Focus and Mental Energy at Work

How to Stop Wasting Time: 9 Fixes That Stick

By Demir & Carey Bentley · August 3, 2026 · 14 min read

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Feel like your day disappears and you have nothing to show for it? You’re not alone. 90% of people waste time every single day, often without even realizing it. After helping thousands of people take back control of their time, I’ve uncovered the real reasons your time disappears—and the 9 simplest ways to fix it, starting today. Ready to stop wasting time? 

Short answer: You stop wasting time by removing the decisions, not by trying harder. Most lost hours come from an unplanned week, so your brain defaults to whatever is easiest. Plan the week once, give every priority a calendar slot, and cut the three biggest distractions. The willpower problem mostly disappears.

Let’s dive right in. Demir Bentley headshot Who am I? I'm Demir Bentley, co-founder of Lifehack Method and author of the WSJ bestseller Winning the Week. After burning out in a high-pressure career, I reinvented my lives and created a system that’s helped 100,000+ professionals at companies like Google, Uber, and PepsiCo work less and achieve more. Learn more here.  

💡Key takeaways

Here’s what you need to know upfront (because I know you’re busy): Ready to learn how? Here’s what we’ll cover:

Table of contents: How to stop wasting time

  1. Understand why you’re wasting time
  2. Set clear goals and priorities
  3. Create a daily schedule
  4. Block your time
  5. Use the 5-minute rule
  6. Avoid distractions
  7. Delegate tasks
  8. Learn to say no
  9. Take care of yourself
First, let’s start by understanding what it actually means to waste time – it’s likely not what you think. 
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What does it mean to “waste time”?

90% of people waste time at work but it's not because they're lazy. After studying hundreds of high performers, I've found that time wasting usually stems from three core issues:
  1. Emotional avoidance – You're dodging tasks that feel overwhelming or boring
  2. Lack of clear direction – You're busy but not productive
  3. Poor boundaries – You're saying yes to everything and everyone
Some habits make it worse, like: The good news? You can stop wasting time – now!

How much time does the average person waste at work?

The honest answer is more than most people would guess, and the research is fairly consistent about it:

None of that is a character problem. It is what happens when a week has no plan behind it. See the full breakdown in our time management statistics roundup.

9 proven ways to stop wasting time (that actually work) 

These are proven strategies that have helped thousands of my clients win back their time. Each method targets a specific type of time waste and how you can overcome it.  Visual that lists steps to stop wasting time

1. Understand why you are wasting time

Before you can learn how to stop wasting time, you first need to figure out why you’re wasting it.  That’s why the first step to stopping time waste is awareness. Most people underestimate how much time they lose on low-value tasks like checking email, scrolling social media, or reorganizing their desk. Here's how to do a proper time audit: Track everything you do for two weeks in 30-minute blocks. Yes, everything—including “quick” email checks and social media scrolls. Use a simple spreadsheet or app like RescueTime to log: Visual that shows how to audit your time What you'll discover: For example, one of my clients, Marge, didn’t realize she was wasting 11 hours a week on watching the news. Suddenly, she had a lot more time to spend with her husband and get more done at work.  Ready to find out where YOU are wasting time? Take a quick look here: 

2. Set clear goals and priorities

If you're not crystal clear on what you want to achieve, you'll stay busy without being productive. Ask yourself: What would ACTUALLY change my life or business if I did it this year? That’s what your goals and priorities should help you achieve. The best way to get there? Setting one SMART goal every week.  The SMART Goal framework stands for:  For example:  Then, prioritize the tasks that will help you complete them. My favorite prioritization methods are:  The Pareto Principle (80/20 rule): Ask yourself: Which 20% of my tasks generate 80% of my results? The Eisenhower Matrix: Sort every task into one of four categories:
  1. Urgent + Important: Do immediately
  2. Important + Not Urgent: Schedule it
  3. Urgent + Not Important: Delegate it
  4. Not Urgent + Not Important: Delete it
The Champagne Moment: Ask yourself: “What task is so important that if I accomplish it this week, I would celebrate with champagne?” Quote by Lifehack Method Here’s exactly how to figure out how to pick those priorities: 

3. Create a daily schedule

Here's a confession: For years, I'd start each week hoping I'd magically get everything done. Spoiler alert: It never happened. Everything changed when I started using what I call the Winning the Week Method. By frontloading our planning, I was able to map out each day so that I didn’t have to spend energy and time on figuring out my tasks on a daily basis.  You only need 30 minutes a week to implement the method.  Here’s how it works:
  1. Review the previous week (what worked, what didn't)
  2. Set 3 key goals for the upcoming week
  3. Break down big goals into smaller, actionable tasks
  4. Prioritize using the Champagne Moment technique
  5. Schedule each task in your calendar with specific time blocks
  6. Review and adjust as needed 
List that shows how to plan your week Pro tip! Turn your weekly planning into a ritual that you love! My wife Carey and I do it together every Sunday. See our exact ritual in this video: PS: Want to stop wasting time with weekly planning? Get our FREE Winning the Week planner here: 
LIFEHACK METHOD Win the Week worksheet A 30-MIN FRIDAY RITUAL
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Plan your week in 30 minutes flat

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4. Block your time and eliminate decision fatigue

A surprising thing you learn when trying to figure out how to stop wasting time?  You’ve actually got plenty of time – you just need to use it intentionally.  That’s what you can do with time blocking. And here are three ways to block your time: 

