I used to be the kind of person who didn't think twice about buying a $5 Starbucks Frappuccino, a $3 pack of donuts, or a $0.99 app for my smartphone. It's just a dollar here, a dollar there, right? But by the end of the month, my bank account had somehow dried up even though I hadn't bought anything big.
Now think of it as minutes, not dollars. It all adds up!
A minute here and another minute doesn't seem like much, but so often we come to the end of the day and wonder where you've been all the time The best time tracking app for Android, iOS and desktop The best time tracking app for Android, iOS and desktop We show you how time tracking can benefit you or your team, what to look for in time tracking software, and the best cross-platform app we could find for the job. Read more . Could it be that you are wasting it all on unnecessary habits that you have learned over the years?
Read on to see how many of these time-wasting tasks you do on a daily basis.
Many self-help gurus advocate making your bed first thing in the morning. They claim it has psychological benefits, such as starting the day with a bang, reducing clutter in the home, and even building confidence. They may be right, but I never make my bed and I'm still as productive as I can be as skeptical.
According to David Kadavy, the most successful people actually don't do make their beds.
Obviously, I'm biased here, so take my endorsement of not making the bed with a grain of salt, but one thing no one can deny is that it's a waste of time. Five minutes each morning is half an hour each week, which works out to about 30 hours a year. In other words, making your bed will cost you more than one day each year.
Remember the good the old shitty days when unplugging a flash drive without ejecting it first would corrupt your data, even when the drive wasn't actively being used? Well, I remember, and that's why I'm thankful that modern USB drives don't need to be ejected.
It's all about the type of device you have. If it is a USB Mass Storage (UMS) device, then yes, you still need to eject before removal, but if it's a Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) device or a Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) device, then ejection is unnecessary and a waste of time.
Please note that external hard drives should always be expelled.
These things are productivity killers. Anytime you're “in the zone,” a single alert or notification can knock you out of your flow. You end up spending a few minutes reading and responding to that email or text, and then it takes a while to get back to what you were doing.
Or in the worst case, you open Facebook or Reddit absentmindedly. “just for a minute” And he looks up to see that half an hour has magically passed. This is the real danger with alerts and notifications:they can drift off course without you even realizing it.
So turn them off! It's best to close your email client and check it only twice a day, once at the beginning of your day and once at the end. Check text messages and social media updates once an hour, for example, and read everything in batches. Consider using Do Not Disturb mode (or even Airplane Mode).
We've explored why multitasking is often the wrong way to work. Multitasking Tasks:What's Best for Productivity? unique vs. Multitasking:What's Best for Productivity? Multitasking is a common method to increase productivity. Turns out it's not necessarily the silver bullet for productivity. The key is knowing when to multitask. Read more.
In case you need an update or a recap, here's the key to go:
So if you want to listen to the podcasts while driving or cleaning your house, go for it. But if you want to alternate between work, Reddit and chatting on an instant messenger, it will take more time and you will unknowingly waste a lot of time.
The right email etiquette can go a long way in fostering healthy relationships with your coworkers, bosses, and acquaintances. But there is one thing that can save you time:stop writing long emails that no one will read!
Be concise. The shorter your email, the greater the chance it will be read. Not only will you waste less time, but your recipients will appreciate that you don't waste time. Obviously, you don't want to be blunt or concise; keep the jokes, but stick to the essentials.
This is probably the most time wasted habit you have. It certainly is for me. An accidental visit to Reddit can consume 15 to 60 minutes of my life in the blink of an eye. Other common distractions include social media, goofing around on Slack, and shopping online. So what can you do?
There are two tactics that I have found effective:
I'm always on the lookout for the “next big thing” in terms of apps and tools. For example, every few weeks I go looking for new Markdown editors in case any new ones come along recently. I also do the same for note-taking apps, email clients, text editors, mobile apps, etc.
Most of the time my search comes up empty and I have basically wasted hours of my life for no reason. The truth is that the apps and tools you already use are good enough and there is no reason to look for alternatives..
If one day an alternative comes along and you like it, go ahead and change. But to the extent that you are always looking for the next update or replacement, give it up. Spend that time somewhere else.
If There Is One Bad Habit You Must Break This Year 12 Productivity Habits To Finally Hack Your Life In The New Year 12 Productivity Habits To Finally Hack Your Life In The New Year A common resolution for most workers is to be more productive. In this article, we'll explore twelve bad habits you can change, one per month, to dramatically improve the productivity of your workload. Read More Good sleep is essential for healthy, productive humans, and a surprising number of problems can be remedied or ameliorated simply by giving your sleep schedule a little structure.
Two effective tips you can implement right now:
These tips will help you sleep earlier, sleep less, and sleep more consistently, helping you stay more alert during the day and more productive with your time. You'll eliminate less, dream less, have more mental clarity, and may even be happier.
You are a finite being. You only have so much energy and time for one day. If you overload yourself with too many obligations, everything will suffer. Unfortunately, this can be a big problem if you're having trouble saying No To the people who ask for your time and energy..
Remember that your time is valuable.. Otherwise, you wouldn't be looking for ways to reduce wasted time, right? You may feel selfish, but think of it this way:It's hard to help others to any significant degree when you're burned out, tired, and broken. Compulsively saying yes will ruin you if you're not careful.
I am a great planner. So much so that I will plan even the most mundane errands, like the order in which I go to the bank, the supermarket, and Chinese food. I plan my weekly meals, my daily work schedules, my creative projects, and I even plan my breaks.
Planning keeps me in control, but it's often a big time hit. A lot of what I plan doesn't need to be planned at all, and maybe you're in the same boat. If you're the type to outline and strategize every detail a little ahead of time, maybe it's time to tone it down and start giving some praise.
Assuming you spend 30 minutes a day on that, that translates to 3.5 hours of planning each week, or 7.5 days of planning each year. That's a lot of time to waste on mundane tasks!
I'm not trying to say you should Never Going to Reddit, playing video games, writing long emails, etc. If it sounds like I'm anti-recreation and anti-relaxation, I don't mean that at all. By eliminating time wasters, you can spend the time you save on activities that really matter to you, and if that means playing video games, why not?
So, tell me, what are the biggest time wasters for you in your day to day life? What tips or tricks do you use to reduce wasted time? Or maybe you agree with the so-called time wasters? Share your thoughts with us below!
