Ready to take back control of your time? Learn more about these 37 daily habits you need to stop wasting your time on!!
Trying to balance ‘all the things’ and pursue our own goals as women can be a bit much on some days and it is absolutely key that we aren’t letting our precious time slip away.
I think productive women are the happiest women.
I think discovering new ways to stop wasting time so they can be more effective in their life is their love language.
But most women like you and I aren’t born like this, we have to figure it out.
While we should be starting with the basics, we often gravitate towards the middle of the journey because it feels easier…
We seek out the latest planners released at Target and have approximately 37 different colored pens to keep our lives organized, color coded and categorized.
And then at the end of the day, when our head hits the pillow, we are exhausted from a busy day and we still feel like we left something on the table.
And it sucks.
And it isn’t fair.
But it is the reality that most of us women face every single day.
The good news is that we can actually take back control of our time and change it.
So, when your head hits the pillow at night you not only feel accomplished you know you were!
And it starts with eliminating these 37 little, bad habits that are stealing your productivity each day.
Work Life Balance
I think that busy doesn’t mean you are productive.
I think that long to do lists doesn’t mean you are effective.
And odds are, you feel the same way, which is why we’ve found each other here on this post to learn about the 37 daily habits that you need to stop wasting time on.
Whether you want to find ways to stop wasting time because you want to keep up with that one mom in your neighborhood who manages to throw the most Pinterest elaborate birthday parties in her “spare time” or because you simply just want to have some resemblance of work life balance, you have came to the right spot.
As a recovering perfectionist and offender of the ‘if I only had more time’ mentality, I personally assure you that learning to pay attention to these types of daily habits you need to stop wasting time on will absolutely help you get time back in your day!
37 Daily Habits You Need To Stop Wasting Time on:
1. Social media
I love social media just as much as the next person but if you are serious about getting a routine that serves you, then you are going to have to be realistic about your social media use.
You can download apps that tell you where your time is going on your phone so you know exactly how much time you spend scrolling.
If you aren’t convinced you spend “that much” time on your phone… trust me, you’ll be surprised how many ‘quick’ Facebook checks you do throughout the day!
2. Chit-chatting at work
I think we all know that personal connection is something humans need so I am not telling you to get rid of all socializing but I am suggesting that you take a step back and assess who and on what you are spending that precious time on while at work…
Especially if you feel your productivity at work doesn’t match the number of hours you are there.
3. Watching TV
If you’ve been hanging out with me for a while then you have probably noticed I am a huge advocate of self care.
In fact I think that busy working moms should be spending time in this category each and every day.
So the argument usually comes in when people think they either a) don’t watch that much TV (if this is you, take a step back and actually add up how many hours of TV you watch in a day) and b) when watching TV is your form of self care.
If you fall into the B category, be careful. Before you realize it you’ve spent 3 Sundays this month in “self care” mode binge watching Netflix and then you wonder why you don’t have time for things…
4. Scrolling through Pinterest
I’m the first to admit that before I started being intentional with where my time went, I would have sworn Pinterest wasn’t a time suck!
In reality, anytime I pulled the app up to look into something I would get sucked into the Pinterest highlight feed and waste precious moments!
5. Not having a clear plan for what needs to be accomplished
If you are even the least bit serious about achieving goals and want to stop wasting time, then you need to know where you are headed.
Do you have a clear idea of your goals?
How often do you reflect on your progress towards your goals?
Not having answers to these questions is a sure way to keep you moving through the days, unfocused and out of synch.
6. Doubting decisions
When I first set out to stop wasting time, I became aware of how many minutes I would spend each day (often several times a day!) stuck in doubt.
Did I make the right choice, do I want X or Y?… just freaking pick already and learn to be confident in your decisions.
If you also struggle with doubt, it’s most likely linked to one of these uncommon low self esteem symptoms I never realized were connected to doubt!
7. Not Accepting Help
Ah, not accepting help. Another super important lesson I wish I would have learned earlier on in motherhood (like day 1, seriously).
Stop wasting time and start letting your friends and family help you out any and every way they can! If your mom wants to swing by and offers to start a load of laundry, let her!
8. Staying Up Late
You might be a rare night owl who really, truly is more productive and alert during the night hours but odds are, you aren’t really.
But if you think this is you, ask yourself what exactly do you do during the late evening hours?
Are you tackling your to do list and taking steps towards your goals or are you scrolling through social media and getting sucked into Netflix?
9. Letting Others Run Your Schedule
Saying yes to things out of obligation and eating up our time as a family because how could I possibly say no to a birthday party or a work activity often crossed my mind.
I decided to stop letting others be in control of my time and it turns out everything (and everyone) has been ok since I started saying no more.
10. Too Many Activities For Your Kids
A recent study I read cited something like 88% of the 50 families they interviewed had children involved in activities 4-5 days a week and 58% did more than 1 in an evening.
The article also went on to describe that parents often felt excited when things cancelled and their quality time as a family was dominated by their commitments to these activities.
