Friday, October 05, 2012
Top 20 Time Wasters and the Top 5 Worthwhile Activities
lifehack.org: As we all shift gears back into September routines, this is a great time to take a look at how you spend — and waste — your time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
This article is incredibly judgmental and subjective, and I take HUGE issue with some of its points. Yes, some of the things on the "Time Wasters" list are valid: we waste a ton of time doing nothing on facebook, watching netflix, going shopping (if that's your thing), and having affairs (i guess...?).
HOWEVER, we all prioritize different things in our lives based on our interests, personalities, and lifestyles. To say that "reading junky books" and "exercising" are time wasters in the same breath that you say "being in nature" and "worrying less" are worthwhile is entirely subjective. Some people relax by going and staring at the big blue sky out in a field, but maybe some people find sitting at home reading a "junky" book with a mug of tea even better. Both are valid forms of relaxing and "worrying less" and to say that one is a just a silly, frivolous time waster and the other is the epitome of worthwhile endeavors is hugely judgmental of people's choices. I'm not saying that reading the multi-volume collection of Chelsea Handler's life should take up every hour of your day, but going outside and laying in a field for a day might be just as much of a time waster. All things in moderation, but I think it's vastly unfair to qualify what those "all things" have to be to be considered worthwhile.
This article is absolutely ridiculous and I do not agree with more than half the points made. Yes some of these are valid points, but more often than not, they are subjective....
I agree highly with facebook and shopping...and affairs, too...I notice this in myself a lot. I should delete facebook, but it seems the one way that almost everyone in my generation connects with each other.
I DO NOT agree with many of these including Photo Taking, Grooming, and Momento Collecting. In the design field, photo taking can be one of the most crucial things in life. Documenting and remembering something can always help you in the future...whether you know it or not. Grooming....If you look good you feel good...Especially in the live performance field, you are constantly being judged on your appearance...Its better to take five extra minutes some times than to roll our of bed looking like a mess....Also, It is often a great idea to "Dress to Impress" for a meeting/interview. Therefore, extra time may be needed.
Although some of the points in this may be valid...I highly disagree with many of the points as well.
While I agree this list is almost entirely subjective perhaps there is something that can be gained from it. The items in the top “20 Time Wasters” list are things that can take up a LOT of time, often much more time than we anticipate. If you asked most people how much time they spend on their personal grooming, and then look at how much time they actually spend, the second number would likely far surpass the first. Perhaps a better title for this list would be “Time Eaters” or “Time Black-Holes”, as most of them are things that take up much more of our time than we are conscious of. When we are super pressed for time and every waking moment ought to be put toward getting things done, these items would be the first to cut out. Take for example commuting. I enjoy walking to school, but it takes about half an hour. Biking, though I enjoy it slightly less, takes only 10 minutes. Choosing to bike to school saves me 40 minutes per day, which amounts to 3 hours and 20 minutes per week that I could be spending on something else. Walking may be better for my overall sanity, but purely in terms of time, it is a waste.
I sort of disagree with the way this article is structured. The things in the "Top 20 Time Wasters" list are things that are time-wasters only if you spend too much time on them. This article should spend more time acknowledging that fact that many of these "Time Wasters" are actually great way to make yourself a little happier in your day or to take a mental break when your work gets to be too much. Sure, all of these activities can become time wasters if you focus too much time and energy on them, but they are not inherently time wasters and all have a bit of positive value (i.e. cleaning the house is not only productive but also is a great release/mental break for some people). I will gladly admit that I do waste time doing some of these things, but I think I simply need to cut back on doing some of these activities as opposed to cutting them out of my daily life completely.
I think the comment about momento-gathering is interesting because I wouldn't classify it as a time waster so much as it fills up space that could be better used for something else. I disagree about personal grooming and all the other comments about personal life being a time waster, such as exercise and affairs. I think this should go hand in hand with eating good food, slowly, which people should make time for according to this article. Many people work so hard and sacrifice personal hygiene for their work which is very unfortunate. People should not lose sight that taking care of themselves should always come before taking care of their work. This of course should be taken in moderation like everything else, and skipping a good night's sleep in the middle of some larger projects in understandable, but on a regular basis, personal hygiene should be observed and other personal life factors should be observed.
UGGHHHHHHH. It seems that my response to this article was similar to those who have already commented. The author's points are entirely personal, subjective, and way off base. None of the things he listed as time wasters necessarily fit into that category and some of them had huge overlaps with his worthwhile activities. The article was abrasive and rude and utterly unhelpful. Reading it was a waste of my time. What is or is not a waste of time should be determined on a personal level. It's hard to make an overarching list, and this one is just absurd. It's not so simple as a list. It is individual.
