How to stop wasting time

How to Stop Wasting Time

This article was co-authored by Guy Reichard. Guy Reichard is an Executive Life Coach and the Founder of HeartRich Coaching & Training, a professional life coaching and inner leadership training provider based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He works with people to create more meaning, purpose, well-being, and fulfillment in their lives. Guy has over 10 years of personal growth coaching and resilience training experience, helping clients enhance and transform their inner worlds, so they can be a more positive and powerful influence on those they love and lead. He is an Adler Certified Professional Coach (ACPC), and is accredited by the International Coach Federation. He earned a BA in Psychology from York University in 1997 and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from York University in 2000.

There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

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Are you always staring out the window for countless minutes, even though you have work to do? Do you research useless information or play games on the Internet when you know you have more important, pressing tasks? It might be time to admit that you have a tendency to procrastinate. The key to managing your time more effectively is to minimize distractions, focus on the most important tasks you need to complete, and to find a reliable way of gauging your productivity.

How to Stop Wasting Time and Start Living Your Life

For Red Bull

We all have plates to spin and balls to juggle. And I’m not from the camp that says “oh it’s easy” or “just do what I do”. The vast majority of people have a 9–5 job and a commute, limited holiday, family commitments, limited savings and all the rest of it. Not to mention all the other aspects of life such as illness, disability or other unfortunate circumstances.

That said, I’m a great believer in the idea of “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” There are countless examples of people who have overcome some serious hardship — from extreme poverty to life-changing traumatic experiences — and if they can get through it, I firmly believe any of us can get over our relatively smaller challenges. It largely comes down to priorities and choices. I think a willingness to go with what you truly feel in your heart — no matter how scary it might feel — will go a long way. Pair that with knowledge, strategy and execution and you’re on the right track.

How do you even figure out what’s important to you in the first place?

My suggestion? Watch this:-

Then get out a pen and paper and write all the things down that you want from life. Sleep on it for a week and come back to that list. Honestly ask yourself what it is you really want. Then go for it.

Easier said than done, I know. If you do the above and still don’t know, the key is experiences: as many as possible, as varied as possible with as many different people as possible. Eventually you’ll start to find the things that “feel right”. Keep doing that and your direction will appear soon enough. A little more guidance can be found here.

“We are wired to be outside, not cooped up in front of a screen comparing our lives to everyone else’s highlight reels.”

What if you have a lot of different ideas and they’re all a bit jumbled and none of it really makes sense? I’ve been asked about this quite a bit recently. It actually came to a point in my own life where I had so much going on that I needed an outlet to help me sort it all out. So I went out and bought myself a white board and came back home and wrote everything down like a mad scientist — my girlfriend thought I’d lost the plot!

Over the next week, I hacked away at it until I had something that made sense. It now has SMART goals built around one single line of purpose which everything else clicks into. Small steps towards a few Big Hairy Audacious Goals! This has now become the “Grand Masterplan”. I look at it every day and it helps me stay me focused and therefore achieve what I set out to do — not just dream about it or come up with excuses about why I can’t do it.

What’s stopping you from making your dreams a reality?

One of my pet hates is what I like to call the “convenient excuses”, mainly because I hear them all too often. I’m usually quite quick to counter them with several ways they can be overcome, but I’ve learned that some people just don’t want to hear about it. It’s as if people feel like I’m exposing them and hiding behind their excuses is both easier and more comfortable. It’s harsh but true. If they honestly looked at themselves in the mirror and were willing to accept a little bit of a nudge in the right direction a solution could be found to almost all of the excuses I’ve heard.

Below, I’ve detailed three of the main excuses and outlined some really simple things anyone hoping to reclaim their time and focus on the important things can try. Build on these and things will start to happen. Discipline and “your why” is the key. It may get hard at times, but nothing worth doing is ever easy.

Excuse #1: “I don’t have enough time”

Stop watching TV, full stop, and limit your social media and mainstream media consumption. That doesn’t mean stare at your phone instead. Try really cutting back for a few months and see how much spare time you suddenly have, and more importantly how much happier you start to feel! We are wired to be outside, not cooped up in front of a screen comparing our lives to everyone else’s highlight reels. There is a lot of research out there that suggests most people watch four to five hours of TV a day. I dread to think what that, plus time spent on social media, is as a percentage of our entire lives.

