We’ve all said to ourselves at least once: “How time flies! And it’s a fact that our usual 24 hours often don’t seem enough to do everything we’d like. So why do we find it so hard to free up time and not waste it? The truth is, wasting time can’t be explained in a few words.

This article revisits the notion of time, and suggests some specific tips for making the best possible use of it. I’m convinced that after reading it, you’ll have a better idea of how to avoid wasting the precious time you have.

Wasting time: time, a precious resource

“What things really cost you is time”.

Time is a precious resource. It runs out inexorably, and there’s nothing we can do about it. For example, the second spent reading this sentence is lost forever, because we doesn’t have the ability to turn back time. When you consider that time is a precious resource that cannot be regained, you understand why it is both futile and irresponsible to waste time.

In today’s fast-paced world, wasting time has almost become a crime. In Canada, for example, some companies are firing their employees and suing them for “time theft”. They have realized that this resource is as precious as gold, as it directly influences their profits, investments and future prospects.

What about you? Do you understand that wasting time of any kind is absolutely unthinkable? Studies on time management reveal that we don’t necessarily make good use of it. For example, a study of 25,000 Canadian employees revealed that they spent an average of 50.2 hours on their professional activities, whereas the French for example spend an average of 38.

At the same time, estimates suggest that in 2023 U.S. adults will spend an average of nearly three hours watching TV each day.. Isn’t that a useless waste of time? Did you know that with good time management, you can work less and be more efficient?

Finally, it seems that fathers in India spend just 8 minutes a day talking to their children. Isn’t that too little?

How you perceive these hours depends to a large extent on your priorities, values and goals. However, you need to find good reasons to stop wasting your time.

Why and what do we waste our time on?

If you think about it carefully, you’ll notice that many things contribute to wasting time. I can name from memory 3 things that are absolutely inexcusable:

ELECTRONIC GADGETS
You and your loved ones are probably connected for several hours a day, either surfing the web or playing video games. Some young people play up to 15 or 20 hours a day, cutting themselves off from the world completely. Specialists have always stressed the dangers of social networking and video game addiction.

Of course, adults are not left out. Media and digital innovations have made our lives easier. But they’ve also turned us into zombies completely hypnotized by screens.

CLUTTER AND WASTED TIME
At home and at work, the accumulation of files and a messy environment wastes precious time. When you calculate how much time you’ve spent tidying and re-filing your files and clutter, you’re sometimes surprised to find that you’ve wasted 3 or 4 hours putting things back in order. And here again, we can mention the dangers of social networks, which obsess us so much that we no longer have the time to put our lives in order.

THE RHYTHM OF LIFE
Our pace of life is too hectic. If you don’t do something about it, you’ll waste precious time on things that are totally useless. You may not even use it at all. Take traffic jams, for example: there’s almost nothing you can do about them. When you’re stuck in traffic, it’s possible to spend 2-3 hours on the spot. But what do you do with that time? If it’s not used properly, it becomes a waste of time.

Likewise, your employers are setting you ever-higher targets. But you have your family, and you need to make time for them. Sometimes you feel like you’re chasing 2 or 3 hares, and you’re not really satisfying anyone. But why? Because you lack the time to work with the same energy everywhere at once.

Faced with this reality, you’re probably looking for ways to avoid wasting time. What can help? Consider the following 6 principles.

6 principles for never wasting time again

“To master your time is to master your life”

The following tips should not be taken individually. To save time or make good use of it, you should consider them as a kind of kit to be used judiciously.

1-USE PLANNING TOOLS
The best way to avoid wasting time is to use it responsibly. To achieve this, learn how to plan your activities in such a way as to make the most of the time available. 3 very interesting planning tools will help you to do this effectively:

Pareto’s law
According to this law, known as the “20/80 law”, 20% of the actions you take produce 80% of the results. How can you apply it to combat wasted time? An analysis of your activities may show you that just 20% of your efforts at work can produce 80% of the expected results. So, you’ll be eliminating activities that produce almost nothing in terms of results. For example, you don’t have to attend all company meetings, because some of them have no direct bearing on your daily or weekly performance. So what can you do? Zap!

The NERAC method
The nerac method consists of drawing up a 5-point time management checklist: Note, Estimate, Reserve, Arbitrate and Control. In one column, you note the tasks to be accomplished, and in another column, estimate the time required to complete them. In the Reserve column, allow time for readjustment to unforeseen circumstances. Then arbitrate by prioritizing these events (they can be important, priority or urgent). Finally, indicate who will be responsible for monitoring variances, forecasts and the achievement of objectives. A list like this will help you avoid wasting time, as you’ll be able to concentrate on useful tasks.

