What's Your Time Waster?

Confession time.  All of us, in here for this one please.

How do you waste time?  I am convinced that most of us waste time during the day.  My worst days are writing days like today when I get derailed.  I hit writer's block and I hit a wall.  Then I go waste time.  Not intentionally, I just do it.  30 seconds.  Five minutes.  Ten minutes.  It adds up.  And I wonder why I never work a 40 hour work week - why it always stretches to 50.  And I wonder how much more I could get done if I had better self-discipline.

Here's how I waste time: I check twitter too much.  I check my blog stats and other stats (I suspect this is a major addiction among bloggers).  I check my bank balance on line way more than I need to.  I do random math on my calculator, even though I don't like math.  I stare into the abyss. I go get tea.  I multi-task to the point where I am efficient at nothing. 

Oh yeah, and sometimes I write blog posts like this. 

Then I get back to it. 

Sometimes I think I have ADD.  And sometimes I think I need to be a much better steward of my time.  I have the attention span of a mutated gnat.  When I go into a factory and watch workers slogging it out 8 hours a day non-stop or watch the typical pace at a Tim Hortons, I realize I could do much better.  I want to make better use of my time.

How do you waste time?  How do you feel about it?

Comments

[Tim L. Walker]

I waste time during the day, for sure... just like you said, a little here, a little there. I justify it by working more than I should, and therefore need little distractions during the day. ;)

[Carey Nieuwhof]

About 100 people have read this blog post in the last four hours, but you are the only man brave enough to confess your sin. I admire you Sir Tim. If I wasn't non-denominational, I would absolve you.

[pat]

I am definately guilty of this. In the past I excused it as self-diagnosed add. I know now it's just laziness. Sometimes it's hard because work isn't always steady. I wish I had another chance at a position where I was given the freedom to work at my own thing. There are so many things I would do differently.

[Rebekah]

One word: Facebook. The ultimate time-waster. I usually couch my time-wasting in lofty 'well, it's work...in a way' theory. I listen to podcasts (not a waste of time in and of themselves, but sometimes a way of passing time that should be spent otherwise). I find I'm most prone to time wasting when I should be writing. As in...RIGHT NOW. ;) I love writing, but in the midst of it I am easily derailed.

[M.W. Smith]

I will go and find conversations.

If people aren't around I will multi-task tasks. Everything gets a little bit done a little bit at a time.

How embarrassing to admit to that!

[Carey Nieuwhof]

The confessions are slowly trickling in. Thanks for what's been offered so far.

Come on...who's been holding back? Bring it on.

[sare]

one word.

twitter.

my weakness.
haha

[Brad MacDonald]

Every single night I manage to waste time when I should/could be doing homework, reading, playing guitar etc.
The worst is my cell phone. I can never seem to get away from it. I will sit down to do work and then look up, and see it sitting there and think..."I haven't talked to (insert name here) for a while" and then I text them, they text back and I get really distracted from my homework.
The internet is another big one, especially that site...whats it called? Facebook is it? I have an online course at high school, so I am on the internet a lot for homework at night, its really inconveniant having facebook there because as everyone knows it is so distracting and time comsuming.
Between those two things I sometimes wonder how I get any work done. I hope my mom doesn't read this... :p

[Carey Nieuwhof]

I hear that Brad and Sare. Sometimes I try to imagine what would it would have been like to live 150 years ago when nothing electronic or electric was around. Life must have been so much more focused then. And people must have slept a lot more...

[Donald]

Remedy, get someone in your life who doesn't text, blog, surf, facebook, or maybe even have a cell and try to explain to them why they "need" any of these things. Take a close look at the expression on their face as you realize how unconvincing you are.