Now do something useful with that time. While at the gym, out for a run or travelling A to B, listen to podcasts and Ted Talks of people who inspire you. This is all learning and growing, good for ideas and actual implementation of those ideas — all for free! It may even be worth trying to contact some of these people and seeing where that goes too.

“It’s also a leveller — no matter where you’re from or what you do, we all have the same 24 hours in each day.”

Time is precious and you’ll never get it back. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. It’s also a leveller — no matter where you’re from or what you do, we all have the same 24 hours in each day. You need to take control of your own schedule as much as possible, learn to say no where appropriate and pay close attention to what makes you happy.

Excuse #2: “I don’t have enough money”

Cut down on drinking and smoking. Don’t buy materialistic crap. Only buy what you actually need. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll realise that’s actually very little. There’s a huge difference between wants and needs. There’s a good quote about spending your whole life trying to impress people you don’t even care about with shit you don’t even want or need. It’s totally pointless yet so many of us live like this. Save the rest of the cash and over time you’ll start to see it accumulate. Be disciplined. Now you have some time, money and ideas…your excuses should be starting to fade away and a new horizon of possibilities starting to appear. These are all small steps.

Excuse #3: “I’ve got a family”

This is a balance and probably the trickiest one to implement as every situation is a little different and ultimately requires some compromise on some level. Saying that, there are countless ways to include your family whilst still achieving whatever it is you want to achieve.

“Family shouldn’t be seen as a burden or as a convenient excuse.”

Family shouldn’t be seen as a burden or as a convenient excuse. They’re your loved ones, your support network and your responsibility. I’d hope if you sat down with them, and explained your plan there would be more understanding than you may think. Especially if you can explain your why, the upside and the fact that you don’t want to accumulate regrets as you grow older. Regrets are likely to breed resentment — and that’s not healthy for anyone.

So what next?

I think there’s a huge social shift underway at the moment — people are starting to actively avoid potential regrets and live their lives how they want to, not how they’ve been told to. And I encourage you to do the same. You’re not alone and others out there will help.

I think everything else required is freely available. If you’re reading this, you have access to YouTube and Google and many other free resources. The information is there, it’s now just getting off your arse and doing something about it!

If you still have excuses, do this: go on Google and see if there’s one other person on this planet that has ever been in the same situation, or worse, and still achieved what they set out to. Once you find them, which in the vast majority of cases I think you will — you should use them as an example, a source of inspiration and not give into that “convenient excuse” you’re giving yourself. Deep down, we’re all quite similar and all far more capable than we realise.

“Deep down, we’re all quite similar and all far more capable than we realise.”

The clock is ticking. What are you waiting for?

Matt Prior is an Adventurer, Pilot, Photographer and World Record holder. He served for six years flying jets in the Royal Air Force and, as a British Military Overseas Expedition Leader, led several multi-discipline expeditions across the world.

He is member of the Explorers Club, a qualified Wilderness First Responder and Paramotor Pilot. Matt has been to over 100 countries on numerous unsupported expeditions and ascended various famous peaks across five continents. You can join him on a one-week adventure like no other through his Adventure Academy. Apply HERE

How to Stop Wasting Time Using 10 Simple Tips

“Let me take a break of 5 minutes to browse the internet.” That’s how it starts. An hour later, you are still browsing.

Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Quora, and Pinterest extend breaks from “a few minutes” to “oh shit, I just wasted 2 hours.”

Do you find yourself spending a long time on social media, your phone, or checking what’s in the refrigerator? To make that worse, you even know that those activities are useless and a waste of time. Yet, you cannot help yourself.

But here’s the kicker. Instead of fighting the urge, we will use the approach of eliminating the temptation itself. This article will cover:

I had the same habit. I would read something random on the internet, check social media feed, or glance through my text messages every time I completed a task. The time I spent would vary. Sometimes I wasted only 2 minutes and at times 2 hours.

I would find myself wasting time on things I knew were useless. To make it worse, I even wasted time when I knew I had important work to do.

