11 (not so imaginary) ways to burn your time

When it comes down to being more productive, we often try to find hacks to be even more efficient in doing tasks we have already classified as relevant. However there are a lot of activities that we undertake that are part of quadrant 4 (Covey’s habit 3), that we may or may not be aware of.

11. Playing that video game…for over an hour

Playing a video game is quadrant II stuff for a lot of people (for me as well), a great way to relax and release some stress. However, after an hour or so this activity shifts from quadrant II to quadrant IV, relaxing is important, beating the high scores hardly is (however darn challenging that may be).

10. Organizing stuff…without preparation

Have you ever started clearing your desk from all the paper clutter, just to come to a grinding halt halfway down the track? With half your paper on the desk, and the rest (neatly organized) on the floor? Preparation = Q2.

9. Re-reading previously read email

Sounds silly doesn’t it? Leave your email in your inbox, and it wil happen. Not for the fun of it, but for the necessity. Now what was that e-mail about again? Oh right, hmm still not able to take care of it.

8. Watching television

Allright, allright! Some shows are Q2 (for relaxation, for education), but what about the rest?

7. Wwilfing the web

Pretty self-explanatory (right?). And no, that great site you stumbled upon is not an excuse.

6. Being a self-help junky

Yes, you know all about self-help techniques. You know the trends, you know the authors, you know the blogs, you’ve been to the seminars, webinars, training courses and what have you. Now what does it take you to actually start DOING it?!

5. Doing everything yourself

DIY is great stuff! You learn a lot, it saves money, you get to know the techniques, the material, the skills and more. But do you need it? And is the result satisfactory or is it great? Why do you want to do it all yourself? In the end the experts more often than not deliver better results, sooner and (in the end) cheaper as well.

4. Planning, organizing, rescheduling, re-organizing

We lose so much time in this stuff. Have you ever made a plan, that needed adjustments before you even started, because of new insights, changes in the environment, changes in the goals and so on? Don’t plan, replan, organize, plan, re-organize, replan etc. Doing is the key. Planning is Q2 for a while, but easily slips into Q4.

3. Looking for that stuff that should have been in that place

You’re pretty sure you left it in that spot. It just ain’t there, so look closer, it should be there. Look even more closer, what might obscure it… Ever been in this situation? This is Q4. Plan the time to clean it up and organize.

2. Indecisiveness

Don’t know how to decide? Taking decisions is not the skill to be working on. Don’t waste your time trying to find a rationale to decide upon, spend your time defining what you want. Decisions all of a sudden are pretty easy then.

1. Repeating behavior that did not result in success

This is the worst. If it didn’t work before, and the goal and the environment are the same, why do you think it would work now? Same efforts produce same results. Be flexible in your methods, if it didn’t work the first time, it probably won’t the second time around; for the love of God: TRY SOMETHING ELSE!