Like your other habits time wasting habits are not ones that you all of a sudden just start doing. They build up over time. The more time wasters you have in your life the less likely you are to achieve the important goals in your life.
Knowing what they are is half the battle. Below you'll find 4 of the most common time wasters. I know I definitely suffer from these and am actively working to correct those bad habits.
Are there any of these big four that are on your time waster list?
Multitasking
The past few years I've seen many articles that talk about how multitasking isn't actually productive it wastes more time.
You waste time because your brain is constantly having to adjust to working on something else you loose valuable time.
To combat time wasting multitasking first and foremost stop doing it! I've discovered that time blocking or task batching is a great tool. Focus on one task at a time and commit yourself totally to that one task.
Bing watching
Relaxing with your favorite show every now and then is ok but time wasting happens when you end up watching three hours without working on anything.
This is the time wasting habit I have the most trouble with. I always like to have some sort of sound in the background when I work on almost everything. When I turn on a show or movie I find myself getting sucked in and watching whatever it is.
Obviously the best way to combat this is to not turn on the TV at all. In all forms too, no watching YouTube videos on your phone either. I've tried some time blocking with this and it has worked well. I work hard for two hours then I can enjoy one episode of the show or part of the movie as a reward.
Just make sure to stick to the limits. If you don't think you can then try to not turn it on at all until your done.
Indecisiveness
You would be surprised when you learn how long making decisions can take. Some people spend an hour deciding what restaurant to eat at, 30 minutes to figure out what to wear each more or even an entire day to decide to keep some insignificant trinket in their homes.
While it's not a lot in a single day but you add up each day and it all adds up really quickly.
Don't waste time going back and forth about decisions. Most of the time these are such insignificant decisions that they don't warrant that much of your time. I've read that Steve Jobs always wore the same outfit so he wouldn't have to waste time or brain power on making that decision.
Maybe a capsule wardrobe is the way to go. Or make a point to grab a top quickly in your closet. Either way work to reduce time spent on these types of decisions.
Looking for items
This weekend I spent a good 20 minutes looking for my little hair clips. I usually put them in two spots but there were none there. It was frustrating and that was 20 wasted minutes. I found most of them in my work bag. Clearly I had been grabbing a new one without realizing I already had several in there.
Work to find a home for your stuff. Giving items like hair clips, remotes, receipts and other items that get lost easily a home and making a habit of always putting them there will give you back so much wasted time.
When deciding on a home like all organizing make sure it makes sense. We have designated about half a dozen different places for receipts to go over the years. None of them worked because maybe one of us would always forget, it wasn't a logical spot or we would forget what the spot was.
Now we make a point to put them with my computer. I can get my points, put them in the budget and check for any survey deals before putting them in the shred bin.
Decide on a home, keep it logical and make sure everyone knows where it is.
Being a "yes" person
Whether it's in your personal life or work life saying yes to every invitation, request or or idea that comes across your plate can be a huge time waster.
You will also inevitably say yes to things that you don't want to do at all. This will lead to not only wasting time but also to unhappiness too.
This is one of the main things I wanted to work on when I revamped my blog. I was trying to do all the things and be all the things to everyone. It just led to a lot of wasted time.
Find the things you want to do, the people you want to hang out with and the other things you want in your life not all the other things. Say yes to those important things because some day you won't have the time and will wish you had.
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