55 things that waste time you must let go of

Are you following some of these 55 things that waste time? Find out what are the things that waste of time you must let go of here!

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All of us, in some way or another, waste our time knowingly or unknowingly,

We have so many things to do in a day, goals to achieve, and live the life we always dream of

But one thing that comes as a barrier to being productive and getting things done is indulging in habits or things that waste time!

Only if we realized the depth of how much of our time gets wasted by following these activities, our life would be so different.

I have been through this, and in fact, even now, there are some things I end up wasting my time because and then later on suffer.

Whether in work or something else, there are also many things I have let go of that have helped save my time, and as well preserve my energy to do something meaningful instead!

So in this post, I will share things that waste our time & we must let go of!

Table of Contents

55 Things that waste time – time-wasting habits to let go!

1. Checking our phones or being on the phone all the time.

This is one habit, I assure 90% of people are consumed with! We all are addicted to our phones at this age.

From morning to night, our phone is one thing we never put away

It has reached such an extent that if we ever open our phone to call someone, our fingers, due to daily habits, end up opening social media, and we start scrolling without even realizing it, minutes and sometimes even hours pass by, and we wonder what we needed to do to use our phone

This is so common nowadays and something we must be conscious of!

This is our no 1 habit that wastes our time immensely!

Solution: One of the things you can do is simply delete all the distractions apps when you use your phone for work, delete them so every time your fingers try to look for them

They won’t be seen, and you will remember to do your work later on

2. Scrolling reels or any social media platform for even a second

This is a continuation of my first point in a slightly different situation

Even if you do open your phone to check any social media app like tik-tok or Instagram,

You automatically fall into the trap of scrolling endlessly, they are designed in a way that you open them for a second and don’t realize that minutes have paced since then

It can even waste your hours, and you won’t even realize it

Solution: One thing to make sure of is to not open your apps during work time and when you need to do something important

You can set reminders on your phone, and screen time limit (iPhone already has an option where you can time limit on usage of an app, and it will automatically lock it after the time has passed!

3. Checking your phone first thing in the morning

I know it may sound like I am repeating the same points, but there are slight differences in all of them!

Checking our phone first thing when we wake up in the morning is a common habit among many people.

Apart from it being a time-wasting habit, it is also very damaging to our brains.

When we wake up in the morning, different parts of our body, like our brain need to be fully awake.

We cannot stuff our min right in the morning with so much information right in the morning.

It gets too overwhelming and leads to many issues later on!

More than if you end up opening your phone at that time, you know that tons of endless scrolling is waiting for you

It would be extremely hard for you to start your day right and you will end up wasting it all!

If you wish to take one thing away from this post, then I highly request that you stop this habit of checking your phone in the morning! Avoid it for 1 hour at least after waking up.

4. Watching a show

Watching a movie/show on Netflix on any other app can also lead to wasting too much time.

In this age, we can watch all episodes without ads or break in one go unlike in television when we used to have one episode aired every day.

This has led to nonstop watching of shows, we get so indulged in it that we forget to do our work or end up procrastinating.

I have been guilty of it multiple times myself and realize later on that I had wasted so much time, which ended up affecting my work.

If you can try to avoid watching a show in the morning or in between your shifts so you don’t end up wasting your time

Nowadays, I prefer to watch ongoing shows that usually air once or twice a week, so I have to watch not more than one episode a day.

Also, try to take social media complete detox for a day or two every now and then so you can increase your productivity.

Be firm and mindful of this habit so every time you do watch a watch, you can put a pause on it and get on to working

5. Overthinking

I have found one thing that has contributed to so much time and energy waste personally for me is this thing called overthinking.

Being naturally an overthinker, I have spent so much time worrying about things that have never happened or worry what if it happens.

Overthinking every situation and letting it affect my mental and emotional state which eventually leads me to not work at all and just sit and worry

I have passed so many hours, days, weeks, and even months like this

There is always something to worry about, isn’t it? whether it is even making situations up out of the blue and worrying about it

Quite recently, I realized this about myself and how it had affected my mental state, happiness, and of course productivity

I could have done so much more only if I stopped overthinking and just focused on presenting what is in my control!

Now, over the past year, I have made this conscious attempt to let go of worry and focus on my now

problems that are still there but Knowing that right now, I do have not much control over them, and so it is stupid to waste time worrying and overthinking about it has helped me so much!

