M. K. Dahlon is an extremely talented writer who writes useful articles related to productivity, lifestyle and university. Her articles are informative and full of wisdom that even I can learn a thing or two from her. If you like what you read below, please join me and follow her website here.
Time is precious. Time is priceless. Time flies. We’ve all heard the clichés, but they are clichés for a reason. I’m sure that we would all unanimously agree that time is valuable.
Most of us would also agree that we aren’t spending all of our time wisely. It’s easy to think of the obvious time wasters in our lives—excessive social media use, lying in bed all day or watching TV for hours, to name a few. But what about the not so obvious time wasters?
Believe it or not, there are things that you’re doing everyday that are killing your productivity. Check out these 7 time wasters in your life that are making you less productive. While a lot of things on this list may not seem like they take much time out of your day, in the big picture, the little things amount to a lot.
1. Too many tabs open on your web browser
So many people are guilty of this—including myself at one point. I used to always leave a bunch of tabs open on my browser. I thought that this would save me time since I don’t have to keep closing things and reopening them when I need them. Soon, it began to dawn on me that this was making it very difficult to navigate my browser.
Your brain cannot process that much information at once. It’s messy and you waste time clicking through a bunch of tabs before you get to the one that you’re looking for. Don’t kid yourself, I can guarantee you that you do not need all thirty of those tabs open.
Try to stick to having in between 2-3 tabs open at a time. This will help you focus and more efficiently process what’s in front of you. If you need to, consider bookmarking pages for easy access instead of leaving tabs open.
2. Not having a clear daily schedule
So much time is wasted trying to figure out what to needs to be done instead of actually doing what needs to be done. Especially when you have a long to-do list, it’s hard to figure out where to get started or which task to move onto when you finish one.
Before you start your day, make a schedule. Figure out the order in which you plan to do each of your tasks and how long you intend to spend on each of them. Don’t get your schedule confused with your to-do list, they are not the same thing. Your schedule determines when and how you go about finishing your to-do list.
3. Being a perfectionist
Every extra minute you spend on a task for no real reason is taking away time from the other tasks that actually need your attention. Perfection doesn’t exist—there is always going to be some way that you can improve something. You need to stop being a perfectionist.
Trying to make things perfect is draining. You end up spending so much time obsessing over insignificant little details that will slow you down and distract you from looking at the task as a whole. When you’re exhausted from constantly trying to meet unrealistic expectations, chances are you will not work as efficiently.
4. Biting off more than you can chew
While it is good to challenge yourself, you also need to be reasonable. Having too many things to do will burn you out and reduce the quality of your work. It is better to take on a reasonable workload but perform those tasks well, rather than taking on too much and doing things poorly.
It can be tempting to overfill your plate to avoid upsetting people but you need to stop trying to please everyone. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for yourself and others is say no to some things. It’s better to say no up front rather than make a commitment that you won’t be able to keep to the best of your ability.
5. Leaving tasks slightly unfinished
Do you remember that time when you finally finished making a PowerPoint and all that was left to do was add pictures? Then you decided that you would just finish adding the pictures later and moved onto the next item on your to-do list?
It can feel tempting to leave a task without completely finishing it, especially when there are only minor things left to do. However, you’ll find that this results in a bunch of small tasks taking up space in your mind and to-do list.
It’s in your best interest to completely finish a task instead of leaving it partially unfinished because once you stop working on something and immerse yourself into something different, it takes some time to get back into the task you stopped working on since you shifted your mind to something else.
6. Lack of focus
Have you ever been working on something but your mind keeps drifting to the fifty other things on your to-do list? When working on a task, give it your undivided attention. It takes much longer to finish something when you aren’t focused on it.
A good strategy to stop your mind from wandering is eliminating the distractions in your workspace. You need to develop the self discipline to not let your surroundings interfere with your work. Consider putting your phone in another room so you don’t feel the urge to pick it up and start scrolling through your social media. You can also try to write things down so that they aren’t floating around in your mind while you are trying to focus on something.
7. Being inefficient
Are you completing your tasks in the best way possible? Are you using all the resources available to you? If you aren’t familiar with all your resources or you don’t walk into a task with an efficient plan of action, you often end up spending a lot of time on things that could be done much quicker.
Take the time to become an expert in the tools you are using in your everyday life. If you’re a WordPress blogger but haven’t taken the time to become completely familiar with how WordPress works, chances are you are yet to discover an easier way to do things that may currently be taking you a lot of time.
Conclusion
It is certainly no easy task identifying and eliminating all the ways you are wasting time in your life. It might be difficult, but it is definitely not impossible. Taking the time today to find ways to become as productive as possible will be worthwhile in the long run.
While you probably won’t be able to get rid of all your time wasters overnight, trying to make even minor changes in your lifestyle today is a step in the right direction.
Looking for more awesome guest posts? Here are some carefully curated ones:
Guest Post: Networking As An Introvert
Guest Post: On a Career of Two Halves
Guest Post: Confessions of a Hard Worker..(because I take my breaks)
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Well written post. The opening of tabs was a valid point. We waste time opening too many tabs and then can’t firgure out which task do first.
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Thank you and have a good friday!
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You too 😊
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great post.
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Thank you and have a good friday!
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I agree with the points of how we waste our time, but also think that sometimes wasting our time can make us creative again! Thanks and all the best.
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Thank you and have a good friday!
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Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie ~ Authors.
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Thank you and have a good friday!
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This is a fantastic post summarizing some of the common mistakes and improper time management strategies that engulf a lot of our productivity. I just have an additional thought- the importance of motivating ourselves. Sometimes the fear of not being able to finish a task within the stipulated deadline kills our productive time. It is essential to stay positive and be confident.