I know that many others face the same problem.

Over time, by flipping through the pages of a bazillion books, trying hundreds of experiments and wasting more time to find ways to save time, here are the ways which helped me stop wasting time. Maybe they will help you too.

Please note: When it comes to wasting time, there is no one fit for all. Each person has a different way of wasting time. So some of these tips might work for you and some may not.

If you can relate to a problem and believe the solution might help, try implementing it for a few days or weeks to check for the results.

As the first step, identify where are you wasting time using the activity below.

Why you waste time

Jordan Peterson explains the reason why you waste time. You can watch this video if you would like to understand the science behind procrastination.

10 ways to stop wasting time

1. Put your phone on DND

The smartphone is a device of distraction. We love to hear our phone ding or buzz. Checking our notification helps us feel good due to a shot of dopamine. The text usually is the bank providing a personal loan or an offer from the supermarket that you would never avail.

As human beings, resisting the urge to check our text messages is not an easy battle to win against ourselves. The problem does not lie in the simple check of a message.

Once we open the phone, you not only read the text message but also look at your other notifications. You notice that someone liked your Instagram photo and boom, you spend another 20 minutes scrolling through the news feed.

The social media apps have learned the trick to hold your attention for long hours. As a victim, you end up interrupted while studying, working, or doing anything important.

The easier solution is to prevent your phone from buzzing and sounding notifications.

I put my phone on DND for the entire day except for 8 PM – 11 PM. Other than those 3 hours, my phone lies on DND for 21 hours a day. This change has saved me from wasting cartloads of time.

A few years earlier if anyone told me to use DND for 21 hours a day, I would have laughed at the idea. You think your circumstances will not let you use DND for most of the day, but trust me, you can.

If you implement only one tip from this list, this gotta be the one. If you believe you use your phone only a little, you’re failing to realize how much it distracts you. Try putting your phone on DND for one day and see the difference yourself. Do not dismiss this idea until you try it once.

2. Use websites instead of apps

I had all the social media apps on my phone such as Facebook, Quora, Pinterest, Instagram, and whatnot. An app makes the usage simpler and user-friendly. On the other side, apps create an addiction because they can send you notifications while websites cannot.

Most of these apps also have a website. For example, you can use Facebook as an app or as a website on the browser by using www.facebook.com. The same goes for Youtube, Quora, and Instagram.

Using the website takes a little extra effort compared to using an app. For example, the website requires you to open a browser, type the website and then wait for a couple of seconds. Apps do all this within a blink of the eye.

You must use the extra effort required for the website to your advantage.

As human beings, we do not like spending extra effort. The extra effort needed for the website helps in overcoming the urge in itself.

3. Use time blocking

Work within time slots when possible. For example, you can set the first 1 hour of your day to learn and improve in your area of expertise. Next 1 hour to work on any tasks related to your long term goals. You can spend the third-hour checking emails and so on.

When you work in time slots like these, you make better overall progress. If not, you may wander from one task to another, without a clear direction. One task may extend while another might cut short. As a result, you bounce from one task to another like a balloon drifting due to a strong breeze.

If you are a small business owner, you must strongly consider this tip to avoid your time getting pulled in all directions.

4. Log out of websites like Youtube, Quora

Most of the social networks today work on Machine Learning. Based on your usage, social media knows exactly what you like and dislike.

For example, I liked watching The Impractical Jokers, The Carbonaro Effect and short book summaries. If I opened Youtube, few of these videos would show right on my face. I would succumb to the temptation like a dog offered a meaty bone and click on one of them.

Youtube even knows what videos do you like watching based on the time of the day. If I opened the app in the morning, it would recommend various book summaries. In the evening, I was presented with different funny videos. Damn Youtube, you know how to hold our attention.

When you logout, Youtube has no idea who you are or what you like. Try opening an incognito browser window and check what videos show up. I doubt you will like the videos shown there as much.

Besides, logging out each time and logging in again turns into an extra effort. As mentioned in the previous tip, any extra effort leads to less temptation.

5. Don’t wait for the exact hour or half-hour to begin

If I reached work by 9:20, I would decide to start at 9:30. To spend those 10 minutes, I would check some random group messages. One of the messages would lead me to a Youtube video. After watching that video, I would continue watching the recommended videos.

