Time-waster

He is invisible, constantly creeping up on us from behind and ambushing us. He is a mean thief. But he understands his craft perfectly. And he is ubiquitous: the time thief.

We are hopelessly at his mercy if we don't watch out like hell. Yes, it's hard to resist him. But if we don't stop him, he'll do whatever he wants with us. He's everywhere: at work, in the household, in everyday life, and he even disrupts our private lives, stealing our time even in our sleep. The nasty thing about him: he's invisible like a ghost.
We are losing so much precious time through him for the truly beautiful things in life, for which we then simply have no time left. How pleasant it could be if we had more time for family, for our partner or spouse, for the children, for leisure, our hobbies, or simply for everything that brings us joy.
Our lives offer so much potential for saving time in all areas. Just think about how and what time can be saved. Modern tools can help us with this, as can simply better self-organisation.

Time-wasters lurk everywhere. Especially in today's modern age with smartphones, laptops, computers, tablets, and the internet, we are tempted everywhere to do things that are absolutely superfluous. We sit at the computer, and the first thing that hits us is a flood of emails – mostly useless advertisements. Oh well, that can happen to us offline too, when we get our hands on the weekly advertising paper stuffed with advertising supplements.

We sit down at our laptops with the intention of writing a book or making an online bank transfer. What do we do? That's right, we browse the internet on the side, check the news, chat with friends, or look at the numerous offers that arrive via email. Instead of disciplining ourselves and concentrating on the work, the time thief has caught us out again. It's as tempting as the special offer in the supermarket that we take a closer look at.

We lack clear structure, proper self-organisation, discipline, and consistency. Specifically, the kind needed to effectively defend ourselves against time-thieves.

Who are the Time Thieves?

Who is actually robbing us of our precious time? Who are these robbers?

It all starts in the home. Whether it's cleaning, cooking, laundry, washing dishes, drying, food preparation, personal hygiene and much more, they all prevent us from enjoying life because we coordinate these tasks poorly. We go about them aimlessly. If we thought things through properly, we could save a lot of time for the really nice things in life.

Then come our dear neighbours, who constantly draw us into useless conversations. It's the many people who don't know what to do with their own time and then steal other people's time. Often, we can't say no out of politeness; that's precisely what we need to learn. To politely and kindly, but firmly, put an end to useless conversations.

It's continuing on the way to work or school.
From kindergarten to the workplace. What a waste of time this is. We think too little outside the box and don't come up with time-saving solutions.

At work, there are many colleagues who force trivial conversations on us, distracting us from our work, which we then have to make up later. Or insufficient work organisation demands far too much of our time.

Our friends and relatives email or text us. We feel obliged to reply to everything straight away.

When shopping, we don't proceed with enough purpose and planning, but rather dawdle around the many offers. Instead of consistently working through the shopping list, we succumb to the allure of super special offers and waste our precious time unnecessarily.

We take care of everything ourselves and waste a lot of time doing so because we're simply not experts in numerous areas. For example, we struggle with a blocked drain, even though a professional would fix it faster. Or we assemble a shelf ourselves when we lack the necessary manual dexterity. We're so stubborn and want to do everything ourselves, even though this prevents us from engaging more with our partner and enjoying that time, such as watching a good film together at the cinema.

In particular, the internet is a huge time-waster. Most people are very undisciplined here and let themselves be robbed of their time by the flood of emails and chats. We cannot concentrate on one thing, namely the most essential, work. We repeatedly fall prey to the temptation to do unimportant things. Just calculate how much time is spent daily just on reading emails and messages, on chats, on messages and the like.
We simply don't understand how to block the flood of advertising emails so that we're not confronted with them at all. You'll be shocked and realise how much time is taken up by them. It's also so tempting. Right next to the text you have to write, there's the internet, which you can dip into now and then. Once the computer is switched on, programmes like chats and messengers open automatically. You're constantly being clicked on and compelled to respond, forgetting your work and becoming unfocused.
As well as the loss of time, there's also a loss of quality.

In our own business, we have so much potential for saving time. Especially at the beginning, we still want to do everything ourselves and don't trust our employees much. But especially when we are self-employed, clever time management is incredibly important. Here, time is truly money. And with this time, your business will either be successful or not.

Further time-wasters are dear relatives who call us, visit us and ask for help. Then there are the many people who always want to corner us for a chat. We are, after all, polite and decent; we don't want to offend our loved ones.

Our own organisation or lack of it, our haphazard actions and the manifold duplication of effort are other robbers. We often act without thinking and play the hare-and-hedgehog game day in, day out. The hare constantly toils and pants, while the hedgehog takes different, more cunning routes and is simply more intelligent. After all, it can't dart about as quickly as a hare and has to think of something else. It's like an ageing football star. He knows the runs and the passes and doesn't have to chase every ball like the young players. He plays more intelligently, thus saving time and energy, just like an older, experienced tennis player.

