• About
    • About Jennifer
    • Contact Us
  • Get Started
    • Try My Coaching Program Free
    • Proven Money Solutions
    • Simple Home Tips
    • Daily Life Hacks
  • Product Login
  • Most Popular
  • Shop
  • Free to do List

The Intentional Mom

September 23, 2019 ·

10 Ways You’re Wasting Your Time Every Day

daily planning· Intentional Life· Uncategorized

1123shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Join our brand new 3 day challenge designed to take you from overwhelmed, overworked & exhausted to energized & organized CEO of your daily life. Join us HERE Join us Click here to join">

Join our brand new 3 day challenge designed to take you from overwhelmed, overworked & exhausted to energized & organized CEO of your daily life. Join us HERE Join us Click here to join">

Even if you think you may be using your time to the best of your ability, you may be guilty of a few of these time wasters. These are the things that can slip by without our even noticing, like a sleek ninja stealthily sneaking in and stealing some of our precious moments.

The truth is, we all get the same 24 hours in each day, and although we have things, like work, that are major components to how we spend that time, there are still numerous minutes in each day that we get to have some choices in how we spend them. Even the busiest person can learn to be more efficient and intentional in using those minutes in the most productive way possible.


How does an extra hour sound? Grab our worksheet that only has 4 steps & have an extra hour today! Just tell us where to send it!

4 Steps to an Extra Hour in Your Day

Tell us where to send it

 

SEND IT HERE!

We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

Powered By ConvertKit


I find there are some common time wasters, some that are more obvious than others, but I find myself as an offender on more than one of these things. By avoiding or limiting these as much as possible, you will find more minutes in your day, and can’t we all use a few more of those?!

Here are 10 ways people waste time. Are you guilty of any them?

stop wasting time

(this post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you)

1. Lack of planning wastes time

This is huge, really it is. I speak of various ways that I plan just like in the weekly cleaning projects, weekly goals, making lists, preparing over the weekend, and being efficient in the kitchen and so many more concepts that I cover here. It is so tempting at times to not put forth the effort to plan, but it is so easy to reflect on a day that was not planned ahead of time and see all the wasted time and frustration. Planning will make you more efficient.

2. Lack of organization is a huge time waster

Organization is a huge time saver since you are not spending precious minutes thinking of where something could be, looking for something, or dealing with things that are not organized in a way that promotes ease.

3. Procrastinating always wastes time

So tempting, I know, especially when we have to do something we just don’t want to do, but getting things done right away is not only rewarding, but it avoids poor workmanship. When we finally do get around to tackling that dreaded task we have spent so much time putting off, we just do it to get it done, which often means we don’t do it well, therefore we miss out on efficiency.

4. Not putting up boundaries to interruptions

It drives my husband nuts when I don’t answer my phone when it is not an expected phone call, but whatever it is, it can wait. If it is important, the caller will leave a voicemail, (and I check it right away to make sure that it isn’t urgent), which means I can then deal with it when it works into my schedule. If I were to answer every phone call, every email, every text message, or even every ring of the doorbell, my day would be spent doing little else.

5. Not scheduling social media time

Time spent on social media is huge for most. Since even reading three status updates wastes precious minutes, it is easy to miss how many minutes we waste here. This was huge for me. I think unless you really get honest about how often you do this, you will want to skip over this step. But don’t. Schedule five minutes every hour if you want, but just schedule time for social media and then abide by the time you have scheduled.

6. Not delegating a certain day for urgent tasks

Urgent tasks do happen, therefore you have to plan for them.

For instance, I know I have to call my insurance company, call my doctor’s office, pay a few bills, and fill in the calendar, all in the next few days. It will be more effective for me to schedule 30 minutes to take care of all these things at one time than it will be to do each one on the fly. I will gather everything I need (like insurance papers in my case), tell my kids I will be unavailable unless there is blood or vomit involved, and go into a room behind a closed door and just get my list of these things done.

7. Not delegating things to others wastes your time

There are tasks that we put on ourselves that we really don’t have to. If you notice in this post here, I write right on my list the things that kids can do. I plan delegating right into my weekly or daily tasks.

8. Saying yes to too many things

You can’t do it all, and you shouldn’t, so don’t do it. I have learned to carefully weigh opportunities and requests that come my way. Maybe you need to set a limit on doing one thing or two things outside of your work and home life…in fact, maybe you need to step away from everything outside of these things if you are being pulled too thin. Don’t rush through this step. Take some time to really examine what you are and are not able to commit to.

9. Not following a routine wastes time

When things are routine whether it is the day you do laundry, the way you make school lunches, or simply what time you have dinner, routines save time because tasks don’t take up space in our head and because we become more proficient at things when they are part of a routine that is repeatedly done the same way.

