10 Time Wasting Tips and How to Get Rid of Them

Author Bernard Clive quoted, We don’t manage time, we manage activities within time.

You could say that he was spot on with this quote. Each and every day we hear people talking about time management. The truth is, managing time itself is difficult for the sheer reason that time keeps passing, and it doesn’t matter what you do.

One of the best ways to get the most out of time that is given to you is simply to be as productive as you can. The key is to reduce the number of unnecessary time-wasting tasks and focus more on actual productive work instead of just trying to look busy. Doing this will help you get more done and you’ll soon realize that you actually have more free time for yourself.

Let’s take a look at 10 obvious time wasters that exist in your life. You probably don’t realize them, but reducing and even eliminating them will help make your life simpler and focused.

The path of indecision

Have some sort of plan and stick with it. If you’ve decided to complete a certain task, do not keep thinking if you should work on another task first. Finish what you decided to do.

Being decisive will not only save you mental energy, but help you to be more focused, and you’ll get the job done faster.

The ability to not say no

It’s a common thing to have co-workers and friends as well trying to dump their little jobs on you. The general reasoning is that it’s only a small, quick task and they’re really crunched for time. Since it’s easy and you’re so helpful, it shouldn’t be a problem.

If something like this happens occasionally, it may not be an issue. But if your problem is saying no, and people start taking advantage of your kindness, all the little tasks will add up and you’ll be bogged down.

Always complete your tasks first and assess if you have time to do the odd favor or two. If you can’t, always say no and tell co-workers and friends that you just don’t have the time.

Paying more attention to easy tasks

Another common mistake is to keep finishing off the smaller tasks because they’re easier. As a result, the bigger and more important ones are neglected and by the time you get to them, there’s barely enough time to give them the attention they need.

Always prioritize and finish the most important tasks before tackling the rest, no matter how time consuming they may seem. Do first what you don’t want to do most. The rest of the less important work can be rushed later.

Lack the ability to concentrate

When you’re working on one thing, keep that the main thing. Avoid multitasking or taking several short breaks to check your social media, etc. Concentrate for about 50 minutes and take a 5 or 10-minute break after that.

These short breaks will give your mind a brief rest and you can work for longer periods without getting exhausted.

Constant interruptions

Phone calls, text messages, colleagues dropping by your cubicle/office to make small talk, etc. are all interruptions. Minimize them and you’ll get more work done.

Trying to be the perfectionist

Once a job is done and you give it the once-over and it all seems fine, move on to the next task. Do not nitpick and try to keep improving the on current one while you aim for perfection. There is no such thing as perfection.

Always looking to reinvent the wheel

If you’ve been doing a certain task one way for ages, don’t suddenly try to change it up. Do what works. Very often, in organizations and companies, countless meetings result in new changes to existing protocols every month or so.

While it’s done in the name of ‘improvement’ and ‘streamlining’, very often, more problems arise because people take time to get used to the new way of doing things. There’s a period of trial and error… and just when they’re getting into the swing of things, suddenly there’s a new way of doing things… and it’s back to square one.

So, plan your tasks wisely once and make sure your actions are effective. Once you get into the habit, do not keep changing your patterns or workflow.

Wasted planning

Having one to-do list with a plan of action should suffice. All you need to do is work the plan. Do not have plans on your calendar, plans on your laptop, plans on your refrigerator, etc.

Over-planning leads to confusion and too many points of reference. One plan – work it. That’s all you need.

Spending too much time on emails

Set aside blocks of time dedicated to specific tasks. Instead of clearing emails throughout the day as and when they come in, set an hour aside to clear all emails. After that, get back to the other tasks.

A growing to-do list

If you have a list of things to do, complete them first. If any new things come in, put them on a new list. Unless a task is extremely important, do NOT add it on your current list.

Clear one to-do list first before moving on to the next one. If you do a little from one list and a little from another, before you know it, you’ll have 5 lists with incomplete tasks on each one… or one list with so many things to do that just looking at it intimidates you.

Focus more on these 10 tips and try to reduce or eliminate these time wasters from your work day. What gets measured, gets managed. Always keep in-check with your productivity and streamline those things until you’re suitably more efficient.