Using Wasted Time

One thing I’m trying to do at the moment is making sure I'm using my time wisely. I’m very easily distracted, and very good at procrastinating. 

It takes me 15 minutes to walk to the Leek clinic from my house. I make this journey 4 times a week, so I have a total of 1 hour of dead time here.

It takes me 30 minutes to drive to the Ashbourne clinic from my house. I make this journey 6 times a week, so I have a total of 3 hours of dead time here.

4 hours a week of commuting, time that I have very limited options for what else I can do with it.

One thing I have started doing again is listening to audio books, instead of listening to music or the radio. I don’t listen to fantasy novels, and I don’t count them towards my goal of reading 40 books this year. I listen to self help, self development, and educational style books, to help enrich certain areas of my life. 

I find that audio books are often narrated quite slowly, so most of the time I can listen to them at 1.5x speed and still take in all the information I need. This means that during my 4 hour commute time each week, I can listen to 6 hours worth of audio books.

I listen to these styles of books because I want to keep learning. According to Malcom Gladwell, it takes 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to become a master in something. Being only 2 years into my career, I am certainly not at that level yet. This means that I have a lot more to learn, in a lot of different areas. 

Listening to an audiobook on my way to work also helps me prepare myself for the day. It means I arrive at work in the zone and ready to go. It also means that when I get home from work, I don’t feel guilty about doing whatever I want to do. I’ve done all my work for the day and more, so I can enjoy my evenings, usually reading the fantasy novels I’d rather be reading during the day. 

Obviously this won’t work for everyone. Some people work from home, some people don’t enjoy listening to audiobooks, there's hundreds of reasons (or excuses) why this won't work for everyone. But even 5 minutes a day of listening or reading something that is going to enrich your life and help you do and be better, it all adds up in the end.

Read 2 pages whilst you make a cup of tea. Listen to 5 minutes of audiobook whilst you're in the shower. Listen to 5 minutes whilst you warm up in the gym. Listen when you take the dog for a walk. Read for 5 minutes before you waste hours on social media.

There’s plenty of wasted time in your day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it effectively. 

 

If you're stuck for inspiration or don’t know where to start, next time you come in for your visit, ask your clinician what they’re currently reading, or pick up one of the books in our waiting rooms in the clinic.