If there is one thing that quarantine taught us last year, it was that time is precious. Minutes, days, months, and years just fly by. Even though 2020 seemed like the longest year of the decade, it still went by in a flash and we have spent a lot of time thinking about some of the biggest time wasters we regret in life.
Time is finite, and our lives on this planet are finite. We behave like we have all the time in the world. We spend days doing things that don’t matter. Each of us has the same 24 hours a day to make an impact and live our best lives. Yet, we are not equally disciplined regarding what we do with our time.
If you are one of those people who think that they’re constantly busy and yet don’t get much done, we’re sorry to say you’re wasting your time. To help you manage your time better and prevent losing valuable time, we’ve compiled a list of the biggest time wasters we regret in life.
Averting in Advance the Time Wasters We Regret In Life
If you want to stop wasting time, the first thing to do is identify the time wasters and nip them in the bud. One of the ways to determine time being wasted is to evaluate how productive you are. In short, try to understand how much work you get done in a day.
For instance, if you are unable to finish your chores, cannot stick to deadlines, or are way behind your lectures and assignments, you are wasting time. To stay committed to the tasks that matter, find a way to measure your progress. You can create to-do lists and, by the end of the day, evaluate if you did everything you were supposed to.
Difference between Wasting Time and Spending Time with Yourself
Just because we said you shouldn’t waste your time doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have alone time. There is a huge difference between time wasted and spending time with yourself. When you are wasting time, you are doing things that don’t matter. When you are spending time with yourself, you look after yourself and focus on your mental health. Choosing to spend time with yourself has emotional, social, and mental benefits.
There are many things you can do to spend time with yourself. You could read a book, treat yourself to a spa day, bake, go for a walk, journal, meditate, paint your nails, go for a coffee, and so on. Make sure you take out a couple of hours every week to do things you love by yourself. It could be as simple as going for a walk. What is important is, you feel fulfilled and happy after spending alone time.
7 Biggest Time Wasters We Regret in Life
Here’s what we have to say on time waste: make sure you don’t regret the time being wasted. To stop wasting time and give yourself a productivity boost, avoid doing these 7 things.
1. Checking your Email Every 10 Minutes
We are all guilty of checking our emails and notifications multiple times a day. The average working person receives about 7 to 10 emails a day. But, all emails don’t require immediate attention.
EmailIt shouldn’t come as a surprise that checking your emails is one of the biggest time wasters we regret in life. When you allow your email notifications to distract you every time, you are wasting valuable time. Instead, you can allot two times a day when you will check your mail and respond to the messages.
2. Social Media
This one should come as a no-brainer as well. Did you know that the average American spends 118 minutes per day browsing through social media? It’s important to ask yourself if that is worth it.
It’s okay to shut your social media channels down for several hours a day. Unless your work requires you to be on social media for 118 minutes a day, there’s no point in wasting so much time. The world isn’t going to end if you miss a few notifications or if you don’t check your Instagram for two hours. Discipline yourself not to be dependent on social media and spend some time off the grid. You’ll be surprised by how much work you can get done!
3. Multi-Tasking
Multi-tasking isn’t as helpful as you think it is. When it comes to productivity, our brains can only focus on limited tasks at the same time. Multi-tasking is one of the biggest time wasters we regret in life because it requires you to move back and forth between tasks. As a result, your attention span and productivity diminishes, and you don’t get a lot done.
4. Being Unorganized
If you want to be productive and get things done, the only way is to be organized. Organize your life, your calendar, and your workspace. No one needs to have clutter all around. Maintaining a compact calendar will help you feel less overwhelmed. Similarly, keeping your workstation clean and organized will help you maximize performance without feeling swamped.
5. Demanding Perfection
Here’s the truth: being perfect is impossible, and it kills your productivity. When you set unrealistically high standards, it is not only detrimental to your health, but you are also giving up on things that don’t go your way. Overcoming this mentality is difficult, but take baby steps and start by staying focused on your immediate goal.
6. Spending time with people who don’t add value to your life
This is one of the biggest time wasters we regret in life. There is no point in spending time with people who don’t add value to your life. This includes fake friends, people who are jealous of your achievements, those who are toxic and bring you down, and simply those who prevent your growth. It is important to surround yourself with people who matter and who have meaning to your life in life. Friends are supposed to help you grow and strive for the best, not bring you down.
7. Procrastinating
We always end up delaying the harder tasks and keeping them for the last minute. This is one of the major things that kill productivity. Try to commit to doing things that seem difficult first. When you avoid your tasks and procrastinate, you are wasting time and setting yourself up for disappointment later.
Procrastinating Just bite the bullet and get things done. Remember one of the best time waste quotes of all time, “you may delay, but time will not.”
These were some of the biggest time wasters we regret in life. Use these tips to make the most out of your time and positively impact your space.
