14 Ways to Waste Your Time

  

Lost wealth may be replaced by industry, lost knowledge by study, lost health by temperance or medicine, but lost time is gone forever.
Samuel Smiles

A man who dares to waste one hour of life has not discovered the value of life.
Charles Darwin

There are many ways to waste time without you noticing it. You think you are busy but you are not spending time effectively:

1. Do what is less important first: Do not waste your time and energy doing unimportant tasks when you are at your peak performance. Do what is important and difficult when you are able to concentrate to perform your best.   

If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got.
Lee Iacocca

2. Never plan ahead: If you don’t spend a little time planning ahead you are wasting more time doing the wrong things and left out what is important.  Get ready a   to-do list for the day, schedule tasks according to priorities, and get things done accordingly and smoothly.

3. Never delegate: Don’t do it yourself when others can do the job for you, It is the best way to get more done in less time. Do not be afraid to delegate. Trust others to do a job well.

4. Getting interrupted and distracted: Avoid getting disturbed when you need full concentration for a block of time to get things done.

5. Unnecessary meeting: Ty to communicate by other means instead of a meeting. More time can be wasted when the meeting is off topics and out of the agenda.

6. Socializing too much with co-workers: Taking a short break from time to time is good but taking too long a time to chat with co-workers is unproductive.

7. Rushing: It is a bad habit to rush about and get things done. You are more likely to make mistakes and need to do it all over again and waste valuable time.

8. Do not clarify: The worst thing to do when you are in doubt is to do guesswork.

Get clarification and do it right for the first time. Do not be ashamed to ask.

9. Do not write things down: Every time when you need to remember something it is more effective to write it down like taking a telephone message. Don’t waste your time and try to recall from your memory what the message is all about.

10. Clutter desk: A messy desk disturbs your peace of mind and hinders you from working undistracted. It is also a waste of time looking for things in a pile of paper.    

11. Haphazard filing system: Like a cluttered desk, a document not properly filed is as good as lost. It is also a waste of time trying in vain to retrieve it.

12. Procrastination: There will never be a better time to do anything, now is the time to do what is right. Do it now and get into the process of doing it. Before you know a job is done and you are happy about it.  

The time for action is now. It’s never too late to do something.
Carl Sandburg

13. While waiting do nothing:  When you are expected to wait, be prepared to do something useful and the best thing to do is to read and enrich yourself. Do carry a book or a magazine while waiting for your turn to see someone in the office.

Whether it’s the best of times or the worst of times, it’s the only time we’ve got.
Art Buchwald

14. Overcommitted: Do not say yes too often too soon. Your time is limited; promise to do what is important when time permits. Do not overwhelm yourself and get into a stressful situation.   

How you spend your time is more important than how you spend your money. Money mistakes can be corrected, but time is gone forever.

David Norris.