Why You’re Wasting More Time Than You Think (And How to Fix It)

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Table of Contents

Podcast Description

Managing endless tasks and decisions can leave you feeling overwhelmed and drained. In today’s episode, I’m diving into how to manage time as an entrepreneur by eliminating the hidden time-wasters that slow you down.

You’ll learn actionable time management tips for entrepreneurs to stop wasting time and regain focus on what truly matters in your business. Tune in and start creating the efficient, productive workflow your business deserves and needs!

Links Referenced in Episode:

▶ Taskflow Magic

Connect with me:

Website | Instagram

Episode Transcript

(Note: This is a formatted AI-generated transcript to make it easier for you to read through, but is not an optimized blog post. Please excuse any spelling or grammar errors and filler words – it’s just how I speak LOL)

Episode Intro

Hey, I’m Lucy Reyes, your host of the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast, where I’m on a mission to help online entrepreneurs like you focus on the right things and say goodbye to overwhelm. Here, you’ll learn strategies that will boost your productivity so you can scale your online business and impact lives sooner. It’s your time to shine, so let’s get started!

Hey hey, welcome back to the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast! Listen, I know you’ve probably been feeling like you don’t have enough time, but the truth is, you’re likely wasting way more time than you realize. That’s some tough love, I know. I get it—I’ve been there. And I also understand the frustration of hearing the phrase, “Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day,” because I know that not every 24 hours is the same. However, we do only have 24 hours.

So, we have to figure out how to manage our time in the best, easiest, and most efficient way possible because we have a lot to do. We have a lot going on. If you’ve ever sat down to work and spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out what to do first, or if you’re still doing tiny manual tasks, then yeah, this episode is for you. The real problem isn’t a lack of time—it’s how you manage the time you have.

Today, I’m going to break down where your time is slipping away and how you can reclaim it with one powerful shift.

So, there are some time-wasters that you probably don’t even notice. You might think they’re not a big deal, or you might not realize how much they’re impacting your time management and productivity. Let’s talk about them.

Time-Waster #1: Decision Fatigue

I don’t know where I read this before, but I remember reading that a human being makes thousands—yes, thousands—of tiny decisions every single day. Should I do this or that? What should I cook for dinner? Should I add veggies? Should I use a pen or a pencil? So many tiny decisions! And all of that adds up.

Every time you stop to decide what’s next in your business or what tasks to do, you’re losing time and mental energy. Instead of working, your brain is sorting through options, second-guessing priorities that you’ve already established, or re-deciding things that you’ve already planned out.

You might have just listed your priorities without putting much thought into them, and now that it’s time to act, you’re not sure if they’re still your true priorities. So, you’re essentially re-deciding everything. This is not how we want to spend our time.

What you want is a system that tells you what’s next—not your brain. Your brain doesn’t need to tell you what to do every single time. You wear a lot of hats—you’re the CEO, the social media manager, the email marketer, the blogger, the podcaster, the YouTuber, and so on.

You need to rely on systems to tell you what’s next so you can be confident it’s the right thing. Pre-plan your task flow whenever you have a chance. Write down everything that needs to be done and invest the time to do it. That way, next time you sit down to work, you already know what to do, and you know it’s the right thing to do because you’ve put in the effort upfront.

Time-Waster #2: Holding Onto Tasks You Don’t Need to Do

You don’t need to be the one doing everything. You’re probably spending time on tasks that don’t actually move your business forward. And yes, I’ve been there too—sometimes I’m still in it. This is something I remind myself of often, and we all need these reminders.

We like to think we’re the only ones who can do things just the way we want. This isn’t just true for business. If you have kids, a spouse, or a partner at home, you might feel the same way about household chores—you might think, “I’ll just do it myself because no one can clean the dishes as well as I can,” or, “I’m the only one who knows how to do this.”

This mindset shows up in many areas, including your business. Inside Taskflow Magic, my new course, I teach the ADE method, which helps you ask yourself three important questions:

Can this task be automated?
Can this task be delegated or outsourced?
Do I even need to do this, or is it just on my list because it’s a habit or something I’ve always done?

These questions will help you trim the fat so you can focus on the tasks that actually move the needle in your business.

Now, I know when I say you don’t need to do everything, your brain might automatically go to delegating or outsourcing, and maybe you’re not ready to hire yet. If that’s the case, it’s even more important to have systems in place that help you work more efficiently as a solopreneur.

But if you already have a VA or someone you outsource to, that’s great—you can take even more off your plate because not everything needs to be done by you.

Time-Waster #3: Task Rewinds

How often do you find yourself needing to go back and fix a task that you thought was done? Whether it’s correcting a mistake, filling in a gap you missed, or remembering something you forgot to do. How many times has this happened to you? I know I’ve raised my hand—it’s happened to me too.

Every time you hit the “rewind” button, you’re losing valuable time and momentum. Now, you have to go back, fix what was broken, redo the system, or rework the task. This causes a spiral because you didn’t take the time upfront to figure out what needs to be done step by step.

When you’re constantly having to go back and redo things, it’s like starting from scratch every time. You’re losing time and energy, and you’re rushing to get things done so you can get back on track. But when you rush, guess what? You’ll probably make another mistake, which means you’ll have to go back again.

So, how can we avoid this? By creating a task flow that includes detailed steps along the way. Every task, no matter how small, needs detailed steps to ensure nothing falls through the cracks and you don’t miss important details.

Sometimes you need to slow down to speed up. I know that sounds counterproductive, but it’s true. You can’t go full speed all the time, especially when creating systems and task flows. Take the time to make sure your systems will take you from A to Z as efficiently as possible.

A solid task flow will keep you on track and help you avoid any task rewinds, even if you’re juggling multiple projects. Trust me, it’s worth it.

You didn’t start your business to spend more hours on things that don’t matter, right? You have limited time to work on your business because you have other things happening in your life. So the real shift is going from managing tasks manually, holding on to unnecessary tasks, or always figuring out what to do next, to building a task flow that works for you. One that will remove all those unnecessary time drains.

Your time is worth more than you think. You probably already know that, but it’s time to prove it by investing a little time upfront to work smarter and more efficiently. You don’t need to keep putting out fires and getting sucked into time-wasters.

If you’re ready to stop wasting time on decision fatigue, task rewinds, and unnecessary tasks, Taskflow Magic will help you streamline your process and build simple, actionable task flows that save you time and energy so you can focus on what truly moves your business forward.

Click the link in the show notes to join Taskflow Magic at cheerstoproductivity.com/taskflow, and let’s make this time-saving shift together.

Recap: The three hidden time-wasters that are probably sucking up a lot of your time are:

Decision fatigue
Holding on to tasks you don’t need to do
Task rewinds

The simple fix? Create detailed, flexible, simple, and effective task flows. I’ve got you covered inside Taskflow Magic.

If you have any questions, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram at @cheerstoproductivity. Otherwise, I hope to see you inside Taskflow Magic. I’ll be back for another episode soon!

Thank you so much for listening to the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast with me, Lucy Reyes. To view the full transcript and all the links mentioned in today’s episode, visit cheerstoproductivity.com/podcast. And before you go, make sure you follow or subscribe wherever you’re listening so you’ll know when the next productive chat is released. Talk soon and cheers to your productivity and success!