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What is a time waster?

Lauren Crystal
3 minute read • Workflow
15th April, 2019

There’s much debate as to what a time waster actually is and it really varies depending on the job role and the industry. For example, in creative industries, scrolling on Youtube for 2 hours is often part of the task, but if you try this out in an accounting firm it’s unlikely to produce an outcome.

We now know from a tonne of academic research that our offices are full of distractions. A study by UC Irvine shows that on average office workers are interrupted every 11 minutes, and it takes around 25 minutes to get back on track. A lot of these distractions come from our ever-connected devices. Last year, in an average minute on the internet 4.3 million Youtube videos were viewed and 174,000 people scrolled Instagram. In that same minute, not a lot of work was done.

It’s impossible to expect people to focus on work for eight straight hours — more so now that a majority of the workforce is working from home. Productivity becomes a key concern for managers when deadlines begin to get affected. If you’re concerned as an employee that your productivity is dropping while working from home…you’ve come to the right place.

Time-wasting habits could be anything from a scrolling time waster such as social media or TikTok (we’re all guilty of the latter – it is such a time sink!) or even, just getting carried away with a non-work related task. As the boundaries between work and home continue to get blurry, one either sinks or learns to swim.

Tackling time-wasting habits can massively help your productivity in the long-run. Not only does it improve your work-life balance but it also aids work relationships. If you’re willing to dive in deep, a read of Atomic Habits by James Clear, can give you a clear idea of how to fix your habits. But if not, we’ve got you covered!

So how do we tackle time-wasting habits?

1. Key Triggers

The first thing to do is to analyse your daily work habits, trying to identify key triggers. A trigger is a noise, action or thought that leads to you being distracted. Take a pen and paper and write down every time you encounter a trigger throughout your workday. If that is hard for you to keep track of, try noting down what a regular day looks like for you — listing it in 15 minute time slots.

More likely than not you’ll start to notice patterns, perhaps it’s a friend or loved one on their break reaching out, or a colleague who comes to your desk for a catch-up.

Think of ways to minimise these habits or occurences to curb your distractions. For example, if your colleague has a habit of walking over to your table to have a catch-up, try to combine it with your coffee break instead. Grab your daily dose of caffeine over your catch-up instead.

2. Phone Notifications

It’s a really simple one, three out of four of the top time wasters are accessible at all times via our mobile phones. If you don’t need your phone for work, turn it on silent and shove it in a drawer for prolonged periods of time. If you think you’re still going to be reaching for your phone, try and hand your phone over to a colleague to put into their desk drawer!

If your phone is essential to communicating at work then spend some time with your notification settings. Science shows us that we are all now addicted to the pings and swipes of our smartphones so turn off notifications on those apps that are not essential to your workday. Several smartphones give you the option to turn on ‘Work’ mode, which restricts apps on a list of your choosing.

3. Dedicated Downtime

You’re aware of your environment and the things likely to distract you but it’s often not realistic to cull these from your every day. Instead, block out an hour a day of complete concentration, tell your colleagues, when the pink post-it is on your desk DO NOT DISTURB. This tactic will give you the freedom and mental space to focus.

Or, if you’re really struggling still, allot yourself to shorter, but more frequent breaks. For example, focusing on work in a 25-minute slot followed by a quick 5-minute break often works for people who only work in short, creative bursts.

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