3 Ways Americans Waste Time Every Day

One of the best ways to save time and be more productive is by cutting out useless activities such as watching sports or playing video games. But we also waste time while doing certain necessary activities. When time-wasting is mixed in with tasks that must get done, it’s easy to not notice it. That is what this post is focused on.

Laundry

Do you wash most clothing after one use? Most pants can be worn many times between washing. Putting your shirt back on a hanger at the end of the day to air it out goes a long way. Socks can often be re-worn. Of course you shouldn’t wear smelly clothes again, but many people just launder all the clothes every time without stopping to check if it’s necessary. Reducing laundry will save time and money.

Eating

It’s amazing how much time this eats up (pardon the pun). We probably don’t question it since eating is necessary to live – so we forget that much of our eating isn’t necessary eating. Here are a couple ways that we waste time eating:

• Snacking due to boredom: I regularly catch myself snacking just because I’m bored of what I’m working on. A “snack break” can easily cost 30-45 minutes if you’re feeling procrastinative. If you’re getting bored of your work and you don’t actually need to eat, try doing something else for 5-10 minutes (set a timer!). That’s usually plenty of time for a mental-reset break.
• Watching videos while eating: Ironically, we often do this to make our eating time more productive. The problem is when it distracts us so much that we eat at a fraction of pace than we otherwise would. It’s often more productive to spend 15 minutes eating without watching anything than it is to spend 45 minutes because we’re distracted by random YouTube videos (or social media…). Apply this to bathroom breaks too!

Morning Routines

It’s hard to think clearly right after rolling out of bed. So don’t! Make all of your decisions the night before: Set your clothes out. Get your coat and shoes ready. Organize and pack your backpack/work bag. Choose your breakfast food and set out dishes and silverware – and make sure the food is there so that the groggy-brained version of you isn’t the one having to come up with plan B.

One more thing on morning routines – showers tend to take way longer than needed. It’s tempting to stand in a hot shower doing nothing while your money- err…water… goes down the drain. Make a point of taking a fast shower (shower as if you’re running late!). This could save you 5-15 minutes in the morning, and cut down utility bills.

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