Things that are just not worth your time

We waste so much time on things that don’t bring joy and value to our lives.  That don’t align with who we want to be and what we want to create.  Have you ever conducted a time inventory and really analysed how you spend your time?  How we spend our time is a reflection on the quality of our life.

Using time wisely is one of the best acts of self-love we can give ourselves.  Having strict rules around where and when and on what we spend our time can give us the space to create our lives.  Looking at the discrepancies between the reality and the desire of our lives side by side can be enlightening.  The key is to choose how we use the hours we have by avoiding things that waste our time we regain more time to create, love, enjoy and live.

My mate Tonya Leigh suggested we should list the things we should stop doing that are wasting our time, here are some of hers, and mine suggestions:

1. Using our best persuasion tactics in an attempt to change our mind or talk ourselves out of, or in to something;
2. Explaining to others the details of why.  We shouldn’t need to explain why we don’t want to do something or need to change or cancel plans.  We don’t need to explain our lives away.
3. Obsessing with perfectionism.  Done is better than perfect.  Do your best then move on.
4. Questioning our own ability to do, say or be something.  Acknowledge our inner critic, but don’t indulge it.
5. Waiting in long queues to buy the latest thing, or tickets for an event or be the first to have something.  So what if you’re not the first to have it?  It’ll nearly always still be there once the queue has died down.
6. Spending hours and hours on social media so that we don’t miss out on anything.  Dip in and out and use the rest of the time to do something of value.  If it’s important we know something, someone will tell us.
7. Following through on the obligatory “yes, let’s get together”, when you can’t fit it in or simply don’t want to.
8. Keeping up with the latest trend, beauty, fashion, gadget etc.  Do you, not everyone else.
9. Fuelling committing to the impossible job of making sure others like us.  It’s our job to like ourselves and accept others either like us or they don’t. What others think of us is none of our business.  What we think of ourselves is most definitely our business. Personally, I’d rather spend time with people I don’t need to try to convince.
10. Fanning, caressing and swaddling our stories from the past.  Let it go, it’s done.  Enjoy today and look to a bright future.
11. Making lists of all the things we don’t have.  Wake up to all the things we do have and appreciate them.
12. Poking our noses into other people’s drama, even when we’re trying to be helpful.  I personally don’t have time for other people’s crazy.
13. Spending hours in the gym. We shouldn’t waste time obsessing over the perfect body, but love the one we have.  Going for a walk or doing anything that moves our bodies is good enough.
14. Insisting on cleaning before getting on with what we should be doing.  I have no interest in being a cleaner and we have too much stuff in our house to bother too much about it.  Cleaning before getting on with things is just a distraction task and often not really productive.
15. Committing to get better at things we should and could be better at but don’t really want to. We don’t need to be the best at everything and I would personally rather spend the time doing things that I’m naturally good at (if only I knew what that was).  Accept our own strengths then use other people’s strengths to fill in the gaps.
16. Preparing gourmet dinners that should be on the front of Good Food magazine.  Don’t make it complicated.  Eat well and simply.
17. Placating the negative nay-sayers.  If they cannot believe and support our personal dreams, they don’t deserve to be around us when those dreams come true.  This doesn’t include those who hold a different opinion as discussion and challenge are always beneficial.  Just those who tell us it’s not possible, or it’ll never work.
18. Holding pity parties for one with a dose of self-loathing. Nothing good comes from hating ourselves.  We have the choice whether to hate or love ourselves.
19. Refreshing the email inbox again, and again, and again.  Checking emails hundreds of times a day is not productive; it’s a distraction from focussing on what’s truly important.
20. Indulging in trash.  Whether its trashy tv or social media, we know what’s trash by the way it makes us feel. 
21. Beating ourselves up over wasting time.  Sometimes it’s inevitable.  How we chose to spend our time is such an individual thing.  We should make a commitment not to waste time but not beat ourselves up when it does happen. We can’t be perfect all the time, remember?

The idea is to master the art of how we spend our time and energy, to tweak it to align with our desires.

What would be on your list of things to stop wasting time doing?