We’ve all had it happen to us. A whole day flew by and it felt like a total waste.
Everything took twice as long as it was supposed to, countless hours were spent surfing the web, and a marathon of your favorite show just couldn’t be missed. It happens to the best of us.
But what if you could reengineer the things you waste time on, so that the time wasters actually make you smarter, better, and more awesome?
Some may say that everyone needs their downtime to do nothing, recover, and start anew. I agree to a certain extent, but why not repurpose your “downtime” so that it is also “uptime”?
Here are eight of the biggest time wasters in our society and how you can turn them into ultra-productive, brain-growing habits.
Waiting
Whether you are stuck in a super long bathroom line at halftime of the big game or you get to your doctor’s appointment way too early, you can spend that time learning or absorbing new information. You don’t want to try to digest War & Peace on your iPhone though.
Pick up an e-book that is easy to read in short sittings. Some great examples are:
Just put these on your smart phone’s e-reader app like Amazon’s Kindle and read a quick chapter while you wait.
Twitter, Facebook, and Google +
Scroll, scroll, scroll, click the link, read something, go back to your feed, scroll, scroll, scroll. How long do you spend on social media a day just reading what other people share? Why not spend 90% of that time doing the creating and sharing instead?
Don’t just read what other people say. You could be spending time building a personal brand online and using that to interact with people and brands you like.
You should:
- Respond with thoughtful comments
- Share inspiring quotes
- Post thoughtful articles
Instead of allowing your day to be wasted bouncing from website to website, deliberately try to be someone that other people want to listen to on your social media networks.
Netflix
One of my favorite pastimes when it is time to prolong going to bed is to scroll through every single category available on the Netflix instant queue. I don’t want to miss putting that one awesome movie I haven’t seen in forever in my queue.
But seriously, what Netflix should be used for more is education. There are a ton of awesome documentaries on Netflix’s instant queue that are both entertaining and informative. Here are three of my favorites:
- The Pixar Story – See how the computer animation behemoth got their lowly start. (Add to Instant Queue)
- Exit Through the Gift Shop – Take a look inside the world of underground street artist Banksy. (Add to Instant Queue)
- Anything by Ken Burns – I’d recommend The War, The West, Baseball, or Civil War. (List of Ken Burns on Instant)
Educate while you vegetate.
If you don’t know what Pinterest is, I recommend you turn and run in the other direction. Pinterest is an online pinboard for content people find on the web. Users can “pin” something they want to put on one of their “boards” for inspiration. Pinterest can be extremely addicting though.
If you’re not careful you could waste hours on the site looking at everything people have pinned. Pinterest itself is a pretty awesome tool when used for a purpose though.
For an example, check out how Mars Dorian uses Pinterest to track epic visual artists that have impacted him over the years. When he needs some inspiration, he just needs to look there. Use tools on the web for a purpose.
Commuting
Not only do many people spend the majority of their weekdays at a job, they also have to drive to and from their job.
How many people spend this time:
- Listening to pointless talk or sports radio
- Speeding and looking around nervously for police cars
- Singing along to the same song for the 100th time
Instead of wasting the time spent on a commute, use it productively. Get a free audiobook from audible.com, try to learn a language, or listen to the “stuff you missed in history class” podcast.
Your commute doesn’t have to be boring. Use it to learn.
Blogging
A blogger that says that blogging can be a waste of time? Absolutely.
If you blog and you have no direction or plan for what you are doing with it, you’re wasting valuable time.
Instead of writing the same things everyday, try reading brand new sites for inspiration. Find awesome people to follow and learn how they became successful.
And then, instead of blending in to the blogging noise, start a blog that matters. It may be just the thing you need to learn more, do more, and be more.
What do you waste time in your life doing that you could repurpose and make it more productive?
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(Tomorrow over at Think Traffic, Corbett and I are launching How to Start a Blog That Matters. A 90-day action plan for starting a blog that could change your life. Head over here to be one of the first to find out more.)
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I loved exit through the gift shop! Great documentary, entertaining AND inspiring!
Definitely being “productive” with what usually is down time is a great way to get an edge…
I get excited in the morning to take the dog for a walk because it’s the perfect time to listen to a philosopher note!
Nicely done!
Surfs up!
You can also just be a human being and focus on the breath in your body. Observe thoughts passing by without fusing with them. I think this is also a smart waste of time – I feel re-energized after spending time this way, just being in the present moment. I like the other ideas too, thanks.
This is a great post Corbett! So much time is in fact wasted on each and everything you mentioned in my world (besides pin interest- haven’t heard of that one).
Its good to be reminded that there is always time to learn if you make the time. And using some of your (to and from) time to do so is a great way to work that giant muscle in our head.
Im off now to learn a new language while I commute to Honolulu!
Aloha,
Shawna
its amazing how you can become skilled in the things that people pass as unimportant. If you want to be good at something, incorporate it into parts of the day like waiting, incorporate learning a language into your love of films.
I enjoyed this article because it highlights the hidden gems in all our days to become a little bit smarter than we were yesterday!
cheers, Aaron
Great Article!
I personally really loved the book Rework – definitely an easy read full of powerful strategies that I use in my business everyday!
Going to get more involved in Pinterest. It is one of the fastest growing social networks and a great tool for keeping track of your interests and passions (however i certainly agree that it can consume hours without you really even noticing lol)
Chris
This is such a great post, mind if I link up to it? It touches on some really great points, the one hitting home with the most being the post about wasting time blogging.
That is SO TRUE!
Since beginning my blog in May 2011, I have found myself consistently overwhelmed with information on how to make it successful, ideas on what to change/do/post about, blogging communities, hops and contests, and so much more.
At first, I joined just about everything I came across, thinking it would get my name out there more, get my blog noticed more and bring more traffic to my site. I was SO WRONG. All it’s done is created the black whole of places and things to keep up with updating and visiting. I can’t even remember all of them, to be honest. I think this month I will take some time to do some cleaning out of those accounts/profiles/etc. and minimize them so that I can be more productive with the few that I will choose to keep updated.
Quality, not quantitiy. That’s the most important lesson I’ve learned so far.
Of course! Feel free to link to this post.
Great post Caleb. It is nice to see someone using Netflix as an educational tool. With all the movies for entertainment only and the constant push to watch them all, it is refreshing to see someone watching something on TV to learn.
I’m glad you mentioned Pintrest. Although it can be a complete waste of time, there are some great ideas you can get there. I am a visual person (that sounds better than saying I just like to look at the pictures) and Pintrest has inspired a number of concepts, goals, and ambitions for me. Thanks