Is there really such a thing as 'wasted' time? Or are you rather choosing to do what is most important to you in *that* moment, what your body and/or mind is calling on you to do?
The truth is that there will always be things we can do - cleaning, DIY, tidying up paperwork, doing that 'bit more' work to get ahead of yourself. But what's so wrong with having a lie in, taking yourself off for a walk or sitting and just reading? What's wrong with just taking a break?
Many of us are racked with guilt if we do not fill each waking second with something 'productive,' if we have 'too much free time' as a reporter interviewing Bucks Fizz on TV said this morning...but why?
'Wasted' time can lead us to make some of our most creative insights. Did you know that Charles Dickens, Gabriel García Márquez, and Charles Darwin all apparently worked for no more than five hours a day? Look what they managed to achieve.
The importance of taking breaks on our overall happiness and wellbeing should also not be forgotten.
But instead of taking a proper break we end up 'distracting' ourselves in ways that mean we can still be sat at our computers, at our desks. We mindlessly browse social media, justifying it by telling ourselves that we are 'multitasking.'
There's a sense that we must always make ourselves available for work and with technology being as it is, it is difficult to draw those boundaries. Many even struggle to step away to grab lunch, choosing instead to eat at their desk.
Sometimes even when we are doing something to relax, something for enjoyment, such as watching a film or going for a run, we still find it impossible to switch off. Our mind keeps on wandering to other things we *should* be doing, instead of just embracing the moment and recharging our batteries.
Yet there is no such thing as 'wasted' time. If it's what you need to do in the moment, then it is time well spent.