By Evelyn Evans We’re responsible for squandering time. Indeed, a survey revealed that an astonishing 89% of workers confessed to wasting time during their workday.
This isn’t necessarily a negative aspect.
“Spending time idly is about rejuvenating yourself and clearing your mind,” states Michael Guttridge, a psychologist specializing in workplace behavior.
However, there exists a fine distinction between beneficial and detrimental time wasting.
Disconnecting and recharging, fostering connections, acquiring a new ability, and engaging in hobbies are beneficial uses of time. Inefficiently wasting time means engaging in insignificant and unproductive activities. Other unproductive ways to waste time include engaging in activities that teach nothing or delaying tasks when it’s not justified.
In simple terms, taking time to waste can be advantageous when you require a recharge. But, what if you’re allowing those unproductive time-wasters to take up most of your time? You can defeat those time-wasting activities by utilizing these scientifically validated strategies to avoid squandering your time.
- Figure out your goals
- Keep track
- Prioritize
- Schedule your day
- Do the hard stuff first
- Don’t cheat
- All your time counts
- Give yourself a stop time
- Do all your work on one device
How to Stop Wasting Your Time?
The secret to better time management lies in reducing distractions, prioritizing your essential tasks, and establishing a dependable method for measuring your productivity.
Figure Out Your Goals
We’re discussing overarching objectives for both your professional and personal life. For instance, you might aim to achieve a healthier work-life balance, increase your physical activity, and participate more in your kids’ extracurricular events. After identifying what they are, you can divide them into smaller tasks and concentrate on how to integrate them into your life.
Keep Track
Taking a week or so to observe how much time you actually spend on regular tasks — like doing laundry, preparing breakfast, and making your bed — can be beneficial. Many individuals exaggerate the time required to complete simple activities, such as taking a shower, while undervaluing the time needed for more significant tasks, like writing a term paper. If you clearly understand how you utilize your time, you might be able to handle it more effectively.
Prioritize
Organize tasks into four categories:
- Critical and significant
- Not pressing but significant
- Pressing yet not significant
- Neither critical nor significant
The objective is to minimize the number of items classified as “urgent and important.” They create stress when they accumulate. If you organize your time effectively, you will likely dedicate the majority of it to “not urgent, but important” tasks—this is where you can accomplish the most valuable activities and avoid feeling stressed later on.
Schedule Your Day
Once you understand the duration of tasks and their priorities, begin to organize your plans. Be adaptable. Do you accomplish more in the early morning or late afternoon? Do you enjoy having your evenings available to unwind? Are you more inclined to do yard work if you can complete it all in one go or if you do it gradually throughout the week? Consider what suits you best, and don’t hesitate to make adjustments.
Do the Hard Stuff First
Mark Twain stated, “If you have to eat a frog, it’s wise to do it first thing in the morning.” “If your task is to eat two frogs, it’s advisable to start with the largest one.” In other terms, if there’s a difficult task to tackle, complete it first so you can avoid worrying about it for the rest of the day. At least that’s the interpretation of the author of a well-known time management book. They named it “Eat That Frog!”
Don’t Cheat
If you set a work session for 9 a.m., adhere to it — 9:17 a.m. isn’t acceptable, even if you’re working solo. Neglecting one start time increases the chances of missing additional ones. If you desire some flexibility, give yourself an option — respond to emails or organize documents, for instance — but adhere to the timetable as if it’s unchangeable. If you give it a go and discover it isn’t suitable for you, you can always modify it.
All Your Time Counts
You have a free 15-minute period before you need to be somewhere — time to browse the Internet and look at social media, right? You may be astonished by what you can accomplish in that time. Four 15-minute intervals distributed throughout the day equal one hour of productivity. And you’ll feel good about relaxing afterward.
Give Yourself a Stop Time
Laboring without a designated end time in view is a guaranteed route to exhaustion and irritation. Whether your endpoint is the conclusion of the workday, a planned dinner, or something else entirely, keeping a finishing time in mind will prevent you from overexerting yourself, which ultimately results in a drop in work quality anyway.
Even when you’re under pressure with a term paper due tomorrow, plan breaks that allow you sufficient time to regroup before resuming work. Taking breaks gives your brain a chance to recharge, leading to increased happiness, focus, and productivity.
Do All of Your Work on One Device
Alternating between a laptop for a spreadsheet, your phone for an email, and a tablet for a presentation can lead to chaos. Whenever you switch between devices, you probably fall prey to one or two distractions, requiring you to regain your focus. Whenever you can, gather all the materials you’ll require on a single device beforehand, allowing you to operate from that one device during your work.[4]