How to Detox Time Wasters

You know it’s the New Year when your newsfeed is flooded with self-proclamations of everything everyone is going to do differently. Whether it be health, money, or career related, we all know the drill. Admit it. In your head you catch yourself doing the exact same thing this time of year. Isn’t it ironic how quickly the end of the year shifts gears between reflection and gratitude to nitpicking our lives apart and making a laundry list of to-dos or more importantly…to-don’ts? I know for me, my list is mainly compromised of to-don’ts for one reason. Time is precious and not guaranteed. This year for me is about detoxing my time wasters (along with my body, my closet, my office, and pretty much every other room in the house). 

A long time ago I heard someone say, “if it doesn’t serve you, move on,” and it really stuck. Not serve you in the literal meaning like your waitress at Applebee’s, but more of a beneficial serve. Think about it, how many times do we throw things we get absolutely no gain from out the window? For me, I think about when I sit down and put on the TV and how many minutes, which coincidentally, lead up to hours, I spend scrolling trying to find something to watch. “Oh nothing I want to watch? Ok, I’ll just sit here and watch something mindlessly instead. Well now I’m invested, I’ve got to see what happens.” Sound familiar? Time sucker. Pick up a book, close your eyes, make some tea, do something for you which serves you. Real Housewives don’t serve, they suck (time).

Remember when I mentioned our flooded newsfeed? Yep, you guessed it. Think about how much time you might spend refreshing, scrolling, finding nothing, and putting your phone down. Repeat. I’m guilty of this, sometimes I don’t even realize I’m doing it. Do you think our grandparents woke up, swiped their screen and refreshed their newsfeeds all before their feet hit the floor? Doubt it. Find enjoyment in waking up and being selfish. Make breakfast, watch the news, stretch. Do something that will set you up for a positive day.

I hate referring to purposely acting selfish, since it has a negative connotation attached to it. I like to think of it as “firmly making up my own mind.” For example, instead of always being the “yes” person (like yes I’ll make something for the party, yes I’ll come to the shower, yes I’ll watch your kids, etc.), who is always doing things whether they want to or not, be truthful, yet polite. It’s okay to admit you’ve got too much on your plate and you just don’t have the time or the energy. And while helping others does serve you, you have to make sure to serve yourself first.

The list goes on and on with things we can cut out to help free up our time, but what’s that time good for if we don’t have value instilled in it? I hate to suggest doing something every day because that seems intimidating, so let’s try every other? Every other day, consciously do something for yourself that serves you, even if it’s being still, because sometimes that’s the biggest relief of all.

What would you do to serve yourself if you could free up a little extra time?