If you tend to think too much about everything, I highly request that you stop thinking and worrying and just work on what you can do right now!

6. Not planning your day

One of the things you may not realize but is contributing to wasting your time so much every day is having no plan for the day

You are living each day without planning out what you need to do effectively.

Not having any routine, to-do list, or goal for the day can lead to an unproductive lazy day.

You end up doing nothing or feel stuck because you don’t know what to do right now, or where to start working.

Which could waste half or most part of your day, and by the time you do realize and plan the rest of the day, there is not much you can do

This is why planning your day every day is very crucial otherwise, it can be a big time waster.

Have a morning routine, and make a list of 3 important tasks to focus on every day that helps in the growth of your life!

7. Complaining

One of the major things that waste time you must let go of is complaining! It’s like overthinking but venting and being angry all the time.

We tend to have a victim mindset very easily at small things, at the small inconvenience, we tend to complain, “Why is it like this, why do I have to go through and so on.

Complaining is not only negative, which can affect our mood but also waste our day.

It is important to realize that, for small things that don’t really matter, we should not spend so much energy complaining and crying over it.

Just move on quickly and do your thing!

8. Multi-tasking

A lot of people tend to multi-tasking as a way to be productive and get more done, but it is quite the opposite in reality.

Multi-tasking does not lead to productivity and can, in fact, waste our time in the long run.

Our brain is not designed that way, we can handle so many different tasks at a time, it needs focus to do things.

When we give our full attention to only one task we can do it with more focus and eventually get it done faster, which helps in saving our time instead!

so stop multi-tasking now!

9. Debating on what to eat

For many, deciding what to eat every day is a task that takes too much time.

It may not be that common, but I have witnessed it happening at times and many others.

Deciding what to eat in the morning, lunch, and dinner can be really confusing if you make food by yourself and have other members to cook for as well.

Even at times when we are hungry and ordering out, we tend to debate so much on what to eat.

Observe and check if it is something that happens to you often, and if that’s true, You may need to do some changes.

It can be planning a day before to avoid wasting so much time and also to not think too much when deciding on a meal!

10. Too much planning

While not planning your day or life wastes time, so does planning too much as well!

People, who tend to plan and control too much, eventually end up spending most of the time, only planning instead of executing it.

Nothing is perfect, and not everything goes with the plan, there can be a few things that go here and there, and we have to do things accordingly

so spending so much time planning can lead to wasting time and energy! It is always better to make a rough plan and follow it as you go.

11. Making long-to-do lists

Real productivity does not really comes from the number of tasks you got done but how important the tasks were in growth and how effectively they were done.

So if you only did 2-3 things in a day, which is extremely important in yielding growth and getting major obstacles out of the way, then it is true productivity.

So instead of making long to-do lists consisting of unimportant tasks, which wastes time because they bring hardly any overall change

Shift to making small lists consisting of only 1-3 most important tasks!

12. Not making to-do lists at all

Similar to the above point, many people do not make any to-do lists at all. I mean, it is good if you can remember tasks in your mind and can execute them!

But, many of us are not able to remember and forget 1-2 important deadlines! This is why making a list can be so helpful!

It also leads to poor planning of the day because we don’t know what to do, which can waste our time significantly.

If you struggle with the same, make sure to make an everyday small to-do list

13. Falling for distractions

In this age, we are surrounded by endless distractions from smart devices, which contribute to almost 80% of distractions, other such as gossiping or thinking about useless topics.

It is easy to fall for these distractions because they are designed for us to get under them.

But if I do end up falling for it, then we are stuck for hours! All our time and day are wasted, and we lose the motivation to do anything else later on.

It is important to make an effort to avoid falling for such distractions and be mindful of it!

14. Gossiping

I remember in school, 12th grade, which is obviously such an important year, instead of spending time studying.

I used to indulge in so much gossip with my school friends in school as well as after school.

If I had spent that time studying instead, I would have performed well

Now when I look back, I feel Yikes about it that I wasted so much energy and time on stupid conversations

15. Deciding what to wear

Deciding what to wear every day is such a task when you have to go out whether to college or work or just for fun.

I remember spending so much time going through my closet and struggling to decide what to wear!

It is super frustrating and of course, wastes our time especially if you are deciding on the same day you have to go! AHH!