At 9:30, I would be halfway through the video. But because the video was so funny, I would not stop between the video. I would proceed to watch until the video comes to an end at 9:36.

Now that I crossed my best time to start, I would postpone my work to begin at 10. You know the rest of the story. The vicious cycle never ends.

Do not wait for the clock to strike the exact 30 minute or hour like 9:30, 10, 10:30, 11. The first best time to begin was in the past, the next best time is right now.

6. Find ways to reduce distractions like headphones, closed rooms, DND board

The more you stay around people and scenarios which lead to small talk, useless conversations and random gossip, the more you will end up wasting time.

People will speak loudly, crack jokes, answer calls on their phone, drop a bottle, ask you unnecessary questions and more. As much as possible stay away from an environment that facilitates distractions.

You do not have to isolate yourself from the rest of the world like a prisoner in an isolated cell. But whenever possible stay away from the commotion. Using empty rooms when available prevents you from being accessible. Using an earphone(even without any music) blocks people from bothering you for no reason.

You can also cultivate a habit of asking people to not disturb you for a certain like 9 AM to 11:30 AM every day.

Every workplace, job role, and culture has a different working style. Do what you can to reduce scenarios that lead to distractions.

Working among distractions is like many people talking at the same time in a meeting. Nothing good comes out of it.

7. Set an end time for a break

Whenever I finished a task, I felt I deserved a break. The problem was not in the number of breaks I took. The problem was how long the break went for. Sometimes I would complete a task in 30 minutes, convince myself I deserved a 5-minute break before I moved to the next task.

The 5-minute break would turn into a 30-minute break. Many a time I have taken more than a 30-minute break for completing a task of 30 min. We have all been there, haven’t we?

Set a time to end your break. If you decided to take a 10-minute break, the break ends in 10 minutes. Even if you are catching up with your gorgeous new colleague, the break should end in 10 minutes.

Having a plan for the day helps you end your breaks on time instead of endless wasting time.

8. Keep 1 thing open

I had a bad habit of leaving my browser window open with many tabs. I would also have multiple browser windows open, each with over 10 tabs. On average, I had 20 tabs open with different websites. Some were websites I opened a couple of days back.

I did not need most of them, I was only lazy to close them. Most of my work involves a browser. So, sooner or later, when I delved deep into work, some notification would show up on one of the tabs I had left open. For example (1) Facebook.

I would click the tab to check what the notification was. Even if the notification was a friend asking for a life on Candy Crush, I would end up wasting some more time on Facebook.

The only browser tab or application that you should keep open is the one you are working on. Close the rest. Make it a habit to close the application or the browser once you finish the task. If not, the activity from the open tabs invites you to click by screaming “Click me please, click me.”

Working on one task at a time help you prioritize the right tasks and knock them out the park.

9. Follow the 2-minute rule

The 2-minute rule was introduced by David Allen in his book, Getting Things Done.

As per the rule, if you come across any task or a job that needs less than 2 minutes to complete, you should do it then and there without postponing it. Remembering the task later, recalling necessary areas and then doing it will take 5 or more minutes. In some cases, you might forget it completely.

You are just about to step out for a break and you receive an email that needs a quick reply. Do it right away.

You are taking a break and recall a quick phone call you had to make. Pick the phone and make the call then and there. As a rule of thumb, if you can complete a task quickly, do it right there. Do not procrastinate.

10. Do something you love

The most effective way to stop wasting time is to work on something you love. You do not have to do what you love as a full-time job.

You can even pursue a long-forgotten hobby. Did you dream about playing the guitar in your teens? Pick the guitar and spend 30 minutes every day.

Doing something you love serves as a catalyst for ignoring things that waste your time. Working on what you love serves as an adrenaline rush. The adrenaline helps you flush the other distractions out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we waste time?

As human beings, we like to take the path of least resistance.

In simple words, when you have multiple paths which lead to a destination, you tend to choose the easiest one.

Similarly, when we have a choice between working on a task vs wasting time, we choose to waste time because it is easier.

