Do you have too many things to do but need more time to finish all your tasks?
I've been teaching for more than two decades now. Teachers have more responsibilities and duties besides teaching kids in the classroom. There are a lot of behind-the-curtain obligations like lesson planning, paperwork, meetings, professional development, and so on. Hence, many of my co-teachers extend their work to their homes. They always take home no additional paychecks but their unfinished work, resulting in less time spent with their family and themselves.Â
I was one of those teachers. Until one day, I told myself, "This will not work. I will have another round of burnout if I continue doing this." I want teaching to be fun, and what I was doing took my fun away because I was exhausted and lacked sleep. I asked myself, "How could I make this better?" Then, I discovered many things I did that were time wasters-- activities that steal my energy and my time.Â
Please continue reading if you think you don't have enough time because you might have wasted a lot more of your time each day than you care to admit, or you're unaware you're wasting your time.
Timewasters are primarily habits that provide little to no meaningful reward for the time invested.
Join our 'From Stress to Peace 5-Day Challenge'Â if you want to create habits that will help you save time and be more productive.
Here are some time wasters that you need to avoid at all costs.
1. Social media. Have you experienced this? You open your favorite social media outlets to post something or check a feed, which should only take 5 minutes maximum. Still, you end up spending an hour reading more feed. Feed that evokes your emotion; you laugh, you cry, or you get mad. Then, when you become aware of the time you spent, you tell yourself, ok, I'm done, but wait, this feed is interesting. Let me watch more. Hence, spend another 15 minutes or more.
Social media is not only a time waster; the different emotions, especially unpleasant ones, create additional stress in your already stressful life. Take a social media detox today and see how much time you save doing this.
2. Indecision. Decision, decision, decision. We make thousands of big and small choices each day. You're likely to waste your time if you lack a clear direction. For example, deciding what to wear or eat every day can take so much of your time. I cut time deciding what to wear to work by organizing my work clothes and deciding ahead of time what to wear on certain days in a week. In the bigger picture, you will waste so much of your time if you don't know what you really want and what makes you happy. Know who you are and uncover your life's purpose by increasing self-awareness and knowing yourself.
Begin your journey to improving self-awareness through our book, Finding Your Lost Self: Your 30-Day Journey to Self-Love.
3. Clutter. Clutter is a huge time waster. It will also drain your emotional and physical energy trying to find things you need, especially when you're in a rush, and everything seems to be in your way. Start decluttering your space now. It will open the flow of energy in your space.Â
4. Electronic devices. How much time do you spend watching TV, surfing the internet, or staring at your phone each week? Do you watch TV series? Count all that time you spend doing this and ask yourself if there's something more productive you could do instead. You could spend that time with your loved ones or for personal development.
You can join our 'From Stress to Peace 5-Day Challenge'Â to help you jump start new habits for your personal growth.
5. Meetings. Many meetings are a waste of time, and they can suck the happiness from your soul. Some meetings last for hours when the discussed topics can be done in 30 minutes or less. Plan appropriately for productive meetings. Have a timekeeper and a "topic keeper" to redirect participants when they are out of topic.
6. Worrying. Do you know worrying about something that doesn't exist is a waste of time? You spend a lot of time thinking about it, talking about it, and dreaming about it. Worrying creates emotional and physical stress and can make you less productive and efficient as the emotional distress caused by worry will take over your life.
Learn to challenge what you worry about. Ask yourself whether they are true or imagined. If it is true, figure out a better way to address it and take action. Don't spend so much time worrying. You can also practice meditation.
Sign up for our "From Stress to Peace 5-Day Challenge"Â and learn about Mindfulness and Meditation practices that will help you calm your mind.
7. Multitasking. You may take pride in yourself for being a multitasking person. You think you can finish more tasks when you do things simultaneously. Multitasking can cause you to make more mistakes and will take you more time to fix your mistakes. Also, you destroy your momentum, and it will take more energy and effort to get back to your zone and focus on your task again.
8. No plan for the day. No plan will waste your time because you will fill it with unimportant things. Do you know Parkinson's Law? Your tasks will fill in the allotted time you give to complete it. For example, when you are writing a report and give yourself ten days to finish it, you will most likely finish it in 10 days; if your supervisor asks you to complete that report in one day, you will most likely finish it in one day. Do you know why? When you give yourself a lot of time to complete your tasks, you will find fillers in between. Most likely, those fillers are time wasters. Looking ahead to what's coming and giving yourself deadlines will help you plan to finish your tasks on time and help minimize your stress.Â
A plan for the following day before bed is a great way to avoid wasting time. Make a plan at night and then spend the day working on your plan.
9. Fatigue. When you feel exhausted, it is hard to focus on your work. You make more mistakes; you work slower. Save yourself time by stopping what you're doing when you feel tired. You sleep if that's what you need or take a break between tasks. Most often, we feel tired because we don't take care and love ourselves.
Develop a deeper love for yourself. When you need help loving yourself, you can get the book Finding Your Lost Self: Your 30-Day Journey to Self-Love.Â
The perfect time waster is enjoyable, allows the time to fly by, and is highly distracting. They are usually discreet and subtly creep into your day without noticing it. The time has passed, and you're unable to do the things you're supposed to do.
Your time is precious. Please don't waste it. Spend more of it with people you love and things that really matter to you.Â
I have some coaching clients who waste their time because they want to escape from something, don't feel good enough, or for other reasons. If you want to know the root cause of why you're wasting your time, please don't hesitate to contact me.Â
Eliminate as many of these timewasters as possible and reap the benefits!
God bless you, beautiful you! May you always live in the Power of Love!
How about you? What habits do you have that waste your time?
Please share in the comments below.
About Dolly
Dolly Tampos Oksman, MA, MAED-SPED, is a Transformational Speaker, Author, Certified Wellness Coach, Special Education Teacher, and Behavior Analyst. She is the Founder and Owner of Love. Heal. Believe. LLC.
Dolly experienced chronic stress that affected her mental and emotional health. However, when she entered the convent to be a missionary nun, she learned the secrets of how to live a fulfilled life with inner peace and joy. Today, she is sharing those secrets with you.
Dolly is on a mission to help you develop a deeper love for yourself and find long-term solutions to stress. Her new book, Finding Your Lost Self, which is also available on AMAZON  and her programs & Services will take you on a step-by-step journey to a happier, healthier, and calmer life with less stress. Please contact Dolly HERE.