We all have guilty pleasure & habits that waste a lot of time in our lives and prevent us from being productive. Unfortunately these habits are sometimes also highly addictive and actually release dopamine (a pleasure hormone) into our system to make us constantly do them over and over again. But there are some things that are just total time wasters they can end up wasting our entire day with their nonsense. You may realize you do these things and you may not – but here’s a list of the top ten time wasters you have to stop if you want to lead a successful and productive life!
1. Stop checking your social media
People spend hours and hours each day checking their social media. Looking at what others are doing, reading the feeds, getting lost in internet videos of dogs and babies doing funny things. Before you know it you’ve wasted 30 minutes and you’re late for your next appointment. If you want to have a productive day, shut down your Facebook.
2. Stop posting on Instagram, Facebook & Snapchat
Busy successful people rarely have time to think or sleep, let alone log every meal or tag every moment their dog has onto Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram. Not only that you miss out on the experience itself by being so wrapped up in your technology tagging and posting. Then your friends start responding, and you have to respond back and well… you know. Its ok to post once a day, but when you are constantly tagging and publishing and SnapChatting every moment of your life you are simply wasting time you need to b productive.
3. Worrying about and inserting yourself into the lives of others
Sometimes the drama that’s going on in a friend’s life is more interesting than what is going on in our own lives. Sometimes we want to help, and sometimes we’re just bored we need to get involved. Getting involved in the drama of others is a complete time waster, not to mention it creates more drama that wastes your time. There is a time to relax and kick back with your friend and hear about their drama, and there is a time where you need to get things done. Worry about your own life, let them worry about theirs, and when you’re off the clock, then you can do whatever you want to do.
4. Watching TV
Just one episode turns into a full blown Game of Thrones marathon. Limit your TV time and reserve it for when you have free time and don’t need to be productive.
5. SmartPhone Aps
TOP time waster, especially games. You spend hours each week using these cellphone applications that are supposed to make your life easier but they really make your life harder by wasting valuable minutes and hours each day. Phone games are addicting and should be removed from your phone if you find them affecting your productivity, and do you really need to know how many steps or calories you took or ate today? If you are busy and productive, and on the go, we can assume it’s a lot. Cut out the technology to add hours to your day.
6. Checking your email
Its ok to do this for your job, but sometimes checking your email leads to hours and hours of time wasted. OK so yes, you have to check it eventually, but when you check your email too early, sometimes you find yourself in a chain of emails that lead into a two hour cycle of continues back and fourth email response that you never actually get to any of your other work. Limit the time of day you check your email and limit the times of day you respond.
7. Hitting the snooze button
Does it really help? That extra 8 minutes, to 16 to 24 minutes you spend of delaying the inevitable every day? If you know you always hit your snooze button 3 times, then just set your alarm 24 minutes late and get up as soon as it goes off. You waste valuable deep sleep time by keeping yourself in a state of light sleep and repeated wake until you get the urge to get yourself out of bed.
8. Phone calls
Limit them. Have an agenda and resist the urge to make small talk. You don’t need to hear about their kids, you need to get through your work call as soon as possible. Phone calls can sap hours from your day.
9. Meetings
A successful person once said the only time I attend meetings is if I have to sign something. Meetings can be big times wasters if not completely organized and focused. People rarely show up on time, rarely stay on schedule and rarely stay on focus without going off into tangents. Limit your meetings and make sure they are as productive as possible.
10. Being Disorganized
We’ve all wasted more time searching for that one important piece of paper or even our car keys that we care to admit. Being organized may take an extra minute here and there but it will save hours off your days later on by having what you need easily accessible.
11. Multitasking
This is also called ADD. Its really hard to be efficient at one thing and get it completed if you are also concentrating on something else at the same time. You may think it saves time but what it really does is make each of the two things take longer because they don’t have your full attention.
12. Poor Communication
If you don’t understand something or don’t communicate clearly then it doesn’t get relayed properly and turns into a miscommunication that wastes time sorting out. Be as clear and concise as possible.
13. Not doing it right the first time
Huge time waster. When you rush and don’t take the extra two minutes to do something properly, it usually ends up biting you in the butt later on when you end up having to do it all over again wasting hours. Do it right the first time and you’ll only have to do it once.
14. Junk Mail
Not having a properly maintained inbox can waste a lot of time. You need to go through your list and hit “unsubscribe” to anything you don’t need to get on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. It will allow you to get through emails and tasks quicker and be more organized.