The chances of wasting time increase if you dislike the task at hand or find it boring. If you have a task in an area you love, you do not waste time as much.

For example, if being a pro guitarist is your passion, you will not spend 30 minutes on Instagram during your guitar practice. However, if you work at a job you hate, you postpone the tasks forever and spend time on Youtube instead.

How to stop wasting time on the internet?

To reduce time on the internet keep internet away as much as possible. With the smartphone in your pocket, this is not easy to do. You must reduce your exposure to the internet by keeping your phone on DND, closing unnecessary tabs, uninstalling social media apps and turning off as many notifications as possible.

How to stop wasting time on Youtube?

Youtube has a powerful method to determine what videos you might possibly like. It predicts which video you might like based on your age, gender, location, and many other parameters. If you log out of the account when you use Youtube, it no longer knows anything about your likes. When random videos are shown which do not match with your interest, avoiding Youtube becomes far easier.

How to stop wasting time on social media?

Social media uses a hook to keep you hooked. A hook is nothing but a trigger that urges you to come back and use the site. Instagram uses likes, people who viewed your story as a hook for example. Your best bet to overcome such hooks is to turn off notifications or put your phone on DND. When a notification causes you to check your phone, it means the phone controls your behavior. Instead, you must turn the tables and check the phone when you like to.

Conclusion

To stop wasting time, it took me a long time. The first step was accepting that I was wasting time. If you work long hours, you will have a hard time convincing yourself that you do waste time.

Next, I had to find my biggest time-wasting habits and then build the discipline to get over those habits.

Do not expect to get rid of your time-wasting habits in a day or two. You will need weeks or even months. Have the discipline and patience to target the improvement over the long term and design your lifestyle around those principles.

If you start with the intention of getting rid of all your time-wasting habits in a week, you will give up before you even get started. Yet another waste of time.

Leave a comment on what is your most common method of wasting time.

My goal is to help people 1 million people pursue their dreams. Share the article and help me with this mission.

You don’t need a reward to join the Productive Club, do you?

Maxim Dsouza has spent over a decade experimenting and finding various time management techniques to improve his productivity. He strongly understands the fact that time is a limited commodity and tries to make every second count. He has extensive experience in leadership in startups, small businesses, and large corporations.

He has helped people of different professions and age groups gain clarity on their goals, improve focus, revise their time management skills and develop an awareness of their psychological cognitive biases.

Are You Time Blind? 12 Ways to Use Every Hour Effectively

Staying aware of time and using it well — these are basic keys to success, whether you’re a fifth grader or the vice president of sales. But, as anyone with ADHD knows, it’s hard to realize when you’re wasting time in the moment. Let these tips help you become more productive.

Verified Updated on January 3, 2022

What Is Time Blindness?

A good sense of time is one critical executive function. It involves knowing what time it is now, how much time is left, and how quickly time is passing. People with ADHD tend to be «time blind,» meaning they aren’t aware of the ticking of time. As a result, they often struggle to use time effectively. Overcoming your natural time blindness begins with an in-depth look at how we understand time.

The Time Horizon

An important concept in time management is something called the “time horizon.” This is essentially how far you can look in to the future to plan ahead. When you’re a child, your time horizon tops out at an hour or so. As you age, your time horizon gets further away, so you can plan out the next few years at a time. People with ADHD often have shorter time horizons than do neurotypical people. To extend yours, first and foremost, you need to be more aware of time.

1. Be Wary of Time Sucks

Step One: Be aware of activities in which you get lost. I had a client who would start listening to NPR at his home. He’d get really into it, and, suddenly, it’s 3 hours later and he’s forgotten to pick up his daughter! We established a rule for him to avoid this time suck: on days when he had to pick up his daughter, he couldn’t turn on his radio until he was already on the way to get her. He knew it was an activity he got lost in, so he just avoided it altogether.

2. Set Multiple Alarms

Alarms are a simple, effective tool to make you more aware of time. They break into your consciousness and jolt you out of whatever you’re doing. If one alarm isn’t enough, try setting several — maybe one half an hour before you need to leave, then 15 minutes, then right at crunch time. Every one that you add multiplies the probability that you’ll transition at the right moment.

