Time exists. Period. Contrary to the ever-popular belief, it doesn’t fly or drag, and it’s not our enemy. It doesn’t matter what you do and how big your bank account is, you will always have 24 hours per day.
Many people are in a constant fight with time, believing it passes too quickly. How many times per day do we hear these colourful expressions some people use describing how time pressure makes them feel?
“I’m spread too thin; I’m pulled in too many directions; I’m pushed to the limit.”
The question is: how do you spend your time? Or are you even aware of how much time you waste?
It’s audacious of us to think we can change or control time. In reality, we can only control our behaviour. Here are four major time wasters:
Social media addiction
Social media can be informative, entertaining and addictive. If you don’t limit how long you spend on each platform, very soon you will be behind in your work, house chores or obligations to your family.
Try to use social media as a reward after you finish chores in your home or at work. Limit the time you spend on Facebook and you’ll find you have more time on your hands than ever before.
Routine rejection
Many people strongly dislike routine, claiming it’s boring and a big restriction to having fun. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Not following a proper routine can impact your work and also your productivity. Additionally, it can cause serious health issues in the future.
Staying up late sure sounds fun, but what if you have work the next day? How do you think you’ll function with a lack of sleep and rest?
Not following a routine will start a chain reaction of delays and procrastination, to a point where there is no going back.
Indecisiveness
Being indecisive is the root cause of any unproductive day at work, home or school. Are you postponing doing a job because it’s unpleasant or time consuming, or are you lacking the skills to do the job.
That same job will not be easier tomorrow. If anything, it will be harder because you will have a double load of neglected projects, which makes room for frustration and overwhelm.
Being noncommittal
There are times we might feel confused and not able to differentiate between being interested and being committed. As the motivational author Kenneth Blanchard said: “When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient; but when you are committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”
If you want to achieve your true goals in life and be successful, being interested is not enough. You have to commit and discipline yourself to make progress daily, or else you’re probably wasting your time and not getting anywhere.
I’ll leave you with one of my favourite quotes: “Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.” ~ Robert Kiyosaki
Ranka Burzan owns a professional organizing company based in the qathet region and has written several books on reducing clutter and becoming more organized. For information, go to solutionsorganizing.com.
