Time Wasters are the different activities or things that consume lots of your time without offering any productive outcome. Being aware of your time wasters is very important for increasing your productivity, time management, and favourable outcomes.
By the end of the post, you will get to know about some of the most common time wasters that you should avoid to optimize your performance. So, without any further ado, let us get started-
Table of Contents
What are Time Wasters?
At the time when digital means of entertainment like Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. are always accessible on our smartphones, plus Social Media Platforms and mobile games are also there to engage us, it is essential to know about the things that are wasting your time.
So, time wasters are those barriers that come in between you and your productive work.
It can be your social media, people around you, multitasking or even when you try to be a perfectionist. Spot the time wasters that distract you and don’t let you achieve your goal.
It is vital to know what and where is the hurdle between the target and you.
When you follow a routine strictly, there is less chance of getting distracted.
But if you work and do not receive what you aspire, that means you didn’t work consistently. For achieving any goal, consistency is crucial, and time-wasters only disturb that consistency.
Try to grab it as soon as possible; time is not going to come back for you.
So, let us have a look upon some of the most common time wasters here and now-
9 Most Common Time Wasters
1. Mobile phones and other digital devices
According to the research, almost 25% of users who top the list spend no less than 4.5 hours on their smartphones. Android and other digital devices are a need these days for staying updated with the happenings around the globe. Yet individuals should have control over their constant urge to check their phones. No one is going to take your phone away from you.
This needs to be fixed for not letting your time gets wasted. Time is precious, and you cannot afford to lose it just by playing games or checking emails. Every time you open your phone, you take at least 5-6 minutes to put it back in your pocket.
That’s because you are addicted to it, so stop this and use it only when you need it.
2. Multitasking
One of the prominent reasons why individuals lose their time and don’t achieve anything in return is opting for multitasking.
That’s because you try to spend more time trying to do everything at once and that’s not possible. People aren’t insane who maintain a schedule and follow them strictly. Try to balance everything instead of trying to get things done in less time.
Everybody knows that work can’t be completed instantly; it needs time.
You also need to understand that, try to maintain the sanity of your mind. Don’t overburden yourself; you will only get stress and multitasking won’t let any of your work get completed. Consistency and quality work are essential than quantity work, remember that.
You need to prioritize your tasks and then complete them in an ethical scheduled fashion.
3. Procrastinating
I’ll do it later, and I still have time, let me check my phone for some time, these thoughts won’t let you complete your work.
And that is why procrastination is considered as one of the most crucial time wasters in our lives.
If you have a habit of ignoring your work and procrastinating, it’s hard to achieve what you are aspiring to be. This mindset of “I’ll do it later” is worst of all. Because every time you think of initiating your work, the mind reminds you to do it later.
This doesn’t mean you cannot cope with this dilemma; you can. Just keep reminding yourself, you don’t have much to complete this work, start it right now. Often people think they can run away from their job if they keep ignoring, no you cannot. That’s because now or then, it will come in your way and you will have to do it.
4. Saying “YES” to everyone
Yes, sometimes this “Yes” can also be one of the most common time-wasters for you.
Several individuals around you are always ready to distract you from your work. Or sometimes there are loads of jobs that have overburdened you. So you need to understand that you cannot do everything and you also need to manage your work and personal life.
Although someone asks you to help them in their work, you can say yes but never try to get trapped. You are not here to do other work also, so you need to be aware of what you should be doing and what you should ignore.
Take time to decide what you can do and what is beyond your line. Don’t make hasty decisions and say yes to everything.
5. Chatting most of the time
Unnecessary chatting and noisy workplace can make you get less productive because of utter disturbance.
Researchers have suggested that the workplace environment should not be louder than 50 decibels. Noise pollution can ultimately disrupt your concentration and focus. Therefore, it is your responsibility to stay away from those who regularly chat instead of working.
Less talking will save you time, and you will be more productive because of your concentration. You must control your urge to talk. We aren’t suggesting you to completely abandon the people around you but try to focus on your work more.
You can have small talks in between your break time, the rest of the time try to ignore them as much as possible.
So, considering lots of chatting as one of the prime time wasters will, for sure help you in saving loads of your time that you can use in doing other types of productive tasks as well.
6. Not following a routine
Maintaining a schedule and strictly developing it will make you more focussed on your work. Routine makes you disciplined, and your concentration increases because your time gets divided.
