Save Hours a day by Getting rid of Time Wasters

I hate wasting time.

I didn't used to hate it...in fact, I used to love wasting time. I was addicted, and I couldn't get enough of it. And I bet you love wasting time too.

I bet you always say "I just don't have enough time". Uhh, yes you fucking do. You have more time in your life than Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and a whole host of phenomenal people did. You have the time, you're just not using it the way you should. You are spending a whole chunk of time on stuff that is pointless (time wasters) instead of what you should be spending it on.

We give "time wasters" different names, of course:

1. "I'm staying informed"
2. "I'm just relaxing"
3. "I love this show"
4. "I worked all day long"
5. "I don't want to miss something"

And there's of course a hell of a lot more. Here's the breakdown of some timewasters

1. Watching the news
2. Reading pointless e-mails
3. Deleting unwanted e-mails
4. Watching TV
5. Checking Facebook
6. Reading news articles
7. Reading internet comments
8. 4,264 other things

Watching the news is not staying informed, it is mental masturbation. If something truly important happens in the world, I promise you will hear about it. Someone will tell you about it. "But Paul, I love politics". Politics is pointless - you don't need to follow it unless you are a true uninformed, undecided voter. You aren't going to change your mind, and you aren't going to change other people's minds.

Reading pointless e-mails - People do this to feel busy. They want to feel like they are accomplishing something. You know how many e-mails I get in a day? 5-10, and they are all relevant to me, and I actually desire to read them all. 

But DON'T just delete the e-mails, unsubscribe, so that you don't spend time and decisions every day to figure out whether to delete an e-mail. Don't worry, if you really miss the e-mails, you can easily resubscribe. 

If you have to login and do work to unsubscribe, just filter it out with your e-mail program.

Watching TV - This is okay, but you must make the conscious decision that you are watching TV. This actually makes the experience better - you are giving yourself permission to watch TV. I highly recommend, however, deliberately choosing a TV show that you will watch. If you give yourself permission to watch a TV show, you will realize that you are not wasting time, but are consciously deciding to relax, and give a mental break. (Just don't let this turn into 4 hours of channel surfing). 

Here's a tip that people somehow don't realize (I went 18 years without realizing this) - It is okay to have the TV off

Checking facebook - You can go on facebook, but don't use facebook as a random excuse to spend time. You need to have a reason to check facebok.

Reading News Articles - See "Watching the News". You don't need to read pointless articles unless there is a real justification. If you are researching something, then sure, read the articles, but be aware of the moments when you are simply doing something to use time. 

Reading Internet Comments - It's an easy trap. Don't fall into it (I still do sometimes). We want people to validate our beliefs, and we want to argue against people that don't agree with us. Don't do this - it's a stupid waste of time, and you are better than that.

So what the hell can I do with my time?

Okay, so it can suck to have actual free time. You know why? Because people don't know how to spend their time. They don't know how to be productive instead of just using up their minutes until they die.

Sit there and think

One super easy thing to use your free time for is to sit there and think. Some of the most successful people in the world do this (Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, etc.) Sit down, get comfortable, and just allow your mind to wander. You'll be amazed at what you realize, and how much clarity you can find in your world just by allowing your mind to find the clarity.

Start a business

So...do you want to start a business? You don't need to get to Point Q, where you have established processes, offices, products, etc. You need to start at Point A, which is the idea...or Point E where you are actually validating your idea (See NevBlog for more information)

Clean

Uhh, I don't know a single person in the world who couldn't stand to clean up some of their shit. Either mentally or physically, clean up your life!

Improve yourself

You could watch videos about productivity, learn a new task, learn a new skill, read a book, spend time with your kids, or even try to begin automating your life.

Speaking of videos...stay tuned for a video by me about this very topic!