
15 Examples of Time Wasters and 15 Worthwhile Activities
- Managing your mailbox. Around 281 billion e-mails are sent and received every day. On average, office workers receive...
- Learn to say no. Let yourself say no without feeling guilty. When you say “yes” to something, remember that you say...
- Make decisions faster. It is said that every day we make about 35,...
- Social media. Social media is one of the biggest time-wasters for professionals in any work environment. ...
- Interruptions. ...
- Multitasking. ...
- Working without a plan. ...
- Taking on coworkers' tasks. ...
- Disorganization. ...
- Procrastination. ...
- Unnecessary meetings.
What are some of the most common time wasters?
Spending time on irrelevant activities before beginning a task is another major time waster. Each person squanders time before commencing a task in various ways: People have their own triggers and interests in one or more of these areas. Some love watching Youtube videos while others enjoy reading the news.
Why is it important to identify time wasters in the workplace?
By identifying time wasters, you can take the right steps to avoid them and use the saved time to focus on important tasks or projects. Let’s take a close look at six common workplace time wasters and how to avoid them:
What are the most common reasons for wasting time?
Let’s take a look at the most common reasons for wasting time and what you can do about it. Here are 15 things you waste your time doing and how to deal with them. Check out the list of frequent time wasters that you should consider: 1. Managing your mailbox Around 281 billion e-mails are sent and received every day.
How much time are you wasting on non-work tasks?
When surveyed, the average worker admitted to wasting about three hours of their workday on non-work-related tasks. That’s three times as much time as employers had suspected, costing businesses about $759 billion in wasted salaries every year.

What are examples of Timewasters?
Here are eight time wasters that I noticed kill my productivity and most of the people that I work with.Constantly checking your emails. ... Not automating your social media accounts. ... Bulky to-do-lists. ... Multitasking. ... Being a perfectionist. ... Unnecessary meetings. ... Saying "Yes." ... Postponing harder tasks.
What are top 10 time wasters?
10 Time Wasters and How to Avoid ThemSocial Media. ... Procrastination. ... Clutter. ... Forgetting to Plan. ... Not “Completing the Cycle” ... Saying Yes Too Much. ... Not Asking for Help. ... The Unnecessary Tasks.More items...
What are the 12 time wasters?
12 Timewasters to Avoid At All CostsWe all feel like we don't have enough time. But most of us waste a lot more time each week than we care to admit. ... Clutter. Clutter is a huge timewaster. ... Worrying. ... Perfectionism. ... Electronic devices. ... Social media. ... Multi-tasking. ... Commuting.More items...•
What are four wasters of time?
4 Time Wasters That Kill Your ProductivityMeetings. Last minute meetings or meetings without agendas can be big time wasters and prevent you from doing your real work. ... Emails. The email message that is popping up on your computer screen can create urgency for many to check their inboxes constantly. ... Multitasking.
What are the biggest time wasters?
The 7 Biggest Workplace Time-Wasters and How to Avoid ThemIrrelevant Meetings and Presentations. ... Replace the “To Do” List With a “Stop Doing” List. ... Doing Other People's Work. ... Constant Interruptions (Business or Personal) ... Over-Multitasking. ... A Disorganized Work Environment. ... Excessive Breaks.
What are time wasters for students?
Here are five of the most common time wasters and how you can avoid them.Surfing the internet while you should be studying. ... Searching randomly for relevant content. ... Studying at the wrong time. ... Not making a schedule for big projects. ... Having poor organizational skills.
How do you stop Timewasters?
5 Ways to Reduce Your Time WastersAsk yourself: why am I doing this. The best and most effective way to deal with time wasters is not to do the task.Get someone else to do it. If it has to be done then find someone else to do it. ... Do it quickly! ... Simplify then automate. ... Do low value activities when your energy is low.
What are time wasting activities?
Feb 21, 2022. 9 things that waste your time every day. ... Unplanned meals. Make a habit of planning your meals in advance and avoid wasting time every day on “kya khaana hai?” or “kya banaun?”. ... Watching TV. ... Not planning your day. ... Filing. ... Social media scrolling. ... Letting the clutter sit. ... Random phone calling.More items...•
What are the major time wasters explain any two?
1 Answer. e) Socializing: As far as possible, one must avoid extended tea-breaks, regular social lunch-hours, and chat in the corridors. Better to do it outside of work time. f) Indecision: This is caused by ignorance, fear, or lack of confidence in the facts.
How do you identify time wasters?
Locate common time wasters.Gossiping with coworkers and friends.Automatically checking your phone for email, texts, and social media updates.Spending inordinate amounts of time surfing through your email inbox with no goal or aim.Playing mobile games constantly on your phone, tablet, or computer.More items...
What are time wasting activities?