It is always better to pre-plan and take your clothes out so you don’t have to waste time that day on finding your clothes

16. Looking for lost items

At times, in the middle of doing something productive or important we remember or come across that we cannot find a particular thing

Instantly it makes us want to start looking for it because we cannot stay calm, so we leave everything we were doing and start looking for it.

I know it is hard to ignore it and focus on work because we tend to worry about the item.

However, if the time is not so valuable or pricy, we should let it be and look for it once our work is done!

17. Trying to be a perfectionist

Okay, this is a real thing, I have seen some of my friends who are perfectionists wasting so much time in creating something that it never got executed

As perfectionists, they wish to create something perfect in their first creation, and until they are satisfied with it ( which never happens) they keep working on it until the time is up.

Instead of trying to be perfect at what you do, focus on getting things done.

Once you take action and start putting things out, you will slowly improve and as well as grow

18. Turned on notifications

The beep beep message after every few minutes on our phone can be a huge distraction which can lead to wasting our time, and we may not end up focusing on our task.

For this, whether keeping your phone away where you cannot hear the notification or turning off all the notifications, is really important

Even in general I try to keep all my notifications of all the apps to avoid distraction

19. Saying yes to not needed things

Saying yes to everything can sometimes work against us, many people just want us to do things for them and even keep that aside.

We don’t have to say yes to all the responsibilities and tasks that others try to pour on us.

Doing anything takes time, effort, and attention. You have a life and work of your own, so make sure you don’t end up wasting time doing it for others and not getting time for yourself!

Learn to say no!

20. Not organizing your time

Time is so important because it is always passing, it does not wait for anyone, and everything in life has a timeline

if we take it for granted, we once lost, it won’t come back

Time does not wait for anyone either, so it is essential to organize your time and make use of it effectively instead

Try to be more mindful of how you spend your time from morning to night!

21. Not batching your tasks at all

If you are not batching your tasks, then you are unconsciously, wasting your time while getting things done!

Batching tasks have been proven to boost productivity and also save so much of your time and energy!

That is because we can work better in flow rather than doing different things one after the other.

So, for example, if you have a similar category of tasks, like editing, replying to emails, or writing on a computer that requires you to be in one place you are likely to be in better flow of work.

Whereas if you had to write emails, then go out to the studio then, come back and get back to editing, it would waste a lot of your time and energy moving from here and there

hence, in this situation batching your tasks is the ultimate trick you must implement to save time

22. Not getting proper sleep

Staying up late or for some other reason when you don’t get enough sleep, you seem dizzy and tired all-day

which also wastes your time, you are not able to focus on work properly and do things at a normal speed

You keep yawning, getting distracted, and end up doing hardly anything

hence, focus on getting good sleep so you can work with a fresh mind!

23. Being not able to make decisions on time

A lot of people struggle with indecisiveness, which is not being able to decide on time

they think too much, or struggle to make a firm decision about anything, which can waste a lot of your time!

Especially if it is something insignificant and you spend too much time making a decision

It is important to think briefly before making decisions, but at times spending too much time deciding can work opposite

24. Forgetfulness

Forgetfulness is common among so many of us, whether it is not remembering where you kept something

or completely forgetting to do a responsibility you needed to do, it can not only waste time but also affect other aspects too

In this situation, you could focus on being more aware as well as writing things done as soon as you learn you need to do something,

so in the future, even if you forget, you can remember by looking in the notebook.

25. Getting irritated and angry easily

I remember there was a time when I used to get so irritated and angry easily at the smallest things.

It would affect my mood, of course, and eventually, my whole day because I could not focus on anything at all

getting angry and irritated all the time is only hurting us and stopping our growth, nobody else’s.

It does hurt others too, when someone else is involved, but eventually, due to your repetitive behavior, they start going distant too.

We need to learn to control and let go of the moodiness and focus on other things in life

otherwise, it will waste your time so much in the long period, stunting your growth and mental peace.

26. Negative self-talk

Ahh! I cannot talk enough about this! Negative self-talk is the real enemy in our life/

Nobody criticizes and puts us down the most then we do to ourself

If someone says even one thing bad about us, we make it 10

That’s how negative self-talk works, it makes puzzled in your own mind

So many situations where you can be happy at peace, get ruined because our mind tells us the opposite

Instead of moving forward and enjoying, we sit back and waste our time in this negative self-talk

I remember being this way for years feeling negative about my body. I wasted so much time because of constant negative self-talk

Only after I realized this and started practicing positive self-talk instead, I was able to free myself and move on with my life

feel confident in myself and do things, that I want without worrying about anything else!