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Good sharing indeed. I love your additional thought. Thank you and have a good friday!
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So as soon as I read your title on the tabs, I quickly closed off about a gazillion lol
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Lol! I did that too! Not only on tabs but browsers too.
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🤣🤣🤣
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Wow, what a great and helpful post 🤩
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Thank you and have a good friday!
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You too 😄
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I loved this post. The article gave excellent advice on how to make better use of your time.
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Thank you so much, Molly. Have an awesome weekend!
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Nothing on the list about obsessing over funny cat videos on youtube? Well, er, good.
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Haha! I do that from time to time. Sneaking peeps at funny cat videos makes me happy!
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A very good post.
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Thank you so much. Have an awesome weekend!
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Welcome. Thnx and u too have a great weekend!
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But is it a waste if I’m enjoying it? 🙂
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It is if you end up working overtime to compensate it.
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I agree with the tabs. I start looking at the open tabs which distracts me from what I am actually doing!
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Thank you and I am glad you enjoyed her post!
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My issue is definitely is not planning for my days. I always think I should feel like doing work or be inspired to do work. These tips are great. I get so mad when my pages are loading slow but I have too many tabs open all the time. This is when I eventually work.
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Ahh.. That sounds pretty much like me too. I get frustrated when my computer is not at its top speed when I am.
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Thanks Kally,
Your guest makes fine points.
Every day is another Gift from God to be “spent” prudently.
As the author indicates we are often our own “worst enemies.”
By nature I am a disciplined individual, and HAVE to be, because I’m very far from being the brightest light bulb… Which is OK, as I make up for it by hard work and discipline.
Take with gratitude the gifts God gives to you and then be dedicated to making the Most and the Best of them.
God Be with US,
Thanks Kally,
Patrick
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Thank you, Patrick and I am happy that you enjoyed and agreed with the post and the guest author. Godspeed to all.
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“Consider putting your phone in another room so you don’t feel the urge to pick it up and start scrolling through your social media.”… When I read this, I immediately had to check “just a few things” from my apps…. So.. Frustrating and So True!
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Awesome that you have learned from this article like I have. Thank you for sharing your comment with us and welcome to MiddleMe!
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Short, concise and well digested! ❤️ Cindy
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I’m happy that you’ve enjoyed her guest post. Thanks a lot, Cindy. Have a wonderful Sunday.
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Yes, indeed!!! You’re most welcome and you too have a great day as well ( evening) ❤️ Cindy
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Reblogged this on worldtraveller70.
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Nice post 👍
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Great post Kally!
If i were standing before a jury, I’d probably be convicted of at least 5 of these offenses. In fact, as I was reading your article I had about 12 tabs open in my browser. These are really poor habits we need to be reminded of from time to time. Thanks.
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Thank you so much! Have a wonderful Sunday.
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I’m very guilty of Number 1.
But I’ve made efforts to adjust. Thanks for this dear.
Please do good to follow my blog as well. Thanks
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Thank you so much! Have a wonderful Sunday.
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Good points. I like the part of biting more than you can chew. 🙂
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Thank you so much, Megha. I appreciate your visit and your comment. Have an awesome day.
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Good day you too 🙂
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This is all so true. Thank you Kally for the advice having a better organized schedule too. Michael
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You are very welcome, Michael. Hope you are keeping safe. Take care.
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Thank you very much, Kally. Be well and stay save too. Michael
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Nothing like having a planning of our day to day. A fundamental tool to avoid wasting time. Your councils gift of great value to take advantage of life.
Greetings and a great week for you
Manuel Angel
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Thank you so much, Manuel. I appreciate your visit and your comment. Have an awesome day.
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You have listed a few here that applies to me, lol.
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Lol! Good to know you can relate to this article.
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Great post!!!
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Thank you so much!
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Great reminders to use our time wisely👏🏼
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Thank you, Divya and welcome to MiddleMe!
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☺️🤝
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This resonated hard. I am so guilty of all of these!
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Thank you and I am glad you enjoyed the article. Welcome to MiddleMe!
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Excellent!
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Thank you and welcome to MiddleMe!
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I find that perfectionism can cancel out a clear schedule. Sometimes I plan my day out with each task given an expected time allotment, but then something happens to prevent me from doing one task and suddenly I freeze up like the whole day has been thrown out of balance. I’m trying to develop more flexible day plans so that I can shift tasks around if life comes up. 😄
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Try this for a change: I schedule my time in hourly blocks with in between an hour block of free time so I can swap them in and out with urgent stuff.
For example:
2pm to 3pm – Writing
3pm to 4pm – Free Time
So if I have something urgent popped up at 2pm, I can still push Writing to 3pm slot.
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Slots does sound like a better way to go. Thanks!
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You’re most welcome. Happy to have helped!
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Great post! I find it very useful!
Check out my blog; I treat a similar topic there too:
https://thirstyexplorer.net/study-more-efficiently/
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Thank you! I will check out your blog now.
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You got me! Thanks for this post of yours Ms. Kally “MiddleMe”. It’s time to correct everything for if you fail to PLAN then you plan to FAIL. Will read more posts from you. Until next time.
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Thank you so much, Lori!
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You’re welcome Ms. Kally!
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This post is a great help to me. I identified few of my weak pointy e.g. many things remain unfinished. Therefore right away I am going to finish my post, which I started drafting week ago.
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Thank you so much and I am glad I inspired you! Have a wonderful Sunday. Stay safe and smiling in sunshine.
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I’m sure that is excellent advice. But as I am fundamentally and constitutionally incapable of following almost all of it it will not prove helpful for me.
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I do hope that you will find my other posts much more helpful for you.
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Middle School was awful too. And staying in the middle of the road means you are guaranteed to be run over. This is true literally of course. But also politically.
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