This blog post is all about common time-wasting habits.
These are 10 common time-wasting habits that will always make you wish there were more than 24 hours in a day. But more often than not, it’s not that you need MORE time; it’s that you need to learn how to CONTROL your time.
Every homemaker shares many time-wasting habits in common, no matter their lifestyle.
Many of these habits only add more anxiety, stress, overstimulation, and sometimes even depression. That is why it’s important to recognize time-wasting habits that you should be avoiding in order to bypass all the negative feelings that follow.
All these time-wasting habits also lead to burnout. And coming back from a burnout is HARD.
I just can’t stress enough how important it is to control your time instead of the time controlling you.
11 common time wasting habits
Waking Up Late
Waking up late is one of the biggest time wasters as a Homemaker.
Now, hear me out!
I’m not saying you have to wake up at 4 in the morning, but waking up at 11…12 will shorten your day. And more often than not, when your day starts out relatively late, you are in stress mode, trying to squeeze all the chores, errands, self-care, meal planning and prepping, etc, into a time period that’s not reasonable.
For many women, when they see the sink full of dishes, toys ALL over the house, a pile of laundry that needs to be done, and meals that still need to be prepared, it can trigger the feeling of being completely overwhelmed.
Often to the point of having a mental breakdown or just shutting down.
Neither of those two is beneficial.
Learn what time in the morning is best for you to wake up. Sometimes, you would be surprised to know how much more energy you will have with a great sleep and wake-up schedule!
Procrastinating
This is the ULTIMATE time wasting habit to avoid having as a homemaker.
Procrastinating essentially means delaying or postponing things or activities that need to be done. More often than not, you’re substituting your task that needs to be done with something more pleasurable or less important, like scrolling through your phone.
Your productivity tanks.
Your Stress and Anxiety increase.
You will waste time, and you will never get it back.
Procrastinating is a sign of poor time management, task aversions, fear of failure, and lack of self-discipline.
Scrolling through your phone
I have yet to meet one person who does not feel guilty after scrolling through their phone for x amount of time! Everyone does it, and everyone feels guilty about it.
Social media was meant to be addicting, so it’s no wonder people are constantly scrolling through their phones. However, nothing good comes from spending 1, maybe 8 hours scrolling through your phone.
Sure, you might find a good recipe, save it thinking you’re going to make it, and by the time you’re done scrolling, you’ve completely forgotten about it.
If you’re not paying for it in cash, you’re paying with your time, which is the worst way to spend it!
Excessive TV consumption
If it isn’t scrolling through social media all day, then it might be excessive TV consumption. This, too, is one of the most considerable time-wasting habits a homemaker could have.
Watching TV can be dangerous in regards to wasting your time. You can often disregard everything else and be entirely consumed with whatever show you’re watching.
I’m not saying to NEVER watch TV. All I am saying is to be mindful of how much time you spend seeing other people on TV.
If Netflix has to see if “you’re still watching,” then it might be time to move on to something more productive!
One thing I always remind myself of when I’m watching too much TV is the actors in these movies or series are chasing after their dreams (aka being on TV), and what am I doing? Watching them work and fulfill their dreams while I am postponing important tasks to lounge around.
Multi-tasking
Multi-tasking is the best way not to get anything done. Of course, if you have littles, you might have mastered the art of multitasking.
But besides having your little babies around, multi-tasking, such as scrolling through your phone while cooking or scrolling to find the perfect video before you start cleaning, is a big time-wasting habit you should avoid.
You will often spend 10 to 15 minutes trying to find the “perfect” video or podcast when you could be using that time to complete a task.
Jumping from one task to another also leads to stress and also lowers your chances of completing one task from start to finish. If you ever feel like you have a lot to do here and there, it might be because you’re trying to multitask and not entirely focusing on the task at hand.
comparing your life to others
It’s the worst thing anyone should do, yet we ALL do it.
Playing the comparison game is nothing but a waste of brain space. But it’s a natural thing that occurs. Many often compare themselves to others to gauge their progress, success, or happiness compared to the other person.
Comparing yourself to others is exhausting. It’s important to remember that you don’t live the same lifestyle as they do. You don’t have the same wants in life.
More often than not, people also compare each other through social media, which is TOXIC. For one, everything you see on social media is not the person’s reality. While many often post themselves crying, it’s safe to say that the majority don’t publish their struggles.
They won’t post about how deep in debt they are, or how lonely they are, wish they had friends, etc.
If you live in a constant state of comparing your life to those around you, it will only lower your self-esteem, you will develop feelings of jealousy and envy, and you’ll also miss opportunities.
overthinking
The Top 5 reasons why people overthink
- Fear of the unknown
- Need for control
- Stress and overload
- Anxiety & Worry
- Perfectionism
What has overthinking done for you? Has it made you feel better, or do you feel like your brain is fried at the end of the day?
We have ONE HUNDRED PERCENT control over our thoughts. We can either let them run wild in our heads, or we can take control of them. Overthinking comes from being indecisive, insecure with self or decisions that have been made, past experiences, especially trauma, or the unknown future.
It’s a hard thing to control because, more often than not, you have gotten used to overthinking. It’s a regular part of your day.
But it’s not normal.
Anytime you catch yourself thinking, two of the best things to do is to journal or start meditating/praying.
Lack of Planning
Not planning out your days is a typical time-wasting habit. Not all days go according to plan, but having an idea of what you are going to do or what needs to be done can help you use your time wisely.
If you’ve never started to plan your days, today would be a great day to start.
This is by far the best daily/weekly planning pad you absolutely need!
Excessive Planning
Excessive planning is another way to waste your time as a homemaker. As I said above, a lack of planning can be a way to waste your time, as can excessive planning.
Making lists upon lists and having multiple daily planners is the perfect recipe for wasting your time!
Often, you want to get things done, so you get stuck in a planning rut but never execute anything. You’ll also overschedule yourself and run into a lack of flexibility, making your days feel more like a burden instead of helping you out.
Indecisiveness
The problem with having too many choices or things that need to be completed is that you have to deal with being indecisive.
Being indecisive about cleaning or taking a walk, what to make for dinner, whether you should workout or skip it, etc, can make you feel stuck in a rut.
Sink full of dishes, but you know for a fact you would feel better if you went for a walk. Guess what? Just take a walk. The dishes can wait. Contemplating if you should work out, go back and look at your “why” you want to work out.
Make a choice. Don’t drag it on.
Common time wasting habits while staying at home
It’s essential to remember that none of these things mentioned above should be COMPLETELY avoided, but they should be put in their own place.
You need to start taking the reigns and controlling how you spend your time instead of the other way around.
Recap: Common time wasting habits while staying at home
- Waking up late
- Procrastinating
- Scrolling through your phone
- Excessive TV consumption
- Multitasking
- Playing the Comparison game
- Overthinking
- Lack of Planning
- Excessive Planning
- Indecisiveness
