Q&A for How to Stop Wasting Time

Be mindful of what you're doing so you can recognize when the task you’re working on isn’t the one that should be at the top of your list.

Make sure you are well rested and minimize all distractions. Try to work in a productive environment such as a library. Some people find it helpful to use music or earplugs to block out all outside noise and stay focused.

Schedule your day on a planner.. You may find more time when you better organize your activities. Also look for any tasks that can be grouped together or delayed if they are non essential.

Be sure to change from sleep attire to what you normally wear when leaving for your work day. Putting shoes on can motivate you. I find that sticking my head in the shower for a quick hair wash and brushing my teeth is a good motivator to get up and about.

The measure of whether or not you've wasted time is in asking yourself: "In the time I've occupied with (whatever you've been doing), could I really have been working on something more important?" Sometimes giving your brain a rest from the mumble jumble of a work day is just as important as work itself.

Plan them out in your free time so you know exactly what you're going to do, and don't procrastinate.

You can think about how you will do it and how long each step will take. Try your best to make reasonable estimates, and add a little bit of extra time at the end of your tasks just in case anything goes over the time allotted.

Try putting your phone down and away from you. Also, try to keep yourself occupied by working on a hobby or by doing other things that keep you busy.

Unplug the television and and power down your computer. Keep yourself occupied when you are not supposed to be watching TV or on the computer. Take a walk outside without any electronics whenever you are tempted to watch TV. If this is too hard, ask a good friend to take away the television and computer, or any other devices you do not want to be using. This will force you to do other things. You will also have to go to a public place (such as a library) to use a computer, and computers at libraries often have time limits on them.

If you have many different tasks to do, it's okay to put one aside and work on another for awhile, then come back to the one you were finding tedious. You can also give yourself breaks and rewards. For example, tell yourself, "I will work on this task for 45 minutes, then I will take a 5 minute break and eat a piece of candy." Knowing you have a break and a reward coming can help you push through.

For me, I usually take breaks after every hour or so to catch up on emails, messages, and to walk around a little. If you're working and you know you're going to take a break to do all that stuff, it's easier to put it out of your mind while you're actually working.

If your mind tells you that spending half an hour evaluating the way you spent the hour is a waste of time (and I agree that's an excessive amount of time for reflection), then don't do it. An alternative option might be to spend 5 minutes evaluating the previous hour, or wait until you're going to bed at night and take a few minutes to evaluate your entire day, perhaps jotting down some notes on how you might improve your productivity in the future.

Many phones and devices have screen time limits for certain apps. Those can really help. Also, keep a detailed schedule for yourself of exactly when you need to have everything done by. Look at the schedule every day and make time to work on your long term goals.

The article is talking about using the internet for time-wasting activities like browsing YouTube or social media, not practical purposes like researching how to better make use of your time.