But if you do not follow a routine and have no time management, you aren’t doing justice to your work.
Try to maintain a routine and follow it at least to remind you not to get distracted. It is essential to understand that you cannot work and work all the time but work with focus.
Try to balance your mind and concentrate on your work while working instead of getting distracted. Follow a routine and stick to it.
By having a well-scheduled lifestyle, you will have a routine that will never allow you to waste your time doing tasks that are not worth your time. So, not having a routine is for sure one of the very crucial time wasters that you need to resolve to increase your productivity.
7. Unhealthy diet and hydration
Spending time and money in food is one of the worst things that you are doing to yourself. Don’t forget junk food make you unhealthy, and ultimately you lose your energy.
Also, the money wasted on junk food could have been saved and spent on something that will make sense. Try to maintain a healthful diet to keep your body fit.
Eating and drinking habits are going to affect your time; you need to understand this. Keep yourself pumped up when you are working and drink lots of water. Avoid having drinks or food that has fat and sugar.
They are the best source for lowering down your energy, and you will continuously feel lethargic.
That is why; being aware of the diet pattern that can be considered as one of the prime time wasters is significant for maintaining the energy and enthusiasm in your life to optimize your efficiency and performance level.
8. Online distractions
Social media is a sweet and slow poison, yes we can say that.
That’s because it is more responsible for wasting your time than anything else. Even people chatting around you get bored and get back to their work, but social media updates you with new happenings every second. Don’t indulge in them too much as this will distract you a lot.
That constant urge of checking your phone every time you get a notification is pathetic. And you need to control that desire. Balance your time and try to maintain a gap between your phone and the use of social media.
It is crucial because social media is an excellent source of distraction these days, and you need to stay away from it.
It is one of the prime time wasters, and to avoid this; you can automate your social media channels, as this will for sure help you in saving your time.
9. Trying to be a perfectionist
When you try to be a perfectionist, you will devote more time which is needed for completing a task; then it can also be one of the significant time wasters here.
Being realistic and having a practical approach in your tasks will help you here in resolving the tendency of overthinking to do a job correctly.
How to stop wasting time?
Most Common Time Wasters – 9 Ways you’re wasting your time
1. Identify the Non-productive work
Non-productive works like too much use of social media, chatting, and procrastination.
You can judge these things and try to stay away from these non-productive works. For instance, if you use social media for more than 5 hours in a day, cut it out.
Don’t cut it instantly, it will take time but at least decrease the usage.
So, when you find out the non-productive tasks that you do in a day will help you in finding the associated time-wasters, and then you will stop wasting your time on those tasks.
2. Eliminate distracting elements
Anything that distracts you, it can be your family, friends, emails or acquaintance.
Try to stay away from your distractions. Sometimes you get too much indulged in talking and further realize you have wasted your time.
Don’t do that; always maintain your surroundings and the duration of talking.
Eliminating distracting elements from your life will remove out some of the significant time-wasters from your life.
3. Time management and schedule
Access your priorities and manage your schedule.
The most critical aspect of controlling the wastage of time is to maintain your time management. It will be difficult for you if you do all at once, so try to balance it.
Apply practical tools in managing your time and start following it.
Why finding out time-wasters is time Important?
Everyone knows time is precious, and we cannot just let it flow from our hands.
So you need to know the worth of time and respect it.
Every time you waste your time, ask yourself what products you could have done all this while. We are sure you will start feeling the sense of guilt moving through your mind.
Don’t just let your time pass; use every second of your life in being productive. Even talking to others is being productive but in limits.
Don’t confuse yourself by overburdening yourself in the name if being productive. But try to simplify your work and do it on time.
When you are aware of your time wasters, you will be able to optimize your performance most effectively.
Wrap Up!
Have you ever realized why you waste your time?
That’s because you have numerous distractions around you and all need is to judge them and cut them from your life. Anything that comes in between your goal and you is a distraction. Try to stay away or at least maintain a limit from them.
Time is not going to come back for you, not your age. So, try to achieve your targets while you have time. You never know what life is going to serve you next.
Did we miss any of the time wasters that are wasting your time? Feel free to share your life experiences about the things that waste your time and ultimately decrease your productivity.
Liked this post? Check out the complete series on Time Management
