Like many people, I get excited when I find a few dollars in the pockets of pants or jackets I haven't worn in a while even though I know the money was mine to begin with. The proverbial place to find spare change is in one's couch cushions, but the sofa you see above is new, so I haven't lost anything there yet.
In fact, this post isn't about finding money at all. I've been thinking about places I find bonus time. Sometimes people ask me how I get so many things done, and the answer is by finding wasted time and not wasting it.
I should probably talk about what I mean by wasted time. I don't think that spending time with friends is wasted. It's not always true that scrolling social media is a waste. The way I evaluate whether or not I've wasted time is when, after I've done something, I feel better or worse for having done it. When I hold my use of time up against the goals I have and the lists of items I want to accomplish, do I feel that the time was well spent?
At one point, my father (Hi, RG!) told me that there are three steps to changing a habit.
- First, right after you've done something, you think, "Drat, I wish I hadn't done that."
- Second, while you're doing something, you realize, "Oh, I shouldn't be doing this."
- Third, right before you're going to do something, you think, "I better not," and then you don't do it.
I would argue that the same system can work for not wasting as much time. If when you finish doing something, you think, "Well, those are hours I can't get back," remind yourself of that feeling the next time you start that same activity. Maybe the subsequent time, you'll be mid-activity and you'll think, "Oh, I'm going to regret having spent my time this way." If so, cut it short. Stop right away. Eventually, as you start to do something you think is a waste, you might say, "I don't want to do this. There are other things I'll feel better about getting done now."
The connection to couch cushions is this: sometimes, we trick ourselves into thinking that if we have only a few minutes, we might as well do things that are mindless or fun rather than the things we value. That's not true because our time in finite. Whether you waste it or spend it wisely, you can't get your time back. Even in little pockets of a minute here and a minute there, we can get closer to our goals. The 300 seconds here and 120 seconds there add up to lots of moments we can use as we wish.
Where have you found pockets of time you can use in productive ways? Any suggestions for the masses? Please share your thoughts in the comments.