If you are feeling the pressure of time, take an inventory of just how much you have really signed yourself up for as a family and I challenge you to take 1 thing of your schedule!
11. Sleeping In
To be quite honest, I am still shocked that I’ve been successful in this change but waking up early is my golden ticket to time.
I loooove being cozy and used to pride myself on being a snoozer x4 and still rush to make it on time to work.
But come to find out, not only is that a terrible way to mentally start your day you are literally snoozing away precious time.
And if you are like most working moms, then the morning time is some of the rare time you will find without anyone else awake!
12. Not Setting Priorities For Yourself and Family
After having our second child, my husband and I started to feel the pressure of time more than ever! I felt obligated to do things like swim lessons and every activity we were invited to (see number 11 above) and it just didn’t feel right.
We had to sit down and think about what exactly did we want as a family?
We set a few key values and that helped us set out priorities
Having this makes it a lot easier to say no to things and to not feel the endless mom guilt for keeping laundry piles and spending that time playing as a family instead.
What is most important to your family?
13. Never Ending To-Do List
The to do list is actually an enemy!
Well, maybe not an enemy because I still love me a good to do list BUT having giant to do list that has everything you need to or want to or think you should get done on there is one of the time suckers.
If you want to stop wasting time, start using methods like the Power of 3 to help you prioritize and get more of the important stuff done each day.
14. Not Finding 3-5 Minutes Valuable
Pulling into a grocery store parking lot and not using a few minutes to get something done on your phone when your kids are contained and still happy in their seat is a total waste of time.
Women literally build businesses uses these 3-5 minute time chunks and they really add up during the day!
15. Dinner Time
This is embarrassing for me personally. (seriously, see how much time I wasted last year on this question alone)!
If “what’s for dinner?” was a million-dollar question, I still would have struggled coming up with the answer.
So, I had to seriously stop wasting time on this one. Learn more about the process I put into place for my family meal planner and how many days, yes you read that right-DAYS, I wasted each year with this question!
16. Distractions Dictate Your Attention
Distractions are quite but deadly to your day and we don’t even realize how often it hits!
I challenge you to start paying attention to how many times you set out to do something and get distracted.
17. Stop Procrastinating
The first time I heard that procrastination can be linked to avoidance of an activity due to stress I denied it.
And then I realized it’s totally something I was guilty of.
I would put something off I didn’t want to deal with until the last minute and then it became a crisis which would make me have to adjust my prioritize to put out the last minute fire.
Long story short, learn how to stop procrastinating and you will instantly stop wasting time!
18. Multitasking
Multitasking isn’t your friend.
It tricks you into thinking you are getting more done but instead you are getting several things done slower.
19. Clutter
If you want to stop wasting time, think about how often you are picking up clothes, toys, books etc. that your family can actually survive without!
As a busy working mom who is on the hunt to achieve work life balance, I have to admit that it is nice to stop picking up so many extra kid shoes every day after giving them a good end of season purge!
20. Not Using Visuals
Keep the important things visible so you can refer back to them often. For instance, my fridge has become a good “flight control” for our home.
It is easy to access, we see it often and it helps keep my husband on the same page!
21. Not Communicating With Your Spouse
Not being on the same page as your spouse with even the simple things like priorities for the day or using these time management tools to look ahead together on a Sunday night is a totally missed opportunity!
If you are both working parents start communicating on the week ahead using the process I mentioned above- this is one of the best working mom tips out there!
22. Reacting vs. Responding to Stress (including temper tantrums!)
Reacting to a situation is usually what happens when we let our emotions get the best of us. We loose our logical thinking and 4 minutes later we find ourselves trying to justify ourselves to an upset toddler.
That is 4 minutes of time that you will never get back.
Take a step back, collect your thoughts and then respond so you are able to achieve the desired outcome without wasting your precious time.
23. Being Stubborn (or indecisive)
I briefly touched on being indecisive earlier with doubting the decisions you make but did you know that you can also be wasting time when you are stubborn?
Unwilling to listen to other people’s thoughts, ideas or suggestions might make you feel better as you hold out to win the conversation but you could very well be missing out on great ideas and delaying the progress you need to make.
24. Google
I think this one is self explanatory. If you google a specific problem, stop using google as soon as you are done with that topic.
Don’t keep clicking your way through all the click bait articles because whatever the Kardashian family had for dinner is not going to add value to your life so just skip through it!
25. Overanalyzing
Guilty as guilty can be on this one!
Overanalyzing can be a strength (or so I’ve heard) but it might one of the things you need to eliminate if overanalyzing means that you get stuck in making decisions.
Your precious time to live your best life is wasting away because you are stuck overanalyzing the options… sometimes you just need to jump in, buy the dress or book the airfare 😊.
26. No Evening Routine
What are evenings like in your home?
Is there intentionality with time and routine?
Are the kids in bed or having quiet time at a decent time so you can get to your stuff?
