Time is the one thing we never really have enough of — and it’s gone so quickly that we don’t even know it’s gone. Our day is littered with small habits and routines that don’t seem like a big deal – yet take hours away from us in the long run. From checking our phone to stressing over an easy decision, such small wasters add up faster than we can even imagine. Looking at some of the common ways people waste time can help us to understand how a few small tweaks could have huge effects. Here are 12 surprising ways Americans waste time without even realizing it.
Featured Image Credit: Nomadsoul1 /Depositphotos.com.
Endless Scrolling on Social Media
Social media is a big part of everyone’s life and all the scrolling through it can take up hours and hours. We get swept up in videos, pictures, updates — everything that is designed to grab your attention. And before you know it, a quick look turns into a sleepless night. A quick Google search tells me that on average Americans spend over 2 hours a day on social media.
Attending Unnecessary Meetings
Meetings are useful but not every meeting is helpful. People are spending a lot of time in meetings that could have been emails or a quick chat. It’s a huge waste of time to sit in on repetitive meetings.
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Shopping Without a List
A trip to the store without a list sounds innocent enough but then you just start roaming around and forgetting things. This translates into more shopping trips, and even more trips to get things we forgot, wasting hours and hours of time.
Falling Down Internet Rabbit Holes
You can find a million interesting things online. You might begin by doing a simple search and then find yourself hours later reading about something else. This habit can creep in and steal away time that could be spent on something else.
Over-checking Emails
There’s plenty of people who check their email multiple times an hour when they don’t need to. It may seem productive, but this habit tends to disrupt your work and make it difficult to focus. Keeping your inbox updated costs time that you can better spend elsewhere. To be more productive, set aside specific 15 minute slots in the day when you will check email (maybe twice a day or thrice max).
Binge-Watching Shows
With streaming services, you can easily stream entire seasons in one go. Binging can take up an entire day (or days!) without even realizing it. Often, it kicks off with only one episode, but autoplay and cliffhangers are difficult to turn off.
Sitting in Traffic
In most major cities, traffic is common and a person can easily spend hours per week sitting in their car. Some of it is inevitable, but commute time could be reduced with planning or public transport when available.
Overthinking Decisions
When people spend hours deciding on a restaurant or even how to dress, they spend far too much time making tiny decisions. It’s just too time-consuming to constantly debate every choice, especially when the consequences of those decisions are negligible.
Mindlessly Watching Ads
Ads are all over the internet and, even if it’s for a few seconds, it adds up. In movies or games, these minute distractions cost hours of time every month — without anyone ever realizing it.
Trying to Multitask Everything
Multitasking can sound like a good idea for completing tasks, but often results in errors and time wasted trying to rectify them. People think they’re saving time by switching between things, but it usually takes longer to get everything done this way.
Waiting in Line for Coffee
For many people, coffee is a part of everyday life, but wait times in crowded cafes can be tedious. 15 minutes a day in line isn’t much, but it becomes hours a month. Just make coffee at home and save yourself the time (and money).
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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