We feel very guilty about any time we waste, but the truth is that the life you spend answering emails out of obligation is really boring, and the wasted time is very productive and necessary.
In The Guardian, British journalist Oliver Burkeman notes that American author Merlin Mann has been hired to write a book about the straightforward email system. But two years later, he gave up on the endeavor, writing a now-deleted blog post to explain how he had spent so much time concentrating on being productive that he had missed out on priceless opportunities to spend time with his daughter.
The issue arises when you spend too much time frantically trying to be productive and forget to take actual breaks, sleep less, stop going for walks or reading a book by the window. If you can manage the time away from hard work, your mind will remain preoccupied with the things you should be doing, which makes the experience burdened with guilt.
Instead, you tend to gravitate towards the least productive option among them all, which is sitting at your desk in front of the computer and browsing websites. This does not serve productivity or your personal happiness.
Wasting time means recharging your energy and arranging your thoughts
Michael Guttridge, a psychiatrist who specializes in workplace behavior, says there is "this idea that we should be free and work all the time." Going to the park after work is challenging. However, the negative effects are obvious because you end up daydreaming while using the computer, find social media to be a distraction, and deceive yourself into thinking you are multitasking when in reality, you are spending much longer than necessary on simple tasks.
In addition, you miss out on the advantages of spending time on yourself for your mental and physical health. Guttridge claims that it is very unappealing that people often eat while using computers at work. Even the old factories used to schedule rest periods, so they needed to take a walk to the coffee shop and take a break from work.
“You don't even have to put in a lot of effort,” according to Alex Soojung-Kim Pan, author of REST: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less. The English novelist and essayist Charles Dickens, the Spanish novelist Gabriel Garca Márquez, and the British geologist and historian Charles Darwin all had very relaxed work schedules; they worked five hours a day or less, and the truth is, work stretches to fit in the allotted time, and most of us can spend fewer hours in the office and do the same amount of work.
Read also: 5 Tips to Stop Wasting Time
Even enjoyable things like watching a movie or going for a run occasionally make you feel burdened by responsibility. Guttridge claims to have heard of businessmen accelerating videotape while watching movies in order to maximize profits. Maybe they'll make it. But they undeniably miss taking in the cinematic world.
He continues, “Wasting time means recharging your batteries and organizing your thoughts.” Ultimately, taking time off will enhance your performance at work and be advantageous to you overall.
Even much-maligned TV can be enjoyable if you sit back and take it in. One study found that those who describe themselves as lazy and spend too much time in front of the TV find it less enjoyable.
Conclusion
Everyone enjoys relaxing at the end of the day by reading a magazine, going for a walk around the neighborhood, or just doing nothing.
We should use these times to our advantage by being productive, and we should actually count them as productive time.
Add comment