Why We Waste Our Time and What to do About It
In last week’s article I discussed how our most important commodity is time. I also explained that the main difference between someone who achieves great and extraordinary things versus someone who lives a mundane life is how they spend their time. I also went on to discuss how most of us waste our precious free time on email, texting, checking social media, surfing the internet and watching Netflix.
The question then arises then, if we know that time is valuable and how we use it determines the quality of our life, why so many of us end up wasting our time. This has to do with immediate versus delayed gratification.
You see, doing all those things I mentioned above brings immediate gratification which is fleeting at best. The same is true of any addiction that anyone indulges in. We feel good in the moment that we are engaging in the addictive behaviour but that feeling soon passes and leaves us wanting more. This is why we can spend hours wasting time on social media or watching Netflix. We are seeking that quick dopamine (neurochemical of pleasure) fix which gives us that temporary high.
Now let’s discuss delayed gratification. This means that we forgo the immediate, fleeting sensation of elation for effort and discomfort, which will lead to benefit in the future. For example, we may spend several hours working on a writing project, instead of spending that time drinking with friends because we know that, over time, a consistent writing habit will eventually lead to the completion of our book.
We do not have the benefit of experiencing the joy of being a published writer because this final goal takes dedication and effort, which, naturally, means that we will not experience the gratification right away. In order to use our time wisely, we must give up the desire for immediate gratification in order to take actions now which will benefit us greatly in the future.
This can only happen if our desire to achieve what we are striving for far exceeds any pleasure we will feel from engaging in any activity, which provides immediate benefit. This is why it is important to have goals which inspire and move us to action.
It is for this reason I encourage you to take stock of your present situation and identify the one goal that, above all else, you desire the most. Make a list of all the reasons that you must achieve this goal including how it will make you feel, once you achieve it. Imagine that you are feeling what you would if the goal was within your grasp. Allow yourself to experience those feelings as intensely as possible
Remember, your mind cannot distinguish between what is real and what is imagined in your subconscious mind. Once you are able to identify the sensations and feelings of achieving your goal, write down a list of all the benefits you will experience once you achieve this goal. Also, list how achieving your goal will benefit your community and humanity as a whole. Do this in as much detail as possible.
Next, write down the smallest next step which you would have to undertake in order to start moving towards that goal. Ponder and plan this next step. The last thing is to make a conscious decision that the next time that you are free from the activities of daily living, any relationship commitments, physical fitness and health enhancing practices and your work and career obligations, you will perform this next smallest instead of defaulting to answering your texts, emails or searching social media.
You must convince yourself that your time is better spent taking this next smallest step towards your one major goal instead of wasting your time in those other mind-numbing activities. Once you have made this commitment, you then need to take action on this next smallest step.
This is not to say that you can’t spend time texting, emailing or on social media but that the time you spend in these activities will be drastically reduced to carve out time towards what truly matters to you in order to experience the delayed gratification of personal goal achievement and true success.
Our time on this planet is very limited and you should not waste another second in frivolity if you want to enter the ranks of those who leave legacies of bettering humanity and leaving the world a better place than they found it.
In my next article I will discuss how we can salvage normally wasted time and optimize our day.
Nauman Naeem MD
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