Wow, this article is so subjective! I can see how any of the things mentioned could be time wasters but so could 20 other things. Top 20? Maybe, but that is also subjective. The being sick one is rediculous! Sure, you can work on staying healthy by doing some of the other time wasters, but more often than not, you were exposed to someone else's germs and bingo! You're sick. I found myself quite pleased at the fact that I rarely do any of the top 20 in the first place. Now that's not necessarily good in my opinion because, for example, I should exercise more and should clean my house more. Most of the others, I just really don't do at all, or at least very little. Being a student at Carnegie Mellon forces you into not being a time waster. I have my days of procrastination like everyone else, but I consider that a normal way of dealing with everyday stressors. One persons time wasters are anthers worthwhile things. I say do what makes you happy as long as the end result is your desired goal.
I would agree with Cat. I find this article extremely judgmental, and not at all useful. Whatever good points the author might have made about facebook, television and video games are completely outweighed by the ridiculous bashes against cleaning, accounting, grooming, and reading. Whoa. I think this article would be much more successful had it made the argument about balance. And ANYTHING in too many doses is unhealthy. She failed to expound upon the fact that spending too much time in nature is just as neglectful to your obligations as spending too much time on facebook or youtube or whatever. While facebook is a huge timewaster in most cases, and in my life as well, it is a major strategy for connecting to those to love, which is encouraged at the end of the article. I don't think a facebook post replaces a phonecall, a handwritten letter, or a meeting in person, but it's a means that's convenient for sustaining connections over long distances. I wish at the end there were included something about actually sending handwritten mail in lieu of text messages...that would have been much more productive.
I agree with many of the other comments on this page. This article is subjective to a fault. The author thinks that his ideas about what is a waste of time and what is a good use of time apply to everyone. I for one find it very relaxing to play video games, but this author thinks that one of the only ways to get more relaxed is to look up at sun light coming though green leaves. I think it's great to share what sorts of things you enjoy with other people, but I don't think that it's right to tell others that your ways are better, more effective, or in any other way right compared to theirs.
Just the other day we had a class all about how to be more productive with our time by planing it out and learning what sorts of time we are wasting that we don't need to be. For example the few minutes in between classes.
Now that I'm thinking about this article and that class together I'm thinking that maybe I can use those small chunks of wasted time to do things that I personally find a worthwhile activity.
I think that this is a very broad list. Yes a lot of these do make time wasted but i think its very general and quite frankly dumb. Generally people set time aside to do these things and organize there time in such a way that its not being wasted while doing it. Also just the word wasted itself is very subjective checking facebook or getting coffee and exercising isn't wasted of someone thinks its necessary and important.
These 20 things are things that I love to do. In fact, when I am done with all of my tasks for the day and I have my “me” time before I go to bed, I will usually do one of these things. This may make me a shallow person, but my the goal of my work day Is often to get to these things. I do agree that when they are done when I should be working that they are used for procrastination but often I work all day just so I can relax and do these things.
The thing that stood out the most to me while reading this article, apart from the fact that it's way too opinionated, is that a lot of the solutions to not waste time were, pay someone else to do it! Ya okay, so this article is essentially telling us that only those of us with extra money lying around are going to be able to spend quality time with our friends and family, doing fun and healthy things for the sake of being happy. After reading this I feel more confused than anything, since apparently some of the essential things in life are a waste of time. Overall a poorly constructed article, which is bummer because I was hoping to learn how to waste less time.
Wow, this article is so subjective! I can see how any of the things mentioned could be time wasters but so could 20 other things. Top 20? Maybe, but that is also subjective. The being sick one is rediculous! Sure, you can work on staying healthy by doing some of the other time wasters, but more often than not, you were exposed to someone else's germs and bingo! You're sick. I found myself quite pleased at the fact that I rarely do any of the top 20 in the first place. Now that's not necessarily good in my opinion because, for example, I should exercise more and should clean my house more. Most of the others, I just really don't do at all, or at least very little. Being a student at Carnegie Mellon forces you into not being a time waster. I have my days of procrastination like everyone else, but I consider that a normal way of dealing with everyday stressors. One persons time wasters are anthers worthwhile things. I say do what makes you happy as long as the end result is your desired goal.
What is this article? I genuinely do not understand this author, if they were delirious when they were writing this or if they just had to fill a quota or what. Almost all the things they listed as “bad for you” are not purely bad for you. Yes, watching too much TV can be bad for you. I learned that this summer when I did nothing but watch Netflix and hang out in my room all day, everyday. It made me feel terrible! But here, at CMU, I never have time to watch TV anymore. At all. A month in, I realized I hadn’t opened Netflix at all because I was so ridiculously busy. That’s not healthy either. I need time to wind down, relax, and spend a couple of hours doing nothing but watch TV or hang out at a coffee shop, or dye my hair, shop, play a game, etc, etc!! This is completely ridiculous. Also, in my opinion, the author contradicts themselves with their list of “good time killers.” What is going on.
Post a Comment