Daily planning
Another simple trick is to get up earlier in the day and draw up a daily schedule down to the hour or minute. Then keep this schedule handy and get to work. If possible, tick off each task you complete with a red marker, and move on if a scheduled task has not been completed. This time-saving checklist can be very effective.

When it comes to taking action on your daily tasks, I recommend using the pomodoro technique to be more efficient and productive.

2-DISCONNECT
The second thing to do to avoid wasting time is to disconnect. We come back to the dangers of social networking and video games. If you’re not careful, they’ll keep you busy for most of the day. The same applies to television, commonly referred to as the “great time-stealer”. What can you do to avoid being trapped by the dangers of social networking?

First, turn off the phone when you have an important task to complete. If you don’t, it’s a sign that social networking is already taking up a good part of your time. Remember that someone who really wants to talk to you will at least leave a message for you to read later.

Next, set aside some time to consult your social pages, e-mails and other electronic messaging systems. As soon as the time or period set aside for this activity has passed, switch off your Internet connection and move on to the next task.

In the end, you’ll find that you have a more productive life because you’re able to counter the dangers of social networking.

3-STOP PROCRASTINATING TO AVOID WASTING TIME
Procrastination is a real time thief. It affects everyone and can be very costly, even financially.

If you have this tendency, you should know that it can cost you up to 24 hours in a single week! That’s a waste of time you can’t afford. So how do you counter it?

Do what you do when you want to avoid the dangers of social networking? Plan ahead and take action. If a task puts you off, start it right away. Even if you’ll finish it later. It’s much better than doing nothing at all. When you’re still struggling to get started, tell yourself that it’s not good for your self-esteem. A tendency to procrastinate indicates a lack of self-discipline, motivation or even laziness.

So say to yourself: “If I don’t do it, it proves I’m lazy”. This thought alone will undoubtedly inspire you to get on with the job in hand and avoid wasting time.

4-BREAK UP THE CLUTTER ONCE AND FOR ALL
Evaluate the time it costs you to find a file under the paperwork when you’re in a hurry. Or count the time it takes to put away the toys, clear out the cupboards and find your sports shirt. You’ll soon realize that order is the key to efficient time management.

Clutter is worse than the dangers of social networking mentioned above, because it’s harder to eliminate from our habits. Your battle against clutter will therefore be a long one. To begin with, learn to tidy up properly every day. It could be your files, your pine tree stash, or the clothes in your closet. Make a point of putting everything away properly, even if it takes longer than you expected.

Next, create clearly identified folders, boxes or filing cabinets. Methodically file everything you want to put away. It’ll take some time, but in the long run, it’s worth it. On the other hand, when your office, house or garage is turned upside down, don’t do anything until you’ve tidied and cleaned the place. Again, you’ll think you’re wasting too much time. But in the long run, you’ll save time.

5-LEARN TO LET GO
This is the last thing you need to do if you want to avoid wasting time, or escape the time-wasting dangers of social networking. Don’t be a perfectionist. If you plan to complete a task in 10 minutes, it may actually take you 20. Does this mean you’ve failed or wasted time? Not necessarily, if you decide to devote yourself to the next task.

On the other hand, should you insist on completing a task you’ve started but are still working on? Here again, be flexible. If 2 urgent tasks come one after the other, it’s probably better to work a little on both, rather than insisting on finishing one and completely neglecting the other.

The key word here is adaptation. It’s more important that you learn to use your time to accomplish useful tasks, rather than devoting it to less important things. If you stick to this logic, it will be easier to let go. What does this mean?

After a lot of effort, give yourself a welcome break or reward. You’re not an executioner, and it’s a waste of time to spend your whole life working. Enjoy life, your loved ones, nature and what you earn. It’s not a waste of time to do so. It’s living.

On the other hand, if you apply the above suggestions at the risk of becoming a hard-working, high-achieving but isolated, unsympathetic or ascetic, you’re really wasting your time, because your existence won’t serve much purpose. So learn to let go by applying the suggestions in this article.

WHAT WILL YOU DO TO AVOID WASTING TIME?
Now you know what you need to do to avoid wasting precious minutes of your life. Once again, I’d like to stress the dangers of social networking, which wastes precious time and isolates you from the rest of the world. It’s in your interest to ensure that you and your loved ones make the best possible use of them.