Summary

The article outlines five detrimental habits that waste our time, including gossiping, procrastination, overthinking, excessive screen time, and pursuing unenjoyable careers.

Abstract

The article "5 Harmful Habits That Steal Our Time" delves into the common behaviors that unknowingly consume our precious time. It emphasizes that while we often feel busy and blame time for our lack of productivity, it is our habits that are the real culprits. The author identifies gossip as a significant time-waster, masquerading as a harmless activity but ultimately leading to negative conversations that serve no purpose. Procrastination is highlighted as a pervasive issue, with the tendency to postpone tasks leading to inefficiency and stress. The article also touches on the mental toll of obsessing over unnecessary thoughts and the impact of social media addiction, which keeps individuals glued to their screens. Lastly, the author stresses the importance of pursuing a career that one loves, as spending a significant portion of life in an unfulfilling job not only wastes time but also life itself. The article suggests that by recognizing and addressing these habits, individuals can reclaim their time and improve their quality of life.

Opinions

Gossip is identified as a deceptive time thief that appears innocent but is ultimately detrimental to productivity and positive interactions.
Procrastination is seen as a significant barrier to productivity, with the author suggesting that tackling the most challenging tasks first can minimize its impact.
Overthinking and obsessing over trivial matters are considered harmful to both time management and mental well-being.
The author admits to a personal struggle with social media addiction and acknowledges the difficulty of reducing screen time, especially during the pandemic.
Pursuing a career that aligns with one's passions is presented as crucial for a fulfilling life, echoing the philosophy of Ikigai, which encourages finding joy in one's work.

5 Harmful Habits That Steal Our Time

We have plenty of time, and we are just wasting it.

The biggest problem in modern society is to be always busy. We can’t afford anything. The whole week is running around. Then we put all the blame on time. Yes, time passes very fast, but how do we use it?

Well, maybe we spending time on bad habits in our lives? What I want to say is that habits we repeat unconsciously steal from our precious time. But we can’t notice it because we have connected it to the autopilot.

So, let’s take a quick look at the harmful habits that steal our time.

#1 We Love Gossip

Gossip is an indispensable part of our lives. Also, we can say that gossip is one of the significant time killers. Because it sounds sweet at first, but it’s not as innocent as we thought. Of course, it is difficult to leave this habit immediately. So we know that gossip is the biggest time thief.

What should we do?

I was jealous of people’s lives, and this jealousy was driving me into unnecessary conversations. I looked for ways to overcome this because of visible dialogues didn’t affect me positively. Then I stopped getting angry at the people who had what I wanted to have. Instead, I chose to envy them because there is a massive difference between navy and jealousy.

Jealousy was a reason to gossip directly. But envy was helping the person improve yourself in the current situation. When I understood the difference between these two, I ultimately left the gossip.

#2 Stop Postponing

Postponing is one of the biggest troubles that eat our time without being aware. For example, I prepare a to-do list first thing in the morning. But always postpone the frustrating work on this list throughout the day.

To postpone it like a beast inside us. It keeps dealing with the chore. This virtual beast checks the emailing list several times during the day ( do you need this?) and says you need a second coffee.

However, to minimize suspension, I have to handle the things that are difficult for me at first. Finishing the most challenging jobs in the morning is much better for the rest of the day.

Here are a few suggestions to reduce procrastination:

Create your working routine and observe your behavior for a few weeks
What time zone of the day can you work most efficiently in this working routine?
Check out all the items on your to-do list and star alongside the most important ones.
Gather everything you need to keep your work interrupted after you start working.

#3 Don’t get stuck

Many things happen outside our control in life. Our thoughts are one of them. Thousands of ideas pass through our minds in one day and what other people say affects these thoughts. Because the things that tire us most often come from thoughts that continue to processed behind our heads.

The ideas that we have forgotten in our minds but which suddenly appear as malaise and unhappiness come from ‘’obsessing with unnecessary things’’.

So in a nutshell; Who says what, late reply to a single message, meeting our friends without telling us, the harmony of post flow on Instagram. We care.

You continue to think about what you think you don’t care about. And this steals from both your time and quality of life — every minute.

#4 Get away from the screen.

I know this is the hardest one for all items. How do we get away even though we do all our work from a single screen? ( especially in this pandemic time) it sounds like it is impossible.

I think the most harmful habit in my life is my social media addiction. While I feel proud that I haven’t watched TV for four years, I realized that the relationship between me and my phone is not very innocent.

I feel like I am stuck in a lantern with all the social media’s scroll up features. Besides, the fact that we don’t have a life outside the virtual world is one of the situations that scare me.

I’m trying many things to stay away from the phone in my daily life. I can’t say I’m successful. But at least I’m trying. For instance, when I write this article, I turn off the internet on the phone. I am also interested in other things, so as not the look at the phone for a few hours during a day.

#5 Finally, just do what you love.

If we are talking about the most prominent time thief, then it is to pursue a career you don’t like. Doing the work you don’t like steals not only our time but also our lives.

We spend most of our life working. To achieve our dreams, we have to work harder. But when we do what we love, we don’t even notice how time flows. As the Japanese say in the Ikigai philosophy;

You have to find out what you get out of bed every day

According to Ikigai, we use our time in the best way every day to do the job we love. Isn’t that our goal of coming to life anyway? To become the person we want to be.

To summarize, time is flying, but it is up to us to catch it depending on our habits. When you sift through a day, you can quickly realize your established behavior. So we have to start saving our time from daily routines and habits.