The commute to work could be organised more effectively. We don't always have to drive ourselves and alone in the car, which also creates stress. One can get to work by bus, train or bicycle or form carpools and read or listen to the news during the saved time.

The technical equipment in our household is outdated, and some processes should be better coordinated. We are struggling with old washing machines, dishwashers, toasters, irons, ovens, lawnmowers, and vacuum cleaners, losing valuable time in the process. Technical devices at work could also be updated and help us save a significant amount of time.

We go to gyms with outdated equipment that is useless and time-consuming. Instead of choosing a modern training room and paying a bit more money (time is money!), we are being stingy. Just calculate the value of your lost time.

Disorderly appointment scheduling at the doctor's, hairdresser's, or physiotherapist's robs us of further hours. We wait endlessly and kill time in the process.

Although we use modern communication tools like smartphones, tablets and laptops, we're not making the most of their potential. We could get much more out of our devices if we just took the time to recognise all the possibilities. These will truly help us progress and free up time for the enjoyable things in life, like making the most of our leisure time.

However, our own communication behaviour often wastes precious time. We beat about the bush and fail to get to the point or express ourselves clearly, to define our wishes precisely. We waffle. The other person doesn't understand us and has to ask for clarification. We don't dare to speak plainly and pursue our concerns with purpose. Instead, we resort to polite restraint. And we use outdated methods, writing endlessly long Christmas letters to all manner of friends and relatives.

How many long journeys could we save ourselves if we coordinated appointments better? Sometimes it's also better to invest a bit of money so that you have time for your partner. You don't have to go everywhere; have the hairdresser or beautician come to your home. That's a good investment in your improved quality of life.

As much as the internet robs us, it also offers just as many conveniences on the other hand. We just need to recognise and implement them. It helps us save a lot of time. Our smartphone also offers diverse possibilities with disciplined and consistent use. More on that later.

We can also make life easier for ourselves in childcare. If we fully utilise existing resources, create synergy effects, for example through agreements within our circle of friends and acquaintances for the journey to kindergarten or school, with homework supervision and leisure organisation. There are many people with the same interests or problems, but someone has to take the initiative and organise it. Making agreements and thus freeing up time is the order of the day. Otherwise, time-wasters will dominate us here too. We want to gain time in our children's childcare without neglecting them. So, you also have to be able to let go, hand over your own children sometimes and have them looked after by others. This is called outsourcing in the business world, delegating tasks to others who have the time for them and, if necessary, are even paid for it. This also includes critically examining all your ways of acting – what can I outsource, what can others take off my hands, what don't I necessarily have to do myself?

If we have to drive ourselves anyway, we might as well be smarter about it. We waste time by unnecessarily overtaking others, only to have to wait at the next red light anyway. Smart driving means recognising and exploiting situations, in other words, driving cleverly and saving time.

How do we stop the time thief?

Here you'll learn how to best manage your time and get the most out of it for yourself, to enjoy the pleasant
Dedicate things in life. Fight your way free from time-wasters. See how to do that here now:

You need to reorganise your household tasks. Coordinate individual processes and work steps more effectively. For example, if you're already preparing breakfast, you can simultaneously complete a few steps for lunch or dinner. Since you're in the kitchen or at the stove anyway, you avoid double work and streamline your workflows – this also applies to cleaning and laundry. When cleaning the flat, you can use the vacuum cleaner to free several rooms from light dust at once, or clean large areas with a damp mop. Meanwhile, there are even robot vacuum cleaners that you can let run in the background while you clean window sills and panes. This saves a lot of time. You can also free up hours with laundry. Ensure the washing machine is always full and combine wash cycles for different types of laundry. More modern, newer appliances work much more efficiently and save time. Sometimes investing in new household appliances is worthwhile not just financially. Utilise high-tech in the household. Delegate tasks, such as to a cleaner or domestic helper, childcare provider or homework assistant. You can also outsource certain activities in the household. You don't have to do everything yourself. Just think about washing curtains, the time-consuming ironing of shirts and blouses, carpet care or upholstery cleaning. Professionals do this faster and better – you save time to plan more enjoyable things with your family and partner and to enjoy life. So, get rid of your disorganisation in the household.
Our dear neighbours are so important and we don't want to upset them. But still, say no to yourself more often. What do we talk about? That's right, the weather, politics, and all sorts of neighbourhood gossip. Politely and diplomatically cut conversations short by always having an excuse ready, such as having to keep a doctor's appointment or that the child is waiting for you at school.

