New face of time-wasting

Today, we have people busy from the start to the end of the day. They are always responding to messages or emails, always consuming information, always on social media or at meetings. When these busy people go to sleep, they often go to bed asking, “Where did all my time go?” Today, technology has altered many aspects of our lives, including our working habits, communication and learning practices. It has changed them in positive ways too.

We can get hold of information in seconds, reach out to and communicate with people across the world in real-time. However, it has brought with it distractions that leave our attention constantly split. Each of us is always being alerted by something new, each of us is always being invited on yet another website. For many of us, technology means being more often on the run than in charge of our own actions. Many of us waste our time on the most common distractions, which are electronic distractions. We open our phone to send a response to an e-mail, but thirty minutes later find ourselves watching videos or browsing pages unrelated to the original purpose. Not only have we wasted a large portion of our time, but we have also lost concentration. Studies have shown that even when a small break from an activity occurs, it takes time for us to regain focus. The more frequent the distraction, the more difficult it becomes for us to finish a task. Another major form of time wasting is the illusion of being productive.

There are people who may have spent a good few hours organizing schedules and tasks, or who may be attending an unnecessary meeting, or even spending the morning replying to emails and checking on projects. These activities may make us feel like we’ve achieved something, but often they don’t actually result in much change. It is not about being busy. It is about being effective. We should evaluate our daily efforts by the results they achieve rather than the hours they take. Still another form of wasting time that we see today is the lack of action.

There are many of us, including myself, who spend hours and hours consuming information, reading books, watching videos or attending workshops. We acquire knowledge, we learn skills, yet in many instances, we fail to take our next steps to put what we have learned into practice. Today, getting information is more easily available than it has ever been before. However, knowledge on its own will not change anything for any of us. What we must do is to apply the knowledge and the lessons that we have gathered. Wasting time has effects beyond that of the tasks or goals that we are not able to achieve. When we’re distracted, creative thought, decision-making, and general mental health can suffer.

These distractions can lead to an array of emotions and thoughts, such as frustration, anxiety, and unhappiness, especially if you realize that, despite all that you’re doing, you’re still nowhere closer to achieving your goals. Of course, this is not a call for us to give up technology entirely, nor to stop using it for entertainment, which is an integral aspect of life. The idea is instead to become more mindful with our attention. Setting limits on our activities, eliminating time-wasters, and making space in our day to get things done can help. The biggest threat to any of us is not the lack of time but rather our inability to use time well. Time is irreplaceable. Once it’s gone, it cannot be returned. As there are distractions for our attention in abundance, learning to be protective over our time may be one of our most precious talents.