These are the 8 time wasters that own my entire existence in 2025 and the dumb stuff i’m doing to fight back. no bulletproof system.
- “just one quick scroll” lie: open tiktok for 30 seconds. blink. it’s been 47 minutes.
fix: deleted the app. only use it on the old iPad in the kitchen drawer. have to walk. works most days.
- tab hoarding (i currently have 84 tabs open, send help): 84 tabs right now. one is from 2022. send help.
fix: new tab = close three old ones. laptop stopped screaming. win.
- saying yes when my soul is screaming no: someone asks “can you hop on a quick call?”. And my mouth says “sure!” while my brain files for divorce. people-pleaser disease is real.
fix: phone note says “NO IS A COMPLETE SENTENCE COWARD”. read it before replying. used it twice. progress.
- perfectionism (aka procrastination in a fancy hat): spent 40 minutes picking a font yesterday. nobody noticed.
5-minute timer. when it dings i hit send. world still turns.
- meetings that could’ve been a group chat: zoom calls where we just stare.
fix: reply “send agenda or i’ll catch recording”. most invites vanish. magic.
- “one more episode” syndrome time wasters:never one. never two. suddenly 3 a.m.
fix: remote lives on the top shelf. need chair to reach. laziness wins.
- waiting to “feel like it” spoiler: never happens.
sticky note says “start ugly”. another says “momentum > motivation”. both coffee-stained. still work.
- no shutdown ritual time wasters (just work bleeding into 1 a.m. netflix panic). I used to keep slack open “just in case” and then hate myself at 2 a.m.
fix: at 7 p.m. (or 7:42 p.m. on bad days) i do the same three things:
- write tomorrow’s 3 tasks
- close laptop dramatically
- put phone on the charger across the room then i’m not allowed to touch work again till morning.
I wrote half this post while eating cold pizza and refreshing my ex’s spotify playlist for some reason. But these 8 things have given me back like… actual hours. some weeks.
