The following eleven behaviors are complete wastes of your time, especially if you’re a perfectionist in search of the ultimate life.
1. Comparing yourself to others.
Where you are in your life is your unique journey. If you are comparing yourself to others, you aren’t taking into consideration all of the factors that make your life yours and theirs different. If there are things you are noticing you lack that others have, instead of feeling bad about yourself for not having them, focus on how your mindset needs to shift and what you need to do to make it happen.
2. Multitasking.
The biggest myth. Multitasking is actually task-switching. Our brains can’t process more than one thing at a time, so the brain is actually jumping from one task to the next and back ever so quickly. However, the more you do this, the more prone to errors you are and the more you are exhausting the energy reserves.
3. Rehashing the past beyond the point of learning a lesson.
Talking about what went wrong is important in any relationship. Spending 15 minutes rehashing every single time they did this wrong thing in the past is damaging, and at some point, you will get tuned out. If you’re doing this to yourself, take a moment and question f if berating yourself has helped you feel better about your abilities to make better choices in the future.
4. Doing things that could be delegated to others or streamlined with a better system.
Delegating chores is a win for everyone. Kids learn survival skills and brownie points when they go to other people’s homes, and you get the chance to catch up on whatever else you need to do. If you’re standing in front of the same mess every day or repeating instructions like a broken record, check with your systems. Sometimes, it’s as simple as designating an area as a yes space, adding a piece of furniture, or creating a flow from when you get inside the house.
5. Waiting until the last minute to prepare meals.
I swear the Earth moves at warped speed during the minutes before 8 am and after 6 pm. Ten minutes before 8 am and after 7 pm are the equivalent of an hour in the afternoon. Use your time wisely. Planning meals ahead of time reduce the lag between dealing with homework, afterschool activities, bath time, bedtime, etc.
6. Not having a REALISTIC visual To-Do List.
Writing out tasks releases the mind from the responsibility of having to keep track of what’s to come. Creating a doable To-Do List helps keep you in check without the added pressure of unrealistic expectations.
7. Getting distracted with social media, emails, texts.
Most can wait for a set amount of time in the day. Setting timers on your phone to limit access may help create awareness of how much time you’re on it.
8. Trying to argue a point with someone who is clearly on the opposite end of the argument.
Respecting other people’s opinions as much as possible and deciding if and how you would like to continue to engage with them is a better use of your time.
9. Monologue of I shoulda, woulda, coulda after something happens contrary to what you expected.
It’s important to reflect on what went down and pay attention to any blind spots, so they don’t happen again in the future. And once that information is accumulated, it’s time to move on.
10. Stating instructions (and restating them) without first checking in if the other person is actually paying attention to you.
Most arguments and feelings of lack of self-worth (which take up time) would be avoided if we checked in to make sure the other person is fully engaged with what you’re saying.
11. Any conversation that starts with: Can you believe they said/did such and such?
If you still can’t believe it, you’re wasting your time thinking they are going to change.
Click here to learn more about The Fear Of Wasting Time.