3. Enlist a Coach

If alarms don’t faze you, or you go back to what you were doing the second you turn it off, enlist the help of a friend, spouse, or coworker. Ask them to call you at a specific time or remind you what you’re supposed to be doing once the alarm goes off, and, in extreme cases, stay with you until you get moving.

4. Mix It Up

Change the sound of your alarms to signify different things, instead of using the same generic beep for everything. If it’s time to take your medication, for example, use a quick loud sound. If it’s time to start getting ready for an important event, try using a fast-paced song to change the tempo and give your brain a jolt. Varying alarms are more difficult to ignore and more likely to get you moving.

5. Break Down Daunting Tasks

People with ADHD tend to “freeze” when making big transitions, like getting ready in the morning. They can see time moving, but the task seems so daunting they can’t make themselves start. My advice is to break the final goal into small chunks, and start with the tiniest, easiest one. Don’t think of it as, “I have to get ready for work,” which seems impossible. Think of it first as, “I have to brush my teeth,” which is easy. Then, think of the next tiny thing. You’ll be ready before you know it.

6. Reset Your Focus Time

Another strategy is to change the time that you associate with an event. You know you have to leave for work at 8:30 — but then your brain doesn’t get motivated to get ready until it’s already 8:30, and suddenly you’re in crisis mode. Instead, train your brain to focus instead on 8:00: the time you need to start getting ready. Changing the “the” time — meaning the time you pay the most attention to — can help you be more conscious of how long things take.

7. Make the Clock Work for You

There are tons of ways to do this. Some people have luck setting the clock 10 minutes fast — the shock value of the time hits sooner and gets you in gear earlier. Another strategy is switching from digital clocks to old-fashioned analog clocks. Seeing the hand move — and the time you have left physically shrink — is a great way to get a real sense of time passing.

8. Assume Worst-Case Scenarios

If you tend to underestimate how long it takes you to get somewhere, it can be helpful to deliberately figure out best- and worst-case scenarios. If you need to be at the airport at 7:00, and the worst-case scenario (terrible traffic) will take you 45 minutes, round that up to an hour and decide to leave at 6:00. If you do the math slowly and add as much breathing room as possible, you give yourself a much better chance of catching your flight.

9. Explore Apps

Time Timer is a great tool for managing time: it gives you a visual sense of how much time has passed and how much you have left. Activity Timer is another great one: it breaks your time into easy chunks so you can see what proportion is left without having to do quick mental math. Other ones that work are StayOnTask, and 30/30. Try out a few and see which one suits you!

10. Go to Bed!

A lot of people with ADHD struggle with waking up and preparing for the day. In my view, a lot of morning problems are simply leftover night problems. Getting to bed on time and getting enough sleep is a big part of a successful morning. You’re not going to be able to function if you’re exhausted. Force yourself to put your work away, shut off the television, and get in bed by a certain time. Your future self will thank you!

11. Carve Out Planning Time

People with ADHD struggle with long-term planning, which can lead to financial problems or missed deadlines. It doesn’t come naturally to us, so it’s important that we make long-term goals explicit and intentional. This means budgeting, breaking big projects up into small pieces, or enlisting a friend or coach to give you some accountability. The important thing is that you take some time to really think about where you want to be in a year, and plan what you’ll need to do to make that happen.

12. Allow for Free Time

You don’t want your calendar to feel like a straitjacket, so make sure you don’t schedule every minute of every day. Leave big blocks of free time wherever you can — you’ll be more likely to follow your schedule if you have some flexibility!

How to Stop Wasting Time and Be More Productive

Dedicated to helping people to achieve their maximum potential through better time management and productivity. Read full profile

We do similar things to ourselves. We feel guilty if we go out and spend money on a new device only to find after a few weeks, we are no longer using the device. But we think nothing of spending two hours crawling through our social media feeds looking at nothing in particular.

For many, the belief is money is their greatest asset, but the reality is your greatest asset is time. It doesn’t matter how much money you have if you have no time to enjoy it. You will never be able to take your money with you when you finally run out of time.

What does wasting time really mean? A good way to measure this is to look at how you are spending your time each day.

