Your time is worth something. Believe it or not, your time has a value to it.
BEWARE THE TIME WASTERS!
The concern for you is this:
- Do you waste it?
- Are you a time waster?
Some people more than others have a third hand – their phone.
You cannot constantly be “too busy”?
Do you get to the end of the day and think “I have run around like chicken without a head and have achieved nothing”?
Well, you may well be wasting your time. This time that you will never get back. There are a few time wasters that have become the everyday culprits for wasting time and you must stop being a victim! This is certainly not a complete list.
1. Cell phone.
Some people more than others have a third hand – their cellphone. The classic excuse is that “I use it for business”. Really? I think not. Get off your phone! If you honestly tracked what you do on your phone, you will be surprised that you are actively wasting time. 80% of the time, all your cellphone is doing is bringing you a bill.
2. Facebook (social media)
Facebook has had exponential growth since it started and has become an integral part of life. It has a number of invaluable benefits. It also has one huge down side – wasting your time. I have spoken to people and they had to postpone meetings because they had “so much to do”. That’s reasonable.
However, when I went onto Facebook after hours for personal use, I saw that they had been on Facebook throughout the day. This was not for business postings but rather sharing funny pictures or videos. The time stamp gave them away. Facebook can be a powerful business tool but only if used correctly. You can follow us on www.facebook.com/bcaccountingservices
3. Computer games.
Like social media, computer or cell pone games are time wasters. One exception, they do not have a productive use to them. I have worked with people who are far too busy to do anything but have time to spend playing candy crush or Farmville during the work day! Enough said.
4. Meetings
I have experience with this one in particular. At a company I worked at, we were in so many meetings that I really battled to get on with the work that needed to be done. Sometimes the meeting was only good for arranging the next meeting! They are “productive” time wasters.
I have just survived a meeting that could have been an email.
Track you time
95% of companies and employees have no idea what their time is spent on. Tracking your time is the only way to be sure. There are 2 small programs that I use to make sure my day is being used effectively.
There are many apps out there that can be used, these are the ones that I like and use.
- Toggl*. A time tracking app on my phone and computer allowing me to track my time 100% of the day.
- Rescuetime*. This is a piece of code that runs in the background of my computer without me knowing. This tracks everything done on the computer while it is on. There are categories ranging from very productive to very distracting. You can put certain tasks into each of them. I get a weekly email telling me what I did and how long I did it for.
What you do with your time, is your business. Do not let it get in the way of your business by not using it effectively.
* I do not get paid in any way by this info. It is purely an observation from myself.
This article was updated in September 2021