10. Not taking time for yourself

If you don’t adequately fill your tank first, you will be running around on fumes, which means you will not be doing anything well, if at all. Whether you do something similar to this or something totally different, spend some time doing what fills your tank every day.

Take a few of these things or take them all and examine where you can make some simple changes to multiply the minutes you have each day. Maybe only work down the list with one thing a week, but however you do it, find some ways you can lessen the time wasters in your day.

 

1123shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Related

Click here to grab your freebie!
« How to Be a Happy & Healthy Mom Even If You’re Busy
15 Frugal Tips for Feeding a Large Family »

Comments

  1. Katie Marie says

    May 5, 2015 at 9:06 am

    I love that you don’t always answer your phone! I do that too, but it is SO not appreciated by a few people in particular. But, it’s an amazing time saver.

    • Jennifer says

      May 5, 2015 at 9:27 am

      yes, I have people who are not fans either (besides my husband). We also debate about whether it is rude for me to not answer my doorbell during dinner. He thinks it is rude not to, I think it is rude to interrupt dinner. Now that the weather is warmer we had 4 salesman for lawn service here yesterday. I often don’t answer if I am in the middle of things, it can be such an interruption. Although I’m not usually lounging around with nothing to do LOL

  2. Jennifer Dawn says

    May 5, 2015 at 9:18 am

    Yes, yes, yes to all! So much truth! I especially love your number 10.

    • Jennifer says

      May 5, 2015 at 9:28 am

      #10. I wish I had more time for #10. Don’t we all 😉

  3. Mary says

    May 5, 2015 at 8:36 pm

    I suffer from it all!! Grr I think I will choose one of these and focus on it.

    • Jennifer says

      May 5, 2015 at 8:37 pm

      ha! You are not alone. Sounds like you have a good plan 🙂

  4. Sara Borgstede says

    May 10, 2015 at 7:43 pm

    These are really great. I’m a pretty organized person. I love my to-do list and feel I get much accomplished, but #5 is big for me. I spend a lot of time on social media. In the past it was time on the phone, and then email. Now it’s Facebook, etc. It’s not all a bad thing, but I really like what you are saying to schedule it, because hours can go by…I’m also finding that I don’t read like I used to, and I miss it. I spend the minutes just idly catching some Facebook here and there, and I miss the stimulation for digging into a good book!

    • Jennifer says

      May 10, 2015 at 8:12 pm

      yes, I think it is so easy to mindlessly ready and before you know it, an hour has gone by! Scheduling really helps.Thanks for reading!

  5. Danielle Wells says

    May 11, 2015 at 12:43 pm

    Great list here! I especially thought #9 was relevant to me! 🙂

    • Jennifer says

      May 11, 2015 at 1:10 pm

      me, too 🙂

  6. Melissa French, The More With Less Mom says

    May 14, 2015 at 10:28 am

    I find that when I get burnt out on tasks that’s when I start procrastinating. Thanks for posting. Hello from Thrifty Thursday.

    • Jennifer says

      May 14, 2015 at 11:49 am

      Hi! Thanks for reading. Yes, burn out is never a good thing. I may have to give some thought about how to combat that. I get that at times, too.

My Home Management System

planner organization
money help

CATEGORIES

Join Us On Instagram

theintentionalmomblog

Taking busy women from overwhelmed & exhausted to energized & organized CEO of their daily life. www.TheIntentionalMom.com

Jennifer Roskamp
I’m so excited to be hosting a webinar for Ultim I’m so excited to be hosting a webinar for Ultimate Bundles this week. I’m guessing you don’t have these 3 routines in place, but you should. The webinar is totally free, but you do need to secure your spot with the link in my bio. #theintentionalmom #ultimatebundles #productivity #largefamilymom
I so want to pretend I’m spending a summer day o I so want to pretend I’m spending a summer day out here. Over winter. Ready for my pool to be in the ground. #theintentionalmom #debtfree #debtfreecommunity #newhouse #summerpleasehurry
Hill rolling :) #theintentionalmom #newhouse #cou Hill rolling :)

#theintentionalmom #newhouse #countryliving #debtfree #debtfreecommunity
If you can’t beat the snow, lay down in it & joi If you can’t beat the snow, lay down in it & join it. I have a driveway that is 225 feet and a shovel. This was taken after I shoveled it. That should explain the laying down in it a bit more. Summer, where art thou? Did I mention we’re getting a pool when the ground thaws? I repeat, summer where art thou? And please hurry!  #theintentionalmom #puremichigan #summerpleasehurry #newhouse #debtfree  #debtfreecommunity
What can you put in your most common living space What can you put in your most common living space that makes you smile? #theintentionalmom #organizedhome #organizedlife #newhouse #debtfreecommunity #debtfree
Join Me On Instagram
  • Disclosure Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • General Terms and Conditions

Follow Us on

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021 · captivating theme by Restored 316