Feb 21, 2022. 9 things that waste your time every day. ... Unplanned meals. Make a habit of planning your meals in advance and avoid wasting time every day on “kya khaana hai?” or “kya banaun?”. ... Watching TV. ... Not planning your day. ... Filing. ... Social media scrolling. ... Letting the clutter sit. ... Random phone calling.More items...•
What are your common time stealers?
Procrastination Perhaps the most common time stealer is procrastination. It's often unnecessary and will only delay the work/outcome you are trying to avoid. Moreover, conventional wisdom claims that procrastinators are lazy. According to others, we put things off because we struggle to manage our time.
How can wasters reduce time?
Eliminate Time WastersRoot out procrastination. This may be the worst time waster of all. ... Know what must come next. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. ... Limit your meetings. ... Give your people time to be strategic enablers of business. ... Eliminate distractions. ... Embrace work/life balance.
What are the time wasters that the office administrator can avoid?
Avoid these top 10 time-wasters at work, and you'll get a lot more done. Joining the crowd: According to employees, here are the top 5 ways they waste time at work: Gossip (42%), Social interaction with Co- Workers (32%), Snacks and Breaks (27%), Meetings (23%), In-Office Noise Distractions (24%).
1. Waking up to getting started
How long do you need to work on a meaningful task from the time you wake up? Are you completing all your morning chores within a reasonable time or are you letting time fly by?
2. Time taken to begin a task
How much time do you spend between deciding to start working on a task and actually working on it?
3. Short breaks turning long
Everyone needs a break between work to regroup, reorient, and refresh. But, how long do you take a break for?
4. Break after every little task
Is taking a short break after tasks the solution to time wasted over breaks? Not exactly.
5. Checking email
How often do you check email? Today, looking through one’s inbox has turned into a habit. Throughout the day, you check for emails even if you don’t need to.
How to reduce time spent at work?
Commuting — Add up the time spent going to/from work every day and see if there is a way to reduce it. Carpool if you can — you can use the time spent riding to do things on the way. Or, see if your employer would agree to let you work one day a week from home, or work 35 hours in 4 days instead of 5.
How many hours a week do you lose watching a 90 minute movie?
But one 90-minute movie a day adds up to 10.5 hours per week, and that’s a lot of time lost.
What is Momento Gathering?
Momento-gathering — This is an extension of the last item. You can waste a lot of time collecting and organizing momentos. Extra-special pieces are great, but just trash the boring stuff. Momentos can be electronic too, and if they need organizing, they take up your time.
Is shopping for apps a time eater?
Shopping for apps can be a time-eater, too. Accounting — Depending on your situation, your system and your accounting skill, it might be a major time saver to just pay someone to do it for you. Or, you might be able to streamline your system to do a little at a time rather than losing huge chunks of time in tax season.
What was the biggest problem that a woman identified as a time-waster?
The biggest problem she identified as a time-waster was people on the team, her peers, and senior leaders who had ‘emergencies’ she was forced to handle. We talked about how she was likely wasting two to three hours a day in lost concentration on those days with constant interruptions.
What is the problem with time?
The problem with time is that it keeps on ticking away, whether you notice it or not.
What are the right tasks?
What are the right tasks? These are usually the highest-priority ones your boss is asking you to focus on, the ones most directly related to accomplishing your team and individual goals, and the ones that are likely to have the greatest impact for the organization.
What percentage of managers admit they wasted time in carrying out their job responsibilities?
Based on my informal poll of managers across various organizations, you may never have heard yourself say these words. In a recent national poll, more than 90 percent of managers admitted that they wasted time in carrying out their job responsibilities.
What was Dan's most important step toward stemming the waste of his time?
Dan’s most important steps toward stemming the waste of his time was to only attend meetings where his input was critical to the shaping and decision-making of the group, and where his boss considered it a priority, and to immediately cut himself off from most email strings.
Is time fleeting?
Time is not only fleeting, it is costly for an organization. When I deliver leadership training to groups of managers, I always remind them at the beginning of the series of courses that their organization is investing a great deal of money in their development. No, I tell them, not because of my fee, but because of the cost of four hours of time for a group of 20 managers, times six monthly meetings. That’s an organizational investment of nearly 500 hours of salary and benefits. Your time costs money.
Is time easy to waste?
Time is easy to waste, especially if you are not highly-focused on its passage. Benjamin Franklin wrote, “You may delay, but time will not.” The problem with time is that it keeps on ticking away, whether you notice it or not.
How much time do you waste on non-work related tasks?
When surveyed, the average worker admitted to wasting about three hours of their workday on non-work-related tasks. That’s three times as much time as employers had suspected, costing businesses about $759 billion in wasted salaries every year. But, it gets worse.
How many people waste half their workday?
According to a report issued by Salary.com this year, about 4% of workers admit to wasting as much as half of their workday doing things that have nothing to do with their jobs. So what are people doing during work hours?
