How to Stop Wasting Time

Have you noticed that it’s hard to find time, but it’s easy to waste it? In today’s age of technology and social media, it is easy to get distracted and drawn into time-stealing activities. So how do we stop wasting time?

We’ve all be sucked into the proverbial rabbit hole of social media.  It’s easy to think, “I’ll just quickly check my feeds” only to look up and discover you’ve scrolled through social media for hours!  In 2020, people from North America spent an average of 2 hours and 6 minutes a day on social media.

Distractions are all around us at work and at home. We need to learn how to stop wasting time if we want to be productive and meet our goals.

ways to stop wasting time

TIME-SAVING TOOLS & ideas

There are tools and ideas available to help us stop wasting so much time on our devices:  

• Activate the do not disturb function on the phone.
• Disable notifications of new posts, likes and emails.
• Place phone on mute or turn it off all together.
• Remove the social media app from your phone (making access less convenient).
• Website blocking tools like Focus, FocalFilter or Freedom to help you work uninterrupted for a designated time period.

I discovered that time-saving tools helped, but didn’t stop all of my time-wasting activities. Instead, some bad habits and routines induced my time-sucking activities.

CHANGE YOUR HABITS AND ROUTINES to stop wasting time

I usually come home after work and plop down in my favorite chair.  Subsequently, this is when I am most vulnerable and when I get sucked down into the social media rabbit hole. I can sit there, unproductive, for hours!

It was my habit of coming home and immediately sitting down that triggered my social media activity.  To break the habit, I made a conscious effort to not sit down until certain tasks were performed.  

Changing my habit was hard. Very hard.

I’ve slowly retrained myself to continue to work when I get home instead of sitting down and resting.  Like the law of physics- if I am in motion, I tend to stay in motion.  If I’m at rest, I stay at rest!  

Now, I cook, clean and complete necessary tasks for the day before I sit down and relax with my family.  The act of sitting down in my favorite chair triggers my brain to switch from working mode to relaxation mode. 

IDENTIFY YOUR TRIGGERS

If you are continuously wasting time on your devices, I encourage you to evaluate your routines and habits and identify your own triggers.  Are there certain habits, triggers or routines that happen each time you begin a time-sucking adventure?  If so, think of ways to change up your routine. Create new habits to reduce the amount of time you waste on nonessential activities.  

Ask yourself these questions as you try to identify the times and triggers that lead to your time-sucking activities:

1. Are there certain times of the day or week that I am always on my phone/computer/tv?
2. What habit, routine or task am I doing immediately before or after my time-sucking activity?
3. How do you typically feel before, during and after you are on your devices?  Happy, sad, mad, tired, overwhelmed?  Do you feel better/worse after you finish on your device?
4. Are there certain attitudes or behaviors that trigger you to scroll on social media, watch tv, etc?  If so, what would be another more productive way to react or cope with those attitudes and behaviors?
5. Are there certain triggers that cause you to grab your device and look for an escape?
6. If you use your device to help you relax or escape, can you identify other activities you can do instead? Activities like exercising, taking a walk, playing a game with your children or taking a bubble bath are great alternatives.

Don’t give up!

It is very hard to change habits and routines. It’s even harder to stop spending so much time on social media. Don’t get discouraged if you find yourself returning to old habits and routines. I occasionally revert back to coming home, sitting down in my chair and scrolling through social media. It takes time to make big changes. Stay positive, stay focused and keep trying!

Productivity apps and other time-saving tools can help reduce your screen-time by limiting your notifications or ability to access.  But to be most productive, you probably need to change a routine or habit.  Identifying behaviors and routines that trigger your unproductive activities will help you determine the actions necessary to see real change and stop wasting time.

Want to up your productivity game even more? This FREE guide helps you be more productive during the day and free up your evenings for family and fun! Grab the FREE guide below.

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