5. Use the 5-minute rule to overcome procrastination

The biggest time waster? Not starting at all. When you're staring at a long to-do list, your brain goes into overwhelm mode and chooses avoidance instead of action. To move past procrastination, I like to use a mental trick I call ‘Breaking the Seal’ – AKA the 5-minute rule.  Here’s how it works:
  1. Set a timer for 5 minutes
  2. Pick ONE task you've been avoiding
  3. Work on it for just 5 minutes
  4. When the timer goes off, you can stop or continue
The 5 minute rule Why this works:

6. Eliminate distractions that kill your focus

Here's a scary fact: Even a brief distraction can cost you 25 minutes of productive time. Think about it—every time you check your phone, read a notification, or respond to a “quick” message, you're not just losing those few seconds. You're losing the time it takes to refocus and get back into flow. To remove distractions, you’ll need systems like these:  Digital boundaries: Physical environment: Mental boundaries: Woman in White Top Using Black Laptop Computer While Leaning on Wall

7. Delegate tasks to get more done

Here's the mindset shift that changed everything for me: You're trying to do more important work with the time you have.  Delegation and outsourcing isn't about being lazy. It's about focusing your energy on tasks that only you can do while freeing up time for what matters most. And the best tasks to delegate?  And to delegate effectively:  Beyond work delegation:  Don't forget about personal tasks. We've been delegating household tasks like laundry, meal prep, and grocery shopping for years. It's been a game-changer for our family time and stress levels. But delegating well is a skill in itself! Here’s how to do it well:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwtUbF7K4xQ

8. Learn to say no (without feeling guilty)

Every yes to one thing is a no to something else. The problem? Most people say yes by default and wonder why they're overwhelmed. So, learn to say no.  How? Before saying yes to anything, ask: And then turn down the other person respectfully and kindly. Try these sentences:  Ultimately, learning to say no can have a profound impact on your life. Just take our client Corina, a busy director of a software company, who didn’t feel like she was progressing on her bigger goals.  Once she learned to say no, she became a more present mom and launched a speaking career she had been dreaming of: 

9. Prioritize self-care as a productivity strategy

Practicing self-care isn’t a luxury. Instead, it’s foundational for your productivity.  When you're exhausted, stressed, or burned out, everything takes longer and requires more mental energy. Research shows that proper self-care: Want those same benefits? Use these strategies:  Sleep optimization: Physical movement: Proper nutrition: Mental restoration: self-care practices to implement today

How to implement these strategies in the next 30 days

Week 1: Awareness Week 2: Structure Week 3: Boundaries Week 4: Optimization Man in Black Dress Shirt Sitting on Chair in Front of Laptop Computer

FAQs about how to stop wasting time

What if I'm interrupted constantly at work? 

Protect your focus with simple shifts: block quiet work time, silence notifications, and set “do not disturb” boundaries. Even a 30-minute block of protected time can dramatically boost your output.

What is the biggest time waster?

The biggest time wasters are often invisible. They include distractions like social media, multitasking, unclear goals, and emotional avoidance, like putting off tasks that feel overwhelming or boring.

How do I stop wasting time on social media? 

Social media is designed to steal your attention and it’s really good at it. The key isn’t just willpower, but building barriers. Use tools like Freedom, StayFocusd, or Screen Time limits to block apps during work hours. Turn off notifications, move apps off your home screen, or delete them completely during the week. Then, replace the scroll with a habit that actually recharges you, such as a walk, a podcast, or journaling.

How do I stop wasting time and be productive?

Start with one week of planning rather than a new app. Pick the single priority that would make the week a win, put it on the calendar before anything else, then batch your shallow work into two fixed windows a day. Most people recover four to six hours in the first week just from that.

Why do I waste so much time even when I have a lot to do?

A long task list with no order is paralyzing, so the brain picks the easiest available action instead, which is usually your phone. That is avoidance under pressure. Giving the list a sequence and a schedule removes the moment of choice where the waste happens.

What method does Lifehack Method use to stop time waste?

Lifehack Method teaches the Winning the Week Method, from Winning the Week by Demir and Carey Bentley, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller. It is a 30-minute weekly planning ritual: review the week, choose one leveraged priority, then schedule every task into a real time slot so nothing runs on willpower.

Get more done starting TODAY!

You now have 9 proven strategies to stop wasting time and start making real progress on what matters most. But here's the thing: Knowledge without action won’t get you far.  I've created a simple worksheet that walks you through the most powerful time management strategy, the Winning the Week method.  It's the same system that helped us write a book, grow our business, and travel the world while raising our family: 
LIFEHACK METHOD Win the Week worksheet A 30-MIN FRIDAY RITUAL
FreeWORKSHEET
Free Worksheet

Plan your week in 30 minutes flat

The Friday Ritual 100,000+ entrepreneurs use to walk into Monday already winning. Get the PDF + a 7-day setup guide.

Instant download No spam

If you would rather not do this alone, that is what Lifehack Tribe is for. Members run the 30-minute Friday Ritual live with a coach every week, which is the difference between knowing these nine strategies and actually using them past week three.

See how Lifehack Tribe works

Read more: 
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Written by

Demir & Carey Bentley

WSJ & USA Today bestselling authors of Winning the Week and founders of Lifehack Method. They help high performers get more done in less time, without burning out. More about us →

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