Need more time? Here’s 10 time-wasters to drop from your day

Many of my clients report feeling as though they have no time for:

  • Strategic thinking

  • Relationship building

  • Sleeping!

A good strategy is to block out time in your calendar for the “important but not urgent” things and prioritise them.

On the flip side, it can also be worthwhile to take a good, hard look at exactly what is filling up all that time. Some of it can’t be avoided, but most of us waste a lot more time each week than we care to admit.

Avoid these time-wasters and you’ll add more hours to your day to do what really matters to you, even (especially!) if that’s just relaxing and decompressing:

1. Clutter

Clutter is a huge time-waster. Everything seems to be in your way. It’s hard to find the things you need. It’s emotionally stressful, too. Have you ever noticed how peaceful a sparsely decorated room feels? You can create that same environment for yourself – even if it’s just your desk (or the kitchen table, if that’s where you’re working).

  • Try taking 5 minutes to clear your workspace at the beginning and end of each day.

  • Pick a room in your house and spend 5 minutes putting things away.

2. Worrying

Constructive thinking about a problem that creates insights and progress is great. Looping, repeating thoughts that only make you more worried? Not so much. Some worry is natural, but worrying about something won’t change the outcome.

  • Worrying only creates physical and emotional stress. It also makes you less productive and less capable of dealing with the issue.

  • Set aside an hour each weekend to sit and worry. When you’re doing it, you’ll realise how unhelpful it is and when you catch yourself worrying at other times, it makes it easier to notice, and decide to defer it until Worry Hour.

  • If persistent worry is becoming a real issue for you, it could be time to seek professional help from a qualified coach or therapist, or talk to your GP. Don’t hesitate to ask for help – it helps.

3. Perfectionism

Ask yourself how well something needs to be done and strive to attain that level of quality. As I always say, if you’re a neurosurgeon about to operate on my brain, by all means aim for a “good enough” standard that is pretty much indistinguishable from perfect. But most of what we, including brain surgeons, do each day is not brain surgery. Perfection is an impossible goal and requires far more time than it’s worth. Calibrate accordingly.

4. Electronic devices

How much time do you spend each week watching TV, doomscrolling online, or staring at your phone? Do you play video games? Count up all of that time and ask yourself if there’s something more constructive you could be doing. A little bit of any of these things is fine (well, maybe not doomscrolling), too much can really become a time-waster…. and they’re designed to be addictive.

5. Social media

In theory, social media is a great thing. But in practice, it takes up a lot of time and creates stress. As I wrote recently, culling your time on social media and being highly intentional about the time you do spend can free up hours and hours each week… or even each day.

6. Multi-tasking

This one can seem counter-intuitive, but we don’t multi-task, we task-switch. It takes time and depletes cognitive bandwidth. Instead, try setting a timer and focusing deeply on one task at a time.

7. Commuting

A 30-minute commute adds up. That’s 240 hours a year for a full-time worker over 48 weeks, or the equivalent of over six work weeks! As many of us discovered during Covid, living close to – or in - your place of employment can save a lot of time.

  • If you can’t live close to your work or work from home, you can turn your commuting time into constructuve time. Listen to informative or inspirational podcasts if you drive. If you take public transport, you can also read, journal, get some work done or meditate.

8. Meetings

Many meetings are a waste of time (shocking, I know) and they can suck the happiness from your soul. An ineffective meeting is worse than not having a meeting at all. Plan appropriately for productive meetings and try to avoid the rest.

9. No plan for the day

Having a plan for the following day before you go to bed is a great way to avoid wasting time faffing (technical term) in the morning. Make a plan at night and then spend the day working to your plan. This also helps prevent whoever happens to be in your inbox in the morning from becoming your default priority.

10. Fatigue

You can’t do your best work when you’re tired. You work more slowly, make more mistakes, and have a decreased ability to focus and make wise decisions. When you can, get quality sleep!

  • Taking breaks is another great way to recover or avoid mental fatigue. Schedule breaks into your workday.

  • If ongoing poor sleep is an issue for you, see your doctor.

Think about how much time you spend each week on unhelpful activities. Eliminate as many of these time-wasters as possible and reap the benefits!

Until next week,

Take care of yourself and others

Madeleine

PS. Want to work with me as you bring some balance back into your work and life? Let me know. Send me a message to enquire, and please share with anyone you think may benefit.

I help accomplished professionals untangle difficult career questions so they can thrive in work and life.

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Madeleine Shaw