I have spent many, many nights wondering how the day passed by without me getting any work done. It feels as though my body went through the day while my mind was somewhere else. While this experience has many causes, I realized that a major contributor to it is Time Voids in my schedule.
What are time voids?
Time voids are chunks of time which you have not decided what to do in them. And since there is no such thing as living through time without doing anything, you fill this time with meaningless activities, such as surfing the web, checking emails, re-checking emails, re-re-checking emails (you get the idea), flicking through TV channels, etc.
There are 3 main problems with time voids:
– The activities you use to fill the time are meaningless and, therefore, don’t contribute much to your life
– The time void usually doesn’t have a designated start and end times, and so you can continue doing the same meaningless activities for hours on end without realizing
– You develop habits that come to haunt you even during the times you’ve set for productive work. You might check your emails while working because it became a habit to check your emails regularly.
Now, to be clear, surfing the web isn’t always a meaningless activity. You might have 15 minutes you want to spend relaxing, and decide to go through some sites you enjoy. This can be a convenient recreational activity that helps you focus better when you get back to work. But a time void is when you have not intentionally set the activity you want to do based on a meaningful purpose. With a meaningful purpose you know exactly why you are doing what you are currently doing. In a time void, you are simply doing something to fill the gap in your schedule.
To avoid time voids in your schedule follow the 3 easy steps below:
1- Fill your schedule with meaningful activities
2- Incorporate fun/recreational time slots into your schedule that help you relax and sharpen your focus
3- Set a time limit for your break times, and make sure you don’t exceed their time