Time is a limited asset, which can neither be earned nor be purchased. But it is easy to waste it on unproductive activities or by doing nothing.
What Does “Wasting Time” Literally Mean?
The best way is by examining how you are spending your time every single day. If you are living undirected and unfocused – getting up late, going to the job that does not leads you towards your goal, spending your life complaining about your job and colleagues, returning home bone-tired, spending hours watching senseless entertainment programs on TV or your smartphone – then yes, you are wasting your time!
If, at the end of the day, you realize your day has been wasted, then probably it was.
Following are some common ways to waste time instead of being productive:
- Scrolling through your social media handles without a purpose
- Online distractions
- Pointless meetings
- Too much socializing
- Unorganized work environment
- Lack of clarification
- Aimless lifestyle
Is Purposefully Wasted Time Still Considered Wasted?
Well, this depends on the situation. For example, if you wasted time on purpose, and it has not impacted you badly, then this is not considered time wasted. So, in a nutshell, if the wasted time does not cost your better future, then it was not a waste.
On the contrary, if you keep wasting your precious time and know it as well, you might want to change your routine. You need to work on it as soon as possible; otherwise, you will regret it in the future.
Just because you are enjoying wasting time does not make it better anyways. If you think that enjoying something does not make it a waste, then you might be wrong. For instance, if the robber enjoys stealing, would this be considered a good thing? Just like stealing is bad, no matter whether the person enjoys it or not, wasted time is still wasted, whether you did it on purpose or realized it afterward.
Prioritize your activities first and then enjoy in your leisure time. This way, you will not regret it tomorrow. It is good to have fun activities in your short breaks, but it’s not wise to spend all your time doing so.
How to Be More Productive and Avoid Wasting Time?
Here are some amazing tips you can follow from now on in order to stop wasting further time:
1. Plan Your Day
Not having any kind of plan for your day or week leads to the wastage of precious time. If you do not plan, you spend the whole day reacting to everything and doing nothing productive.
2. Be Aware of Time Suckers
The first step to making use of your spare time is to be aware of time suckers. For example, keep track of your daily usage of your phone, stop wasting hours scrolling your feeds on social media. This will lead you nowhere.
3. Start Your Day with Intention
Do you start your day with some purposeful objectives? Great! You are using your time in the best way. For example, waking up with a to-do list, including half-hour physical exercise, healthy eating, two hours of study, and some gathering time – is considered good.
Always remember that relationship building, health, fitness, and studies are not wasting time.
Fulfilling all the objectives throughout the day will create a sense of achievement at the end of the day, and you can develop positive energy with this lifestyle. Therefore, make sure you make the most of your time.
4. Practice a Pro-Active State
The key to maximize your time is to switch from a reactive state to a pro-active state.
When you have no plans for the following day, you are in a reactive state. You will react to every pointless activity, be a part of pointless debates, waste time on social media, listen to negative news, etc.
While in the pro-active state, you wake up with your designed aims and plans, and you do not let meaningless events control your mood and energy.
5. Learn to Manage Time Wisely
Good time management is an important key for making use of time. It does not necessarily mean to keep doing what you are supposed to do at any cost, but it also involves short breaks and scheduled fun activities. All you need is to make use of short breaks wisely. Short activities mean breaks for snacks, activities, friends, and sometimes vacations to freshen up.
This so-called wasting of time in the form of short breaks is much needed for recharging your battery. Taking time to be proudly unproductive for a while will ultimately make you better at your job. We should value these moments and see them as time well spent.
Final Thoughts
Time is money. We have limited time in this world, and wasting it on online distractions, doing nothing, being in a reactive state, getting into meaningless debates, and living our lives without objectives is not very wise. We cannot afford to do that. Therefore, value your time as you are never going to get it back.
From now on, practice better time management. Be aware of how you spend your quality time. Start your days with plans and to-do lists. You will start feeling better and your time won’t be considered wasted anymore.