Every one of us has heard this much-stressed phrase about time, Time is Money. Lets talk about it.
This means that time which an intangible asset of life is like money. It is limited to one day we all have to die. All work activities that we do also have a completion time or deadline.
If it is spent progressively and productively, it will help you gain wealth both in physical terms and metaphoric. This money can also be in the form of knowledge, education, and experience. But if we waste it, we are going to lose our wealth.
Opportunity Costs:
Many experts in the philosophical and psychological disciplines emphasize this phrase in a more tangible term. They relate it to the concepts of economics that encompass the opportunity costs of doing things. It means that time is a very valuable asset and if we do not use it, we will lose the monetary and non-monetary benefits that we could have gained if it was properly utilized.
This means that we need to spend time on activities and efforts that give us fruitful results and outputs.
We know it but we do not care for it:
Although this phrase came from a visionary leader of the past named Benjamin Franklin, it has now become like a famous proverb (used a lot in the company where I am working right now – Wadic | Web, App & Software development Company). All of us must have spoken or used this proverb sometime in our lives. But developing the true understanding of this concept and implementation of it in our practical world is not that easy. In fact, knowing the great importance of time, we still tend to waste a lot of it, sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously.
Below are some common reasons why people waste time knowing fully well that it is limited and valuable like money:
- Unwanted interruptions:
When we are working at home or in an office, we are not alone, we are part of a larger environment that consists of people, machines, animals and many other stakeholders. During our work, we may be interrupted not just once but several times due to different reasons. Some of these may be important while some may be useless.
But the overall result of these unwanted interruptions is that we lose valuable time, which we could have spent on productive work otherwise.
Like already stated, not interruptions are time-wasting, some might be productive as well. Like, for instance, a customer walking in with a big bank account or large purchase. Or, if your neighbor comes to your house to help you do the dishes. In both cases, the time used for meeting the person will not be a wastage but productive with fruitful results.
- Socializing and Relaxing:
Many people find it easy to shirk work by spending time with coworkers and socializing with unnecessary people around them. This means that instead of spending your valuable time doing work, you would rather sit back with a friend or co-worker and have a cup of coffee or simply chat your way around doing nothing.
In doing so, you are not only wasting your own time but also the time of others. The reason for doing this is simple. Relax and do not work.
- Inability to figure out priorities:
Many times we are unable to classify our work-related activities according to their level of importance and urgency. Setting priorities helps us in making work decisions more effectively. But when we are unable to do so, we remain confused about our work and often waste it on activities that are unnecessary and non-productive.
- The Internet or Social Media:
One of the worst time wasters of the current era is undoubtedly the internet and social media websites. Almost every person in this society is using smart devices and are connected to the internet 24 hours are a day. Whether they are work, at play, at a college or any other place in the world, using social media has become a necessity for all.
These unproductive surfing sessions of the internet and scrolling down the screens to look at what is happening in other people’s lives wastes our precious time which could have been spent in a useful manner.
With instant messages and chatting options, we are disrupted again and again by these websites and which eat our valuable time.
Conclusion:
These were only a few reasons why people waste their time while at work or at home. However, there are many other reasons for this wastage as well. Sometimes we simply do not feel like working or we are too lazy to do anything.
It does not matter what is the underlying reason for wasting time. We should value time without any factors compromising its significance. Because time is money and wasting it would only bring bad things to life for us.