So stop telling yourself the negative, that you cannot do something instead be kinder!

27. Self-doubt

Similar to negative self-talk, self-doubt is also something that puts us away from living our dream life.

We doubt our abilities and wonder if we deserve to do something or not

this feeling of doubt leads to us never making any attempt to even doing anything

This self-doubt only exists in our mind because, in reality, we are so much capable of doing anything!

Only, if we step away from this self-doubt and go for it without doubting anything, inside, we will see the magic happen!

So don’t waste your time doubting yourself, and just do it!

28. Checking email every now and then

Opening emails all throughout the day can be really distracting

Instead, block a specific time, for you to check your emails and reply to them! Do them in one go and move to something work

Also, unsubscribe to emails that you don’t read and keep distracting you throughout the day

29. Negative news

Watching the news in the morning is, even a way to keep up with what is happening around.

If you engage in too much news through tv or social media, it can affect your mental health.

News is mostly negative, which subconsciously leaves anxiety or fear in us, constantly indulging in it can affect you.

You don’t have to be updated about everything all the time, instead focus on living your life!

30. Repeating same mistakes

Nothing wastes your time more in this world than you repeating the same mistake again

once you did something wrong and learned your lesson, it is obvious to never repeat

However, if you repeat the same mistake again, you are still stuck where you were before

This leads to not only wasting the amount of time you spend the first time but also the second time you repeated it

Plus energy. efforts that went into it.

So be firm and promise yourself to never repeat the same mistake again

31. Procrastinating

Procrastinating is so common nowadays, and also what waste our time every day

we tend to procrastinate on anything that is good for us but requires effort

Study, work, workout, it could be anything for you

remember, why you have to do that thing, remember why every time you tend to procrastinate

If your reason is important to you, it will push you to do it

32. Pointless online shopping

For all shopaholics, you know how much time you spend scrolling through the website in the middle of the work.

Just like any other social media app, online shopping apps are equally addicting and have no end.

Try to not use it when working and usually do it during your free time.

33. People Pleasing

A lot of people struggle with people pleasing, it is good that you wish to be close to others and want to look nice.

But people pleasing can leave you empty and feeling unfulfilled

The right people will like you for who you are, you don’t have to be liked by everyone and spend your time and energy pleasing them

Focus on your life and what helps you grow

34. Skipping meals and going to work

Unless you are fasting correctly on a specific day, but if you have a habit of skipping your meals every day and you go to work with an empty stomach

there are rare chances you will end up focusing on work

Starving for too long can affect your energy and focus, it will be uncomfortable to work and do anything at all

So make sure to eat something so you are not starving when working!

35. Sleeping too much

Sleeping too much can often be a sign of laziness If it is an everyday thing.

Then you are wasting your precious time, which you could use to create and experience so much in vain.

Focus on getting enough sleep at night and maybe taking a nap in the afternoon once done with most of your work!

36. Taking on too many, not needed responsibilities

Being responsible and wanting to help others is good, but you should only take on the many responsibilities that are needed.

To help others if you end up taking responsibilities that are of no value, it can waste your time.

You could use that time in doing something more valuable instead

37. Trying to do everything on your own

Many people, especially those who run their businesses struggle with this, they wish to control and do all the things by themselves

This takes so much time and energy, which in the long term affects their growth.

Delegating tasks that can be done by others as well is so crucial, which will save time that you could use in doing something you are supposed to do, learn to delegate tasks!

38. Waiting for the perfect moment

Many people waste their life waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect time (which does not exist)

You have to take action now, if you wish to do something, now is the perfect time to do

get on it!

39. Dwelling on the past

Everyone has a past, and sometimes the past can be hurting which makes it difficult to move on.

It’s understandable that moving on is not easy, and so much emotional strength is taken.

However, dwelling in the past for a long time can keep us stuck in life

Moving on and letting go of it is very crucial no matter what you went through

You must make an effort to live your life in the present

40. Worrying about things out of our control

I have always struggled with it, and I am sure many like me tend to worry so much.

At times it is one thing we don’t have control over, we keep worrying about what will happen and what we should do.

The hard truth is, It is out of our control, and that’s why we cannot do anything about it.

