By: Damien Thomas
It is no secret that we live in a fast-paced world, and many of us tend to overload ourselves on a daily basis. This includes everything from spending extra hours at work, to taking on too many extracurricular activities, or even an inability to say ‘no’ to people. Unfortunately, we can sometimes become our own worst enemy when it comes to productivity.
Small time wasters throughout the day can make a big difference in the level of success we achieve. The worst part is, we often do not realize just how much time these activities are taking away from us and indeed our potential success. Needless to say, it is not uncommon for most of us to partake in at least a few activities each day that either leave us feeling unfulfilled, or they take away from our productivity.
However, the people who are most successful in life are typically those who have been able to master time management, and get rid of these ‘time wasters.’ By making sure that you are utilizing every second of your day for something that will help to move you forward, you can feel better about yourself, knowing that every minute that isn’t wasted can help you to achieve new goals, and accomplish even bigger dreams.
Let’s take a look at eight things successful people don’t waste their time doing. By adopting some of these habits, you will be sure to notice the positive change in your day-to-day routine.
Successful people don’t…
1. Browse Social Media
In a world of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, it can be hard to imagine unplugging from social media for a while. But, think about how much time that you spend each day mindlessly scrolling through feeds, checking out someone’s Snapchat story, or liking Instagram photos. Before you know it, you can lose hours of your day in what feels like a short amount of time.
Instead, you can reward yourself with social media after all of the work you want to accomplish for the day is done. Make a plan to stay off completely until you have achieved all of your daily tasks. If that seems too difficult to start out, try limiting your time on social media by setting an alarm for yourself. Gradually, it should become easier to ‘log off.
Whether you have a detailed list with bullet points and subheadings, or two or three top priorities to complete each day, plan out the details of your day on paper before it even starts. Writing something down means you will be more likely to do it, and think about how good it will feel to cross everything off that list!
Make sure when you are creating your list that you don’t allow it to overwhelm you. Your daily agenda should be achievable, exciting but not stressful.
4. Become Victims
When something goes wrong in our lives, especially if it interferes with our plans or goals, it can be very easy to blame other people. It is even easier to feel like a victim if you have done everything ‘right,’ and someone else puts a roadblock in front of you. Those who are more successful tend to let a lot of negative experiences with people simply fade away. Dwelling on something negative that happened is more of a hindrance to your goals than it is for the person who may have caused the negative experience in the first place. Don’t become a victim.
5. Become Emotionally Drained
One of the biggest secrets to success from those who have mastered climbing the ladder is to only do things that will add something of value to your life. Jobs, relationships, and extra activities should all be adding something positive to your life and to your goals, not taking something away. If someone asks you to do something, and you don’t feel as though it will have a positive impact on your life, it is okay to say no!
6. Sweat the Small Stuff
Successful people tend to focus on what they can do, not what they cannot do. They don’t resist change, and if something doesn’t go their way, they find an alternative route without letting it bring them down, or stop them on their journey.
7. Hang Out With the Wrong Crowd
It might seem a bit cliché, but the old adage of surrounding yourself with good company could not be more true. Successful people don’t spend time in circles of individuals who are only going to bring them down or take away from their goals and aspirations. Instead, they become friends with people who have goals of their own, and people who will encourage them to be their best.
8. Compare Themselves to Others
There is a big difference between inspiration and comparison. Many successful people have a role model, mentor or someone that they look up to in their lives. They might even have someone they want to model their career or lifestyle after. However, this can become a problem if you take that admiration and start comparing your own life to someone else. It may start out as something small, such as wishing for the same life of that particular role model. But, these things can quickly spiral out of control, and you might find yourself comparing just about everything you do to others, including friends and family. Successful people are inspired, but they tend to focus on their own plans, goals, and achievements, rather than worrying about someone else’s.
The best thing you can do to start on your own pathway to success is to cut out things that waste your time and that take away from the positive state of your life. Use some of these tips to help you to get rid of the time wasters in your life. You just might be surprised at how much more you can accomplish everyday, and the extra productivity boost can give to your career.