetings.
Sigh we all know how many meetings are really just a timewaster.
Unless they have a real purpose, they can suck the happiness from your soul.
An ineffective meeting is worse than not having a meeting at all.
So, plan appropriately for productive meetings and try to avoid the rest if you can.
TIME WASTERS TO AVOID TIP
11 – No plan for the day.
Having zero plan for the day ahead is a great waste to waste the time you have at your disposal (because hey, what does it really matter?
You did make your priorities clear so of course it’s easy to get stuck into doing the dumb stuff.
Conversely having a set plan for the following day before you go to bed is a great way to avoid wasting time.
So, make a plan at night that covers all your biggest and most important priorities and then spend the day working your plan.
Too easy!
TIME WASTERS TO AVOID TIP
12 – Fatigue.
I would have never guessed how much fatigue impacts your day until I experienced a lot of it last year when I wasn’t getting enough sleep.
It’s seriously hard to do your best work while tired.
You work slower, make more mistakes, and have a decreased ability to focus and make wise decisions.
So do your best to get your sleep!
- Taking breaks is another great way to recover or avoid mental fatigue. Schedule breaks into your workday and GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO TAKE THEM AT REGULAR INTERVALS.
All in all, these are just a few of the easy things you can look at to avoid wasting time each week.
Think about how much more you could accomplish if you stopped wasting time.
A lot right?
Now think about how much time you spend each week on unproductive activities.
Get really clear on what these time-wasters are and do your best to eliminate as many of these as possible.
You will be so grateful that you did!
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.