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Top Ten Time Wasters and how to fix them

 

 “Top Time Wasters and How to Fix Them”

The 24 hour gauge shows us that we only have so many hours in the day.  We need to balance our time with all the things important in our lives.  The issue can become that you look back at how much of that time was wasted.  Once, it has passed, you cannot get it back.  We only move forward.  (As far as we know at this point.)

I have a list of things I know I need to get done, but it is so easy to procrastinate or find fun things to do.  I had to sit down and force myself to produce this talk.  Sigh.

So, How can we improve productivity, reduce stress, and use our time wisely?

⏱️ Here is a list of some of the top 10 time wasters in our lives today.

1. 📱 Excessive Social Media

  • Mindless scrolling steals hours.  Between Facebook, Tik-Tok, Instagram, Youtube, we have so many ways to find mindless entertainment.  Heck, even the TV can cause hours of scrolling channels to find something you want to watch.   It is so much easier to find something to keep our minds entertained than to actually do the things we want to accomplish.  I like the saying that Rolls Royce and Lamborghini does not advertise on tv or social media because their target audience is not wasting their time watching TV.
  • A lot of the time, social media is done in mini segments, however that adds up over time.   We have to be mindful of how many activities are really useless to us.
  • Fix: Use app timers that are available if you need to force yourself, there is even app timers to remind you to get up and exercise and move around if you are at your desk too much.  Remove notifications on emails or texts that interrupt activities you are trying to accomplish.  Actually schedule “scroll time,”  mine is when I get in bed and need something  mindless to get me to sleep.

2. 📧 Checking Email Too Often

  • This is especially true in a work environment when you can get distracted with different tasks from emails.  It can ruin your focus on current tasks..
  • Fix: Batch your email (2–3 set times daily) and get out your to-do list and use the emails to prioritize tasks.   Batch them to the ones you need to reply to when you are ready.

3. 🗨️ Unnecessary Meetings

If you are still working and not retired long, unstructured meetings waste time.  Elon Musk has talked about meetings a lot.

 Musk believes large meetings waste time and energy, hindering open discussion and debate. He suggests focusing on smaller, more targeted meetings where everyone can contribute. If a meeting isn't providing value or you're not adding anything, it's okay to leave. Musk emphasizes that it's not rude to leave, but it is rude to waste people's time by staying.

  • Fix: Only attend meetings with clear agendas & outcomes.

4. 🔁 Multitasking

  • Feels productive, but hurts performance.  Concentrating on just one task makes sure it gets completed and done correctly.  Set up specific times and how much time you want to spend on that task(Time blocking)
  • Takes time to refocus after switching.
  • Fix: Try monotasking or time blocking.

5. 🛎️ Constant Notifications

  • Ping fatigue = mental fatigue.  Too many interruptions causes you to lose focus on what you want to accomplish.
  • Each one breaks concentration.
  • Fix: Use “Do Not Disturb” or batch notifications.

6. ❓ Lack of Prioritization

  • Doing what’s urgent, not what’s important.  Just because someone else has a task important to them, does not mean you have to drop things important to you, unless it is your wife.
  • To-do list without focus = busy, not productive.
  • The Eisenhower matrix divides tasks into 4 quadrants.  Important and non-important, and then urgent and non-urgent.  Do the important/urgent, Schedule the Important/non-urgent, Delegate the urgent/non-important, and delete the non-important/non-urgent tasks.
  • The "top 3 priorities" strategy focuses on identifying and prioritizing three main tasks or areas for focus each day, week, or other period. This approach can improve productivity and help individuals achieve their goals by concentrating on the most important things. 
  • Fix: Use Eisenhower Matrix or “Top 3” daily priorities.

7. ⏳ Procrastination

  • Putting things off causes last-minute stress.  It is so easy to not do things because they take away from less focused activities you want to do and maybe more fun.
  • Sometimes it is  fear-based or perfectionism-driven.
  • You can try the Pomodoro technique.  The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that uses a timer to break work into focused intervals, typically 25 minutes, separated by short breaks (5 minutes). After four intervals (pomodoros), a longer break (15-30 minutes) is taken before starting another cycle.   You can maybe set up a reward for achieving small objectives for yourself to help motivate.
  • Fix: Use Pomodoro technique, break tasks into small wins.

8. 📺 Mindless Entertainment

  • Binge-watching, endless YouTube rabbit holes.  My grandchildren would watch hours of Youtube channels about opening toys packages.  They make it easy to click on similar videos once you have watched one.  However, watching highly educational TV shows like ancient aliens and oak island are highly useful in life.(Hello, I do, and that was sarcasm).
  • Harmless in small doses, but easily goes overboard.
  • Fix: Schedule your downtime; watch with intention.

9. 📂 Disorganization

  • Time wasted finding files, emails, or tools.  This was one of my biggest problems while going to college and my early years.  You have to finally get aggravated enough when you waste time finding things, that you develop a system and take the time to “have a place for everything, and everything in its place”.  That is a saying for a reason.
  • This applies to computer files and documents also.  Develop a methodical way to keep things organized, however thank goodness for search boxes.
  • Fix: Regular digital cleanup and workspace tidying.  Everything has a place.

10. 🧠 Overthinking / Indecision

  • Time is lost in loops of “what ifs.”  If you know someone who has obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD), they can use large amounts of time trying to make things perfect.  Retyping emails, redoing activities, or worse, expecting those around them to also reach perfection as they see it.
  • Paralysis by analysis.
  • Fix: Set time limits on decisions; aim for “good enough.”

🧠 The summary of fixing the problem

  • Time wasters aren’t just about distractions—they’re habits.
  • Identify your top 2–3, and take small, consistent actions.
  • “Don’t manage time. Manage your focus.”

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