How many people use the internet during the workday?
According to statistics, 64% of workers use the internet for personal use during the workday and 50% make personal phone calls or send texts during office hours. As many as 60% of workers admit to making online purchases when they are supposed to working, and many more play video games.
How to save time in meetings?
And when you are required to be in the room, do your best not to sidetrack the discussion. Keeping everyone on task can save hours of table time every week.
How long does gossiping last?
It’s hard not to fall into this trap, but statistics show that gossiping eats away as much as an hour a day in some offices. The easiest solution is to walk away when the gossip starts.
How to avoid time wasters?
Let’s take a close look at six common workplace time wasters and how to avoid them: 1. Social Media Distraction .
What is time waster?
Time wasters are common workplace issues that must be dealt with to boost productivity and grow your business. Use the tips we covered here to deal with the six common time wasters efficiently. And even if you might face other time management issues, these tips are sure to come in handy to resolve them.
Why is it important to identify time wasters?
Identifying time wasters in your workplace is an excellent way to improve productivity and time management. And while you can always create relevant policies or awareness among your workers, keeping track of how each person spends their work time can be challenging.
How to track time on Time Doctor?
Here’s a quick look at some of Time Doctor’s robust features: 1 Manual and automatic time tracking modes to track task time any way you want. 2 Accurate productivity reports give detailed insights into the performance of each person. 3 Categorize any website and app, like YouTube and Twitter, as productive/unproductive based on your needs. 4 Offline and online time tracking functionality for maximum flexibility. 5 Track each user’s idle time to make sure everyone’s working actively on their projects. 6 See which website and app a person used during any working day. 7 Use the Chrome extension to track time usage across other workplace software like Google Apps, Trello, Jira, Salesforce, and more. 8 Track time usage on the move using your Android smartphone.
Why do we waste time?
Most of us waste time due to poor prioritization, doing tasks that make us feel busy without actually helping us make any headway. This makes it a huge waster of time, especially for multitasking individuals.
Can time wasters be avoided?
But once you identify such time wasters, it’s fairly easy to avoid them and manage your time well.
Do you waste time on social media?
And unless your work involves social media management, you don’t have to waste endless hours on social accounts — especially during work timings. When your attention gets diverted while working on an important task, it’ll be harder for you to regain that train of thought, which leads to more time wastage.
How long should a productive meeting last?
Productive meetings don’t need to stretch for more than 30minutes. Before the meeting, send out background documents so that everyone can contribute meaningfully. Outline the discussion points and then stay focussed. Where you don’t feel a meeting is necessary opt for an email or a call.
How much time do most people spend on social media?
Most working adults spend on average 2hours on social media a day. That includes keeping up with Carey from High Schools kid’s school’s concert and seeing what your second cousin had for lunch.
Is waiting in traffic counterproductive?
Now that many of us have spent a substantial amount of time working from home and shopping online this year, it has become even more evident how much time was wasted in traffic and doing errands that can now be done online.
Is binge watching a time waster?
Nothing beats a binge fest when you need a weekend on the couch. But Binge watching is a total time waster if you habitually binge any new series you get into. We live in a generation that never has time or money to take a holiday or visit their friends but always is up to speed with the latest streaming release and knows all the best places on Uber Eats.
How much time do we spend on social media?
In fact, we spend an average of 118 minutes per day on social media.
Does multitasking work?
Multitasking. Multitasking doesn't work. "When it comes to attention and productivity, our brains have a finite amount," says Guy Winch, PhD, author of Emotional First Aid: Practical Strategies for Treating Failure, Rejection, Guilt and Other Everyday Psychological Injuries.
1. Babysitting your email
In the UNC survey, 55 percent of white-collar workers say they either keep their email open all the time or check it repeatedly every hour or so throughout the day. Each look-see distracts them from their current tasks, disrupts their thinking, and often makes it hard to refocus quickly.
2. Cluttering your inbox with to-dos
Once you’ve read an email, take action: either decide, do, delegate, discard, or delay until another date. Then, pull that email onto your calendar for follow-up, and file it permanently.
3. Slogging through disorganized documents to attach
Of the UNC survey respondents, 31 percent said they spend more than 20 minutes per day looking for information to include in emails or documents to attach. That’s far too long. Adding an attachment should take less than 15 seconds.
4. Staying on Outdated Distributions Lists
Lists often outlive their original purpose. People come and go in their roles, and their interests change, but often, emailers fail to adjust their distribution lists and keep emailing their updates to the same people. Readers see those emails pop into their inbox and reason, “I’m in a hurry now. It’s quicker just to delete.
5. Hitting SEND Too Soon
When the goal is to “dash off” a quick email—rather than write a clear email that gets action—the result is often a “So what?” response, that is, readers get to the end of your email and think, “So what? What does this mean for me? What does the writer want me to do?”
