You want to do things. You want to finish your daily work. You want to pursue your hobbies. Have you noticed that you do not have the time to do them? You wish you had more time, but sadly you do not have enough of it. Why? Everyone has 24 hours daily, so why do you need more time? If others can get their work done, why can’t you?
Well, I have been studying this phenomenon for some time now (through personal experience and observations) and here is what I think are the reasons why.
- Procrastination. You procrastinate on everything. Whether it is by sheer laziness, or you’ve got in the habit of delaying things. With the result that there will come a time when everything becomes very urgent, and you have to do it immediately. Get over the procrastination habit and do things as soon as they are given to you.
- You spent too much time watching TV. You see, TV has been dubbed “the complete medium”. That means you do not have to exert at all. Just lie back and get emersed in what is happening on the screen. This results in a complete lack of effort to do anything. Again, it results in work that keeps pending. Your brain gets affected, your memory fails when you need it the most, and your physical health suffers. Use this time to exercise. I still remember my gym teacher telling us: A healthy body is a healthy mind. So, exercise.
- Worrying. Worrying is one of the major causes of both physical and mental problems. Trying to please everyone and worrying about what will happen is one more cause for wasting time. I have encountered many people who just worry their time away. These people will not change.?
- Stress. Worrying and stress go hand in hand. The more you worry, the more you get stressed, resulting in a high waste of time. Stop worrying, stay calm, and do things systematically. Stress will also give rise to many health problems, which you can do without in this fast-paced modern life of ours. Excessive stress levels have been known to cause many early deaths due to heart attacks. So stop Stressing.
- Being a Perfectionist. Many believe, and proudly so that they are perfectionists. Now this, to me, is one big-time waster. These people are so intent on discovering mistakes and ensuring that everything is ‘perfect’ that they fail to see that time is crucial. This results in never having the time to complete the work at hand. There is a saying: Excellence I can achieve. Perfection, I leave to God.
- Many believe that Multitasking is the thing. Well, there was a time when many people thought that you should be able to multitask if you want to do well. In fact, candidates were chosen on the basis of their multitasking skills. However, managers/leaders quickly realised that this led to many mistakes and more time wastage. If you take up one job, do it properly and complete it quickly. Then move to the next. Multitasking delays all jobs and you cannot concentrate on what you are doing. And you will never be able to do it well. Make a priority list of everything that needs to be done. Then start with the most important.
- Saying “Yes” to everything you are given. In the corporate world, many people cannot say No to what their bosses tell them to do. This results in your boss getting upset that you have not completed your work at the end of the day. A Simple solution is, when you are already overloaded with work, and your manager gives you extra work, the right thing to do is ask him: “Very good sir. Of course, I will do it. However, you have given me other things to do too. Could you please sit down with me and help me by listing down what is of priority and which can wait? This way I can concentrate on finishing what is of priority first.” This is when he will understand and realise the extent of work you are doing and that you are interested in working on a priority basis. You will be appreciated.?
- Always on the phone. I am sure you have encountered people constantly on the phone. I am sure you have too. This habit ensures that you spend less and less time doing the important tasks you were supposed to do. At the end of the day, you realise that a lot of work is still pending. As a result, everything becomes a priority, and an emergency becomes critical. Then your time will be spent in unnecessarily handling the essential stuff.
- Staying up Late. If you haven’t finished your work for the day, it will result in your staying up late and finishing it so that it is on your boss’s table the following day. This again results in you sleeping less and affects your work the next day. You feel sleepy, and you make mistakes; mentally, you are not there, etc. Sleep is necessary for being fresh and working well.
- It did not work in the Past. I am sure you have come across people who used the past as an excuse not to change. They will never progress and never try out new things. I have come across these kinds of people. These are the biggest time wasters as they live in the past. They refuse to change. Not only will they not change and progress, but they will also stop others by influencing them and reminding them about the past. What a waste of talent, human resources and, above all, time. The past is past. Now is the new Future. Remember, every problem has a solution. Problems cannot exist without solutions. It is up to us to find the solution, and the problem will solve itself.
The above list is not exhaustive. My advice-?
Sit down for some time, analyse where your time was spent, cut down on the unnecessary time wasters and become more efficient and productive. Even if you take one of your time wasters at a time and handle it by overcoming it, you will soon be very efficient in what you do.
So now you are all set to GROW.