If not, it is definitely something you need to look at as an opportunity! No mom deserves to be trying to cram a days worth of things in only when the kids are sleeping, especially if the kids are staying up late.
27. Saying Yes Because You Feel Bad Saying No
I think this one gets to the heart of a lot of the reasons why you feel like you don’t have time.
When I began my journey to discovering how to get time back in my day, this was something I had to address if I wanted things to be different.
Come to find out, I was living a lot of my life for others.
And that isn’t a bad thing, I mean people like it when you meet them for dinner, volunteer and go to every single birthday party your kids are invited to. But I realized that something had to give because on the other end of these long days was an exhausted family that felt like they had little to no quality time together.
I used to not want to hurt people’s feelings by saying no so I was willing to sacrifice my sanity and our family time. Once I put that into perspective, it became a lot more easy to say no!
28. Being Perfect
If you want to find time to do the things you want, you have to let go of perfect.
I love the saying ‘progress over perfection’ and I think it should be a t-shirt that they hand out to every single new mom as they deliver their baby!
The moment we realize that we can follow practical cleaning schedules for the working mom instead of trying to make our house perfect at all times is a beautiful moment!
Work life balance is possible… it just needs to look a little different!
29. Comparing
I recently just unfollowed one of my favorite Moms on Instagram because she lives a pretty unique life and each time I scrolled through her stories I realized that I was left with a little entertainment and little feeling of lack.
Which meant I wasted time thinking about things I shouldn’t have and time feeling kind of lousy from letting myself fall into the comparison trap.
So, I give you total permission to hit unfollow if you need to!
30. Toxic People
Why do you keep making sure you don’t miss one of Aunt Sally’s summer BBQs when she still argues with you about picking your career path because she thought for sure you should have been a stay at home mom?
You have things to do, goals to accomplish and relaxing hot baths to take so from this moment forward you have my TOTAL PERMISSION to stop being around people that are toxic (even if they are family).
31. Gossiping
We all pretend we don’t do this, but odds are you do.
In reality, we all do this.
I have been working on it because it is so easy to get caught up chatting but it adds ZERO value to what I want out of life so it is something that has got to go!
32. Waiting In Hopes For Something Better
I laugh every time I read this but seriously, how much time do you spend circling a parking lot? Want to figure out how to stop wasting time? It starts with stopping this small, easily changed habits.
Next time you get to a parking lot just find the first open spot, park, and move on with your day!
33. Doing Things On A Whim
It has taken some serious re-work to get my husband to not leave to do one errand and then 4 hours later need to leave and do another errand.
It is so efficient 😊.
I help people gain efficiency in their life for a living so this is a total pet peeve of mine but thankfully we have my husband following a much better (and efficient!) process these days!
Spend 2 minutes before you walk out of the house to make sure you have everything you need for errands, the grocery list, return item bags etc.
DO NOT ping pong back and forth in an inefficient pattern all across town, wasting away your evenings because you are stuck in rush hour traffic trying to make a trip to Costco with the other 18393 moms in your town.
34. Trying To Convince People
I think I spent my 20’s wasting time on this every week. I’ve since learned that this is a total wasting time and “staying in your own lane” is a time management tip that every person should learn!
35. Unproductive Commute Time
How many times have you said you don’t have time to learn something new or read a book in the past year?
Use your commute time, even if it is only 10 minutes, you can knock out an audio book a lot faster than you think!
36. Constantly Looking At Your Phone
Our phones are single handedly the best thing to make us more productive AND one of the things we need to eliminate to stop wasting time.
Did you know you can download an app on your phone that tells you how much time you are spending on it each day?
Download it and let the numbers do the talking.
37. Complaining
Alright, it’s time to stop wasting time complaining about how things are. To stop wasting time complaining about not having time.
It is time to give that old habit up and to start spending that time creating a life you love instead.
A life that you wake up happy to tackle each day!
Don’t Waste Your Time On Your Phone… a few more tips!
Lets spend a few more minutes diving into how to help you stop wasting time on your phone because odds are this is one of the biggest time offenders in your life!!
- Leave your phone in your purse (or even the car) for a set period of time when you get home. This will keep your mind distraction free and allow you to be more intentional when you walk in the door.
- Use the silence and/or vibrate option more often so you don’t get interrupted every single time a notification comes through.
- Start charging it away from your nightstand…extra gold star if you can leave it on the kitchen counter at night
- Set aside 5 minutes of intentional “scroll through social media and do nothing else” time. I have found that ‘scheduling’ time to check in on everything has dramatically reduced the number of times I log into social media throughout the day.
- Find an accountability partner. It could be a bet to do the dishes that night for whoever uses their phone first or tell your co-worker they have freedom to toss a paper clip at you when she sees you on your phone…whatever it takes to get your time back!
How To Not Waste Time and Get Work Life Balance
The struggle to achieve work life balance is a real thing and you have now been given 37 potential areas that are preventing you from finding the balance you need.
Learn how to make the changes actually stick and level up your ability to manage your time by joining my newest course: Time Management Transformation!
