We’re all guilty of wasting time. We spend too much time binge watching TV or endlessly scrolling social media. Sometimes this can be good. We all need to decompress every now and then. But sometimes (often) we default to these mindless activities when we know that there are other things we need (and want) to do with our time. This wasting of time may be due to procrastination, laziness, or the fact that social media and TV have wrecked our attention spans and used algorithms to keep us using media long past the point where it serves us. Whatever is causing it, many of us end up losing a lot of time to mindless activities.
This becomes a problem when you find yourself saying, “Man, I wish I’d done X, Y, or Z today.” Or, “I really meant to catch up on my (insert hobby here), or deal with those pesky home projects.” And, “Wow, if I’d put those eight hours into my side hustle instead of wasting time on TikTok, I’d have made a few hundred bucks today.” When mindless activities cost you time (and money) you wanted or needed to spend on other things, it’s a problem.
But how do you break out of the cycle? The mindless, easy stuff is just that: Mindless and easy. It requires no effort after a hard day, and allows you to live in another world for a while instead of the (kind of crappy) real world. Its very nature pulls you in and makes you comfortable, even when you know it isn’t the best thing for you. It’s like junk food. McDonald’s is easy and tasty, but it isn’t good for you.
If you want to reclaim your time, you need to consciously offer yourself other options. The one question to ask yourself before committing to yet another night on the sofa is this: “Is this (whatever you’re about to waste time with) the best thing I can be doing right now?”
Sometimes the answer will be yes. You will legitimately be too tired or ill to do anything else. There are days when the easy option is the only thing you can manage. Anything else is too much. And that’s okay. Most of the time, though, if you’re honest with yourself, the answer will be no. Wasting time will not be the best thing you can do at that moment.
I’ve had to resort to this in my own life. Over the last couple of years, I’ve found myself defaulting more and more often to the mindless and easy. At first, I chalked it up to stress and having a lot going on. As time went by, however, I realized that the problem was deeper than that. First of all, my attention span was shorter than a gnat’s. Too much time online has robbed me of my ability to concentrate. I used to read a book every few days, now I’m down to one a month (or less). Second, there have been some mental health issues at play that make it feel better to waste time, even though I know I’d actually be better if I didn’t. That’s an important distinction that I have to reinforce to myself every day.
To stop this ridiculousness, I started asking myself, “What’s the best thing I can do right now?” Sometimes the answer is work on a hobby. Maybe I’m too tired for anything major, but I know I’d feel better if I did something enjoyable like work on my TBR pile, put together a puzzle, or play a board game.
Other times the answer is to work on a long term goal, a side hustle, or a household project. If I’m more alert and feeling productive, the best thing is something that moves a goal forward, makes a little money, or takes a task off my list.
Every now and then, the best thing is to do something really good for me like squeeze in some movement, journal, learn a new recipe or other skill, or work on a foreign language. Daydreaming is sometimes an option, too. It’s relaxing and takes no effort, but it’s still better for me than scrolling.
Whatever the answer is, it doesn’t always have to be a big thing that consumes hours. Sometimes the answer is, “Just commit to one tiny task that somehow moves something forward.” That may mean cleaning something, doing a little research on a problem that needs solving, or brainstorming some ideas. Often, once I’ve started on the best thing, I find I want to continue and I end up getting a lot done.
I don’t dwell on the question for a long time. Usually I pursue the first answer that comes to mind. In the early days of trying this, I would run every possible idea through my brain, comparing and contrasting the pros and cons of each. This ended up wasting as much time as the stuff I was trying to avoid. Now I just ask,” What’s the best thing to do right now?” and do the first thing I think of. If I decide to change activities after a while, I permit myself to do so, as long as it’s another “best” activity and not scrolling or binging TV.
Choosing to kill time with mindless activities isn’t inherently bad. Just make sure that it’s something you’re consciously choosing to do at that moment. Don’t waste time because of laziness or because social media has hijacked your brain. Reclaim your time and focus by choosing the best thing, rather than the easiest thing.
Read More:
- Personal Finance Isn’t Rocket Science. It’s Self Motivation.
- A Life Without Debt: Procrastination Is The Enemy
- 100+ Things To Do Instead Of Mindless Spending
- 25 Ways To Improve Your Financial Situation In Under 10 Minutes
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Image and article originally from www.savingadvice.com. Read the original article here.