One of the quickest and simplest ways to show yourself some love is to replace habits that don’t serve you with ones that do. In this post, you’ll learn how to locate time-wasting habits, and find a list of 40 things you can replace them with to improve your quality of life, one minute at a time.

“Inefficient” Does Not Mean “Time-Wasting”

When I was researching time-wasting habits for this post, I found that a lot of the existing articles on this topic consider “time-wasting habits” to be anything that doesn’t contribute to maximum efficiency in our lives.

I believed that bologna for a long time, but as I’ve stated in one of my recent posts, “The Downside of Doing Your Best”, performing to the best of our ability can be dangerous and detrimental if we don’t think critically about what “doing our best” even means. 

Performing efficiently as possible can be helpful at times, but there’s so much more to life than efficiency. So to structure our whole lives around it is to deny ourselves many other opportunities to live a meaningful and healthy life.

That being said, time-wasting habits are NOT habits that fail to maximize your efficiency. Time-wasting habits are those that detract from the meaning and quality of our lives (and the lives of the people we care about) instead of adding to it.

Time-wasting habits are all of the following...

• Passive ways to fill your time.
• Activities that don’t contribute to your sustenance, happiness, fulfillment, or well-being.
• Things that make you feel out of alignment with your values and vision for your life.
• Actions that leave you feeling worse after you’ve done them.

For most people, the biggest time-wasting habits involve scrolling through various social media platforms.  

In my case, this includes scrolling on my Twitter and Facebook feeds, as well as watching Snapchat stories about hair dying attempts and soap cutting. None of these things add meaning to my life, but I’ve given up so much of my valuable time to them. So now, I’m working to replace all of it with activities that are far more meaningful to me. 

Do you have any time-wasting habits that aren’t adding anything to your quality of life? If yes, join me in replacing them with some of these healthy alternatives.

40 Healthy Alternatives to Time-Wasting Habits

Note: The things that feel beneficial and meaningful to you may be different from the things that work for me or for anyone else, so choose your alternatives based on what will leave you feeling better at the end of the day. Also, since this is being published during the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve designed this list to only include things that can be done within the safety of your own home.

1. Read a page (or a few) of a book you’ve been wanting to read.

2. Check to see if Spotify or another music streaming service has an audio version of a book you’d like to read.

If it does, listen for a few minutes, and metaphorically keep it in your back pocket for the next time you’re feeling tempted to scroll. 

I’ve recently been listening to “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens, and the narration is awesome! 🙂

3. Care for your house plants (or look into getting one that is low maintenance).

Having plants around will help keep the air in your home fresher. Also, studies show that having plants in your home/workspace can greatly improve productivity and overall mood.

4. Stare at a tree for a few minutes.

This is something my partner told me to do when I was stressed out in college, it may sound silly, but it can inspire a lot of grateful and calm thoughts. This is probably the easiest form of meditation there is.

5. Reset by taking three long deep breaths and checking in with your body. 

When we get deep in our thoughts, sometimes we can’t feel what’s going on in our stomachs, joints, chest, etc. It can be a great benefit to your health to calm yourself with some breathing and then do a thorough “body scan.” Body scanning is also an easy type of meditation often used for stress relief, you can find directions for that practice here.

6. Try on your shoes or some other article of clothing. Decide which ones you like the most. Then see if you can find any that you’d like to give away or donate. 

This is a very low stress activity, but it’s a simple way to get in touch with what you like and don’t like and get rid of some extra clutter. This may also feel productive for those of you who crave checking things off your to-do lists.

7. Make yourself some infused water 

add some combination of fruits/citrus, mint, or cucumber. This is one simple way to get more nutrients in your diet, but it feels fun and fancy. I usually use berries with lime juice or mint leaves and lemon juice.

8. Try cooking a new but easy recipe in a crockpot.

Crock pot recipes involve little prep time and high reward. So you can feel like a chef without worrying about burning anything.

9. Journal about something simple you would like to have, brainstorm creative ways of getting it.

10. Journal about things you’re grateful for. 

Everyone would benefit from doing this more often. Especially since so many people are losing so much during this pandemic, taking stock of all the things you have the privilege of enjoying (rather than the misfortune of losing) is a great way to maintain sanity during these times.

11. Spend a minute sitting in silence, notice that in this moment, you are safe. 

12. Watch the clouds, try to pick out some shapes.

13. Draw/paint/color something.

Anything that places you in a creative mindset is healthier than a passive mindset. As Brene Brown says, “Unused creativity is not benign, it metastasizes. It turns into grief, judgement, sorrow, and shame.” If human beings are inherently creative as many scientists believe, then it would be a great benefit to our emotional health to find avenues of creative expression. 

14. Write a short poem about whatever is on your mind. Play around with the words and see if you learn anything about yourself.

15. Tell someone that you love or appreciate them.

16. Try out yoga or some other form of exercise.

Anytime you’re moving your body, especially if you have a long commute or are working from home, you’re doing yourself a favor.