If you are going through each day aimlessly—waking up at the very last minute, gulping down some coffee, dashing out of the door to go to a job that doesn’t inspire you or take you towards your goals, spending your lunch break complaining to your colleagues about how you hate your job and returning home at the end of the day to sit exhausted on the sofa while consuming hours of pointless entertainment on your TV or phone… you are wasting time.

If you feel your day has been wasted, then it probably was. You are not making the most of your time each day.

Here’s what you can do from now on to stop wasting time:

1. Have a Plan for the Day

The biggest time waste is not having any kind of plan for the day or week. When we don’t have a plan for the day, we just drift through the day reacting to anything that comes our way and not making any progress towards our goals or purpose.

We watch the news and let politicians anger us and then get involved in political discussions with people we don’t know who do not share our views. These ‘discussions’ frustrate us, cause our negative emotions to rise and leaves us feeling angry and empty.

If you stopped and asked yourself why you were getting involved in such discussions, you would probably discover there is no reason at all. It is just a waste of time. You are not likely to persuade a person who does not share your political beliefs to change theirs.

If politics is important to you, then become a politician. If not, stay away from these ‘discussions’. They are not going to change anything and are just a waste of your time.

2. Be Aware of Your ‘Time Suckers’

Being aware of where your ‘time suckers’ are is the first step to making the most of your available time. Starting with the basics, we should be doing work that inspires us. If your current job does not inspire you, investing some time to find a vocation that does inspire you would be a good use of your time.

Watching how much time you are spending on social media is another area to be aware of. Are you spending too much time scrolling through your social media feeds? If so, perhaps you should be limiting the amount of time you spend there each day.

How much time do you spend in front of the TV each day? If your daily routine involves coming home from work, mentally exhausted only to turn on the TV and sit there for the next three of four hours mindlessly watching shows you have no interest in; you are wasting your time.

3. Begin the Day with Intention

If you start the day with intention with a set of meaningful objectives to complete each day, you are maximizing your time.

For example, if you wake up in the morning with a plan to spend thirty minutes exercising, one hour studying Italian and a couple of hours meeting with your friends, you are making good use of your time. (And that’s only three and a half hours of your day!)

Health and fitness, education and relationship building are not wasteful activities. All you need do is to look at your calendar before you go to bed, see where you are going to be the next day and add in the activities you want to do that day.

By completing your objectives for the day, you will feel you have had a meaningful day, and from that will flow a lot of positive energy. It will inspire you to do more of the same the next day.

Having a couple of objectives that improves you as a person, elevates your positive emotions and maintains your health is all you need to make sure you are making the most of your time.

Take a look at this guide to find your intention: How to Get Motivated Every Day When You Wake Up

4. Be in a Proactive State

Maximizing your time each day is all about switching from being in a reactive state to being in a proactive state.

A reactive state is where you allow events outside your control to control what you do and how you feel. Consuming social media, negative news, getting involved in pointless debates and allowing email to control what you do each day at work.

A proactive state is where you start the day with intention. You intend to do some exercise, improve your knowledge and you know what work you will do that day. You don’t allow events outside your control affect your mood and you avoid pointless debates about politics, current affairs or celebrity gossip.

If you do not have a plan for the day, you are going to be in a reactive state.

Having a plan for the day does not need to be overly complex. All you need is to select a few activities that will energize you, activities that you will look forward to doing and will improve your life in some way or another.

Starting your workday with the intention to get a stuck project moving forward again, spending thirty minutes outside in nature with no online distractions, just enjoying the freedom being offline for thirty minutes will do so much for your overall wellbeing and giving yourself one hour each day for education—an online course, a book on psychology or learning to beat match on a CDJ.

Just picking a few of these activities to do each day maximizes your time, improves your mood and gives you a sense that you have not wasted your day.

Learn more about how to plan for the day in this article: How Setting Daily Goals Makes You Achieve Big Success

Final Thoughts

You can’t afford to do that and you can’t afford to throw away those precious hours we are given every day. You will never get them back.

So, from now on, become aware of how you are spending your days, avoid meaningless discussions about things you have no control over; start the day with a plan – self-education, exercise, relationship building; move towards a proactive state rather than being stuck in a reactive state; and be aware of how limited your time is.