Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time — Bertrand Russell

I did nothing during the first couple of years of my children’s lives. I know that is a brave and bold statement to make. But there I said it! What a load off my chest. It’s honest, frightening, and about time I acknowledged it.

I remember the days when my kids were younger, and when they napped, I did nothing. Nothing productive. I did the chores and the cooking. When they were awake, I tendered to their every whim and ran errands. No matter what I did, the time never went at a snail’s pace. Every activity was time-consuming. So while I thought I didn’t do anything worthwhile, I achieved a lot. My productivity was value-based.

Taking Time Versus Wasting Time

I still wished I had done something with that time — slowed down, started a blog like so many stay-at-home moms, read a book, learned something new. For the longest time, I hated myself for my lack of time management. Like I was using my babies as an excuse not to do anything. But babies are exhausting. My babies were. I’ve accepted that I couldn’t take on anything more mentally challenging. It was taxing enough to raise my kids. I needed that minimalist routine for my happiness and as a coping mechanism.

Others could see it as wasted time.

A few years ago, I learned not to answer every whim from my children. “Mummy, I’m bored!” they would say. I couldn’t be their playmate all the time. I told them it’s okay to be bored. Yes, I could have said: Read a book, play by yourself, watch television etc. Would that have been a better use of their time? No. Because getting bored sometimes is good, learn to get comfortable with it.

It’s not time wasted.
It’s time well wasted.

I know. What a breath of fresh air. The time you have is precious. No matter how long or short. We are privileged to have that time. If we can approach time as something we can’t waste, our outlook on life will change.

Spend Time Doing What You Value

During COVID, more people are working from home, saving 1–2 hours/day of commuting. So what are people doing with this extra time? Have you thought about what you are doing with these precious hours? Are you working more, falling into a cycle of toxic productivity? Or are you doing what brings you more value?

There is this notion that time is money. So by wasting time, will you make less money? But, we can’t compare time to money. Time for everyone is the same. How much money you earn in a certain amount of time is different.

The quality of what you do in the time given is what counts. And this is up to you. You can start by not seeing it as a waste of time. I even stopped telling myself and my kids what they do is a waste of time.

It boils down to how you manage your time. And what you choose to do — does it hold value or not, is it more rewarding or less?

Time Gone Is Not Time Wasted

You might wake up one day or every day and think I wasted so much time. But don’t let that be the case. You might be an early or late adopter of this concept, on whose watch? Acknowledge that wasting time is something even productive people do.

Stop-motion animator Alexander Leitner in his TEDx talk, reveals he spent two thousand, five hundred and forty-six hours on making videos with plastic bricks. He contemplates it as wasted time and whether he could have invested it in many other things. Here is his reply to the question: “Can time go to waste?”

Objectively speaking, “No, it can’t.” Time can’t go anywhere, except forwards. So, no matter what you decide to do with your day, time itself will just go on. So, as time itself cannot be wasted, why would you want to view your time as wasted anyways? I mean, many studies have shown that you are more productive and more creative if you occasionally allow yourself to focus on something different or nothing at all.

Don’t feel obligated to use the time you have well. And don’t feel guilty or have regrets about the time gone. You can do less with more meaning compared to doing more that lacks value and is emotionally draining.

Become a pro at Managing Your Time

After following these easy tricks, no one will ever call you a time management rookie again. Instead of saying I wasted the time I had, you will make use of every second, including the time you wasted intentionally.

Make a list

If you have a routine, making a list of everything you do in the day/week shouldn’t be hard.

Write down how long it takes you to do everything. Use a timer or an app such as RescueTime. Include how long it takes for distractions as well (more on that below). Do this for two weeks.

Notice most time spent and assign these to either adding value or not adding value. Scrap the ones that don’t add value and replace them with something more meaningful.

Leave room for time well-wasted activities.

Rank the tasks

You can do this how you prefer:
1. Urgent, not so important, can wait for later
2. High, medium, low
3. Today, tomorrow, next week.

To give these priorities the best chance to get done, assign them to the most productive time of day.

Making a note of how long it takes to complete tasks will help you plan similar lists in the future. If you notice some things are not working, make changes. Repeat what is working as this leads to productive habit formation.

Which to tackle first?

Tackle the big projects or to-dos first, depending on the amount of time you have. If you need motivation, plan rewards into your list after completing said tasks. When you only have a short amount of time, do something you know is doable in that time.

For example, it takes five minutes to load the washing machine or dishwasher. And a quick 2-minute call to check on someone. It might not be big, but it’s one thing off your list.

Determine what’s worthy

What do you value that requires your time? To one person, it could be spending Friday nights watching a movie with the family. To someone else, it could be pulling an all-nighter. Determine which has more meaning to you.

Avoid multitasking

I’ve always been a believer in multitasking. However, research has shown that switching focus leads to lost time, and inefficiency and reduces productivity by 40%. I still multitask, however, only with tasks that don’t compete with my cognitive ability.

The 20-minute rule can help keep your focus on one task before moving on to the next.

“To do two things at once is to do neither.” — Publius Syrus

Stay healthy

A healthy body leads to a healthy mind. Maintain optimum energy levels with quality sleep, exercise and a well-balanced nutritious diet. I’ve noticed a slump in energy when I don’t get my 8 hours of sleep, which affects my mental clarity and focus for days.

Allow some flexibility

It’s naive to think we can spend every minute and every hour being constructive. We all need that time to do something unproductive. You can’t put a dollar value on that time, but it can add to the quality of your life.

It could be as common as daydreaming, or more intentional as taking a walk in nature or surfing the web.

Take that first baby step

Want to write an article, write one sentence. Want to start an exercise regime walk for a minute. Want to take up art draw one line. That’s all. I know right now your mind is telling you this approach is ridiculous, but it works. I dare you to try it.

Once you start, you won’t stop at one sentence, one minute, one line. It will feel too short, and you will want to continue for longer. It’s a fail-safe technique that helped one friend gain traction in writing her memoir and another get back to drawing.

“The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started.” — Dawson Trotman

Grow your willpower

By completing tasks and achieving goals, your willpower muscle will get stronger. Managing and maintaining your time and schedule will also increase your ability to handle unexpected roadblocks and delays.

What to do with distractions?

Distractions are inevitable. Some might even deserve your attention, but not at that moment when you are trying to be productive. To deal with distractions without entertaining them, write them down on a separate list for tackling later.

Our cell phones are our biggest distraction. Mute your notifications, switch off your phone or be brave and leave it in another room.

Wasting time is a big concern amongst people. Managing the time you have and making time for things you enjoy doing that bring value is not time-wasting it’s time well-wasted.

Stop thinking about what you should be doing and do what matters.