17. Practice caring for your personal hygiene. (Ex. brushing, flossing, washing your face, clipping your nails.)

If you’ve been avoiding or neglecting any of these sorts of things, you’d benefit from making time for it.

18. Look up a short stretching video on YouTube, then stretch your body. 

Your back will thank you.

19. Make yourself some hot tea or coffee, enjoy it’s warmth.

If anyone tries to tell you this is a waste of time, kindly tell them to get a life.

20. Give a hug to someone in your household…

… if you have that kind of relationship with them. I recognize that not everyone feels safe with the other human beings in their homes.

21. Listen to some of your favorite bands.

Especially throwbacks.

22. Browse new music.

Make note of what you like about certain genres and how you feel when listening. If you’re not sure where to look, ask friends for suggestions!

23. Order prints of some pictures that bring up good memories.

I use Walgreens Photo Print App, it’s super easy to use and it let’s you select photos from your phone and pick them up the same day :).

24. Play solitaire or another card game that exercises your mind.

I’m a huge fan of card games because they can be both interactive and great exercise for your mind. My favorite version of solitaire is called “Streets and Alleys.” If you download the bicycle app they have directions for how to play that game and dozens of others.

25. Do a word search, sudoku puzzle, or a crossword.

This is my favorite way to reset before I return to my work

26. Make a grocery list, but add some healthy snacks to it. 🙂

Granola, yogurt parfaits, your favorite fruits, maybe some roasted almonds or pecans, whatever it is, choose something you can snack on that is not potato chips (or in my case, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos).

27. Play with something you enjoyed when you were younger, but haven’t touched recently.

28. Call a family member whom you haven’t talked to in a while.

Please pick someone you genuinely enjoy. You don’t need to call people you don’t want to talk to.

29. Call a friend whom you miss.

Show you care about them by sharing an update with them or asking them questions about their life.

30. Create clues for a scavenger hunt that involves meaningful locations/objects (and use them the next time you see your best friend).

31. Do some short and long term goal setting.

Daily, weekly, monthly. I’m sure you’ve heard this 100 times over, but setting goals can help you intentionally act in ways that are more aligned with what you want out of your life. So why not do it?

32. Decide on one or two new habits you’d like to work towards.

Then schedule in times for yourself to start practicing them. If you don’t schedule it, you probably won’t consistently remember to do it.

33. Learn something new.

Since it’s Black History Month, now is the perfect time to learn a bit more about important events and figures in Black History. Learning about these things will help us develop a fuller understanding of our nation’s history, since so much of it was glazed over or avoided in our schooling.

My partner and I recently received the Equal Justice Initiative’s “A History of Racial Injustice 2021 Calendar” which includes short historical entries and issues in our nation’s racial history for every day of the year. If that sparks your interest, you can find that for $6 here. (Note: I will not profit from any purchase of that calendar, I just love and support everything the EJI stands for.)

34. Perform a random act of kindness.

35. Question your inner critic.

When you’re facing harshness directed at yourself, look for evidence that your worries/self-directed insults are not true, or at least aren’t always true.

36. Think of someone whom you want to be a role model for. 

(Perhaps a younger student, sibling, a niece/nephew, someone you haven’t met yet?) Then consider how you might be a role model for them in a way that makes you proud.

37. Look for a place where someone in your life expresses a need, then fill it if you have the ability or resources to do so.

38. Reflect on how an ending in your life is also a beginning. 

If you’ve graduated, started a new job, lost someone you love, arrived at the end of your work day, etc. No matter how big or small, how is this present ending also a beginning? 

I find that this sort of reflection helps me feel more ready for whatever is coming next, but it also helps me honor whatever has come to an end.

39. Watch a movie that makes you feel something. 

My favorite movie for this, and it works every time, is Collateral Beauty (starring Will Smith and Keira Knightley), a movie about a man who questions the universe in the wake of a tragic loss, and does so by writing letters to Love, Time, and Death.

I believe you can rent it for $2 on Amazon Prime Video. Few people know about it, but I really thinks it’s a movie every person should watch at least once in their lifetime.

40. Get to know your heritage.

What’s good and meaningful about where you came from and the people who came before you? Pick out the things that you admire and find ways to carry on that legacy.

Finally, Reflect

Try out some of these list items the next time you feel yourself falling into time-wasting behaviors, and notice how it makes you feel. Compare that feeling to how you feel after doing your usual passive activities. Then ask yourself the simple question, “What do I prefer?” 

Odds are, intentionality and meaning will outweigh passive entertainment. And if it does, then you might be on the cusp of taking your life back into your own hands, one minute at a time.

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Did this post resonate with you? If so, I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send me a message to share your thoughts. For more uplifting content, check out some other posts on my blog, follow me on instagram @morgan_barbret, or sign up for the Self Love Atlas Newsletter!

Cheers, 

Morgan Rita Barbret