How To Stop Wasting Time

How to stop wasting time? is a question that all business owners are faced with.

Most of us wish there were more hours in the day. But be honest with yourself – even if you had more hours, would you just waste them away?

Ask any successful entrepreneur and they’ll tell you that it’s not the number of hours you have, but how you use them.

By learning and practising effective time management techniques, you can get more done and also have more time to relax.

 

 

How To Stop Wasting Time – 10 Simple Things You Can Do Each Day

Here are 10 simple things you can do today to work more efficiently:

 

1 – Prioritise Better

Narrow down everything you have to do to just three to five manageable items.

Put these tasks in order from most to least important so that you’re focusing on what’s essential.

If you do this, you’ll eliminate non-essential, time-wasting activities.

 

2 – Set Time Blocks

Create a block of time for each task you have to do and decide exactly how long you’ll do it.

For example, one hour per day on an ongoing project or thirty minutes a day on Facebook.

This keeps you on track and prevents you from spending too long on any one task.

 

3 – Take Regular Breaks

If you work too long doing something, you may lose focus and burn out.

Break up activities with short rest periods where you can refresh yourself and get your mind off work.

Then, you can get back to what you’re doing with renewed energy and use your time better.

 

4 – Remove Distractions

Things may be taking too long because you’re letting yourself get distracted.

Turn off all notifications and sign out of social media.

Turn the sound off on your emails so you don’t get aping every time a new email lands in your inbox.

Let people know that you’re working and not to be bothered.

If there’s something urgent, tell the person you’ll get to it when you’re done.

 

5 – Perform a Time Audit

Keep track of how you spend your time each day with a timer and write down the results.

Over the course of several days, a picture will emerge showing how you actually spend your time.

You may be surprised at where you’re wasting it!

You will be shocked at how much time you spend scrolling through social media.

 

6 – Choose Optimal Times

There’s an optimal time of day for each type of task.

For example, you may be most adept at communications in the late morning or creative in the evening.

There may also be a time of day when you’re at your most productive.

Identify these times and use them to schedule your daily tasks more effectively.

For me – I tend to get my creative buzz later in the evening however, I am more productive in the mornings.

 

7 – Schedule Fun Time

When making your daily schedule, set aside time for entertainment, mindless distraction, and pure fun.

You can indulge in these activities during breaks from tougher things, or use them as a reward for completing tasks.

If you don’t put time in to have fun, then your opportunity to relax…and just laugh will diminish.

 

8 – Don’t Multi-task

Contrary to what many believe, multitasking doesn’t make you more productive.

In fact, it ruins your focus and prevents you from getting any one task done efficiently.

Focus on one thing at a time.

 

9 – Get Organised

Organise your desk and your work area so that everything is where you need it and easily accessible.

This will cut down on the time you spend searching for things and doing on-the-spot organising.

Set aside a little time daily or weekly to clean up, organise, and put things away.

This also applies to your laptop or computer.

Having a simple organised filing system on your computer will allow you to locate items quickly and easily.

 

10 – Keep Goals in Mind

For each thing you have to do in a day, take a moment to consider whether it’s directly helping you reach a specific goal or not.

If it’s not, consider eliminating it from your list, moving it to a later time, or delegating it to somebody else.

 

There you have it – 10 simple tips that you can put into place each day.

This will help you to eliminate time-wasting activities and set you up for success.

Do you have any simple tips as to how to stop wasting time?

We would love to hear them.