So worrying about it is useless.

It is better to worry about something you change than to waste your time worrying about something you have no control over.

I keep reminding myself of this whenever I am faced with such a situation, and now it helped me free myself from the worry and gives me focus on what I can change.

41. Unhealthy eating habits

it may sound strange but our eating habits affect our day, energy, and mood

The kind of food we eat, the time we eat, and how much we eat have an effect on our whole day

If you eat too much junk food before a meeting, you will feel sleepy and less energetic.

Eating late at night means sleeping late at night too which again affects your morning.

Set the right healthy eating habits to save your time.

42. Staying in our comfort zone

If you have been wondering for a long time that you have been able to experience any change or growth in your life

then you should notice if it is due to being in your comfort zone for so long?

Feeling scared to take action is the thing coming between your growth and your dreams?

43. Too many unimportant meeting

Too many meetings can make you feel productive but in reality is making you more unproductive!

Not all meeting our important, you could spend the time in creating something meaningful and actually executing an important task instead

Think bout if it is necessary to hold a meeting on this topic, only then schedule it

44. Browsing online

Browsing online mindlessly is nothing but a waste of time! In this age, it is getting harder to avoid the Internet, but if we want to focus on our life, we have to! So quit now

45. Staying in a job you hate

This is very personal, but I felt that it should be included at this point

I remember doing a job a few years back which I hated, it was the first time I felt every day that I was wasting my time there

I could do something better something meaningful that I enjoy!

this constant realization helped me leave that job and pursue something I enjoy and is actually making a positive difference in my life

46. Long phone calls

It is amazing to catch and connect with others, family, and friends!

However, it should also be noted whom we talk to, how often, and at what time

Engaging in calls is always better to do once you are free rather than every day in the middle of work

47. Lack of mindfulness/ intention

Lack of mindfulness, in general, can affect how we spend our day

If we do things without practicing mindfulness, we are merely doing anything meaningful

Whatever you do, do it with the intention

this way, you will be careful how you spend your day, and it will work on your growth

48. Caring what other people think about you

Stop wasting time, in thinking about what other people think of you, if you wish to do something do it!

If you are in a social setting, instead of caring what people think, focus on doing your own thing.

So many people never even make an attempt to do anything because they keep caring about what other people think

life is too short to give others this much importance!

49. Clutter

Make sure your home and workspace are always clean and clutter-free, otherwise, it can take so much of your time in looking for things

It can take hours at times, which also makes you frustrated and affects what you were doing

50. Not investing in things that save time

With the boom in technology, there are so many things we can invest in that can save us time!

We don’t have to do things hard and can easily save our time using such facilities! Such facilities often come with a cost

because we tend to hesitate, but if investing in such a thing can speed your progress then one must

It can be even a course or a coach that can work with you to speed up your progress!

51. Holding grudges

There can be some small troubles with people you work with or are associated with, it is common and happens to everyone

it is important to not hold grudges in this situation and let go of them if there are, so it does not affect the quality of your work or environment.

52. Toxic relationships

For many, toxic relationships are the reason they end up wasting most of the time

they get so involved in these relationships that suck the energy out of them, and it becomes impossible to put effort anywhere else

It is quite a personal thing, but if you are going through something like this and can leave this relationship, then you must do it

53. Not taking rest at all

Its good that you wish to be productive and do hard work, but overworking yourself and not resting can leave to burn out

It can affect your health that will make you not work at all, there could be physical and mental effects

and your energy will eventually die down in this case

so make sure to take a rest in between.

54. Going too fast or taking shortcuts

We want to achieve success faster, but often in that need, we end up taking decisions or shortcuts that are not reliable.

It ends up affecting us negatively, and we have to do the thing all over again.

There is nothing wrong with slow yet strong foundational progress which will last a lifetime.

Focus on building a strong foundation instead of taking tricks that can waste all your time and effort!

55. Unnecessary arguments

At times, we end up arguing nonstop with our partner or friends about the most stupidest, and unimportant things for so long.

I remember so many times I did that with my friends, and later on, I always cringe about it because it wasted so much of my energy on something stupid.

I was not able to focus on work and spent time, just arguing over little things.

Now I am wiser!

Conclusion

So these were 55 time-wasting habits, that one should let go of to live a good life!

I hope you found some habits that you need to let go from your life!

xx good luck

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