Successful Time Management For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 23

Ten Time-Wasting Behaviors

In This Chapter

• Changing your approach to tasks
• Cutting out clutter
• Increasing your optimism

With all the things you have to accomplish in a given day, wouldn't it be nice if the day were just a bit longer? Before you start thinking of ways to slow the rotation of the Earth, try to cut out some serious time-wasters — or at least reduce the amount of time you devote to them; it'll seem like you're gaining one, two, three, or even more hours to your day to invest in activities and pursuits that are important to you. Here are some of the most voracious devourers of your precious time.

Failing to Stop and Think

When you spend too little time in preparation, you're forced to spend too much time in execution. The time you invest in collecting, compiling, and organizing your thoughts before you begin a project pays off in time savings and in the quality of the outcome.

Not only does planning ahead eliminate problems before you start, but it also helps you imagine how you'll perform the task. When you address the situation in advance, you feed your subconscious with the tools and information it needs to work on the problems, often without your awareness. That's kind of like sticking bread dough in a warm space and letting it rise overnight — just consider your planning efforts to be the leavening that brings your projects to rise to their full potential.

Preparation is valuable in efforts big and small. Even 10 minutes at the end of a day to review ...