In the pursuit of finding “the good life,” we often find ourselves busy. And while some busyness is good–it’s great when you get to do things that you love–how often are we just plain busy for no good reason? If you want to find more time in the day for the things that truly matter to you, then it’s time to take action against these five things you are wasting your life on. After all, the less time you waste, the more time you have for the things that truly matter.
1. Games on Your Phone
How many minutes (or hours?) do you spend playing games on your phone each day? Even if it is just a few minutes here and there while you are waiting, chances are that there are better ways you could spend that time. For example, you could pick up a few things around the house, chop a vegetable or two for dinner, write a note to a friend, read your child a story or simply take a breath and relax for a minute!
What to do about it: If you generally find yourself playing for just a few minutes here and there because you don’t think you have enough time to do something else in that time, make a list of 5-minute tasks you need to get done. Then, when you find yourself with five spare minutes, you can use them to get something crossed off your list, not to play on your phone.
2. Making Unnecessary Trips to the Store
Do you find yourself frequently making a “quick” trip to the store several times a week? Maybe it’s because you need one extra ingredient for dinner or because your children need a school supply that you don’t have on hand. While these trips may seem short, the truth is that they can really add up quickly.
What to do about it: Avoid unnecessary trips to the store by creating a meal plan and corresponding shopping list
every week. This way you’ll always have the ingredients that you need on hand. If there are items that you are always running out of, stock up on extras. Try to combine trips as much as possible.
3. Social Media
Whether you love Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube or an online chat room, it is all too easy to get sucked into social media and spend hours reading the latest articles and catching up on what all of your friends have been up to. Before you know it, bedtime was an hour ago and you’re still up watching funny cat videos or pinning pictures of your dream kitchen.
What to do about it: Set aside time for social media, and then set a certain time limit for when you will get off. Use a timer if you have to. Then, when the timer goes off, it’s time to get off.
4. Compulsive Busyness
Sometimes we are too busy simply because we feel like we have to be. We think we have to sign up for every little thing or that we should be spending our days finding something productive to do. Sitting and doing nothing feels so unproductive and wasteful. Yet, some time for peace and relaxation is absolutely essential for recharging our batteries so that we can be more efficient and productive later.
What to do about it: Evaluate your commitments and see if there are any that you have agreed to do just because you
feel like you “should.” Let them go. Make a to-do list of the tasks that you HAVE to get done, and then let the others wait for another day.
5. Television
The fall television line-up is now in full swing, and there are plenty of great shows out there for the watching. And yet, how much more time would you have for better things if you didn’t spend two hours camped out on the couch every night? Not that you can never watch t.v., but it shouldn’t be an automatic reflex where you always sit down at 8 p.m.
What to do about it: Choose a few of your favorite shows to watch and turn the t.v. on only for those shows. Fold laundry, meal plan, or exercise while you watch t.v. to make the most of your time.
How much more time do you think you would have if you cut back on some of these tasks that aren’t as important? What area do you think you should work on first?