Just think about how often neighbours stop you from working, steal your time, prevent you from enjoying your true life. Say a nice „Good day“ and then always invent a plausible excuse – „I'm running late today, my husband is already waiting for me at his workplace!“ Or: „Sorry, my wife is at a pregnancy class, I urgently need to pick her up there.“ Take your time back. Neighbours are important. You have to get along well with them. Who knows what use they might be for someday. Sometimes you need them if you suddenly feel unwell or want to borrow a lawnmower. Neighbourly help is valuable. But pointlessly long conversations just rob you of your time. That's why a nice greeting is always important, but nothing more. What happens to you with neighbours can also happen with friends and relatives. Meaningless conversations or phone calls with parents, grandparents and siblings, but also with good friends, steal an infinite amount of our time.

Recognise the importance of such talks and get straight to the point. Remain friendly and obliging, but don't be overly long-winded. You should also reduce mutual visits to the bare minimum. Avoid boring encounters or obligatory visits. Make a meeting intense, but not too frequent. A heartfelt encounter resonates far better than constant meaningless meetings. Don't constantly feel obliged to do things that go against your will. This is one of the biggest time-wasters. We do things every day out of pure politeness, but you can't buy anything with that anyway.

Build a good rapport with the receptionist at the doctor's and schedule the most precise appointment possible to avoid spending too much time in the waiting room. Do the same with your hairdresser, nail salon, physiotherapist, or chiropodist. Your appointments need to be spot-on to save time. Gather all necessary tasks like post, banking, or shopping, and then conjure up a plan to complete them systematically and with focus. This is also known as private work organisation. Never throw yourself blindly at the nearest task; it will only cost you time. Also, put things off more often. Not everything needs to be done straight away. But postpone strategically and intelligently. Learn to distinguish between what's important and what's not. Blind activism simply costs us far too much time. Don't become driven; instead, drive your fellow humans and supposedly important tasks before you.

One more thing is important:

Always react calmly and collectedly. Because in the face of disasters, mistakes, or other terrible events, we act wrongly and lose a lot of precious time. In a panic, we rush headlong into solving problems without thinking. We act impulsively and take a roundabout route. Our wrong decisions have to be painstakingly repaired.

Whilst we have all the modern means of communication such as the internet, computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones, we are far from utilising the full potential that all of this offers us. We are too quick to settle for the applications that are most necessary for us, overlooking the fact that the technical equipment can save us much more time. Since we have them anyway, we should engage with them a bit more intensively. Certainly, it costs time initially. But as with any investment, you first have to put something in – money or time – and then you gain all the more.

For example, consider the software installed on your devices. You could handle your correspondence faster, write your texts better, use voice software that writes down everything you say; you could keep your household accounts, make calculations, set up a mailing list or newsletter distribution that automatically sends the same letters or messages to hundreds of recipients. Use your laptop as a calendar, reminder function, alarm clock or birthday list.

Calculate your expenses and income, use your device for accounting. Send voice messages instead of typing them out yourself and then making typos. Set up an autopilot for your online shop that handles everything – from ordering to payment to shipping – without you lifting a finger. An email program with an automatic reply function or out-of-office notification, and complete address and greeting features, saves a lot of time.

Do you notice now where you can make life easier for yourself and save time? There are far more possibilities. You can manage your digital photos, save your favourite music once and then always have it to hand; you can find template letter templates online for all sorts of matters. Use the World Wide Web for everything – for finding a doctor, as a source for addresses, as a phone book, for research, looking for hotels and flights, for the opening hours of your pharmacy or supermarkets, for ordering goods; you can even book a mail re-direction request online, just as you can handle all your banking transactions. You don't even have to rush to the employment agency or the pension insurance, you can submit all applications online, you can even submit your tax return online. In the past, you had to dash to each individual office and also plan for long waiting times there. Today, you sit comfortably at your computer and take care of it from home, whenever you have time. While you're online anyway, why not bundle all the activities you can do via the web. This way, you'll gain a lot of free time, which you can spend with your loved ones or in the hammock in the garden or even on an extra holiday that you've managed to get as a result of time saved. Use modern methods and devices in all areas of life.

Do you know what the biggest time-waster is nowadays? The internet, of course. It's so tempting to immediately grab your laptop or PC, or your smartphone and tablet, and then all sorts of programmes open up automatically. Whether it's messengers, apps, chats, emails or social networks, we're immediately bombarded with messages and advertising. Anyone who lacks discipline here and is startled by every ringtone will lose masses of time. We're anchored in several groups simultaneously, and everyone adds their two pennies' worth to every trivial matter. But we're wired in such a way that we have to open and read everything straight away. This just distracts us from our actual work.

Just open your inbox after waking up. You'll be shocked to discover that over a hundred messages have arrived overnight, most of them junk mail, but we still have to delete them. That alone takes up a lot of time. Or do you want your inbox to overflow so that really important messages can't even get through because you've exceeded your storage space? So we have to deal with the daily rubbish too. Not to mention the spam folder, which we still have to check at least to see if anything important has accidentally ended up there. Anyone who has their technical device set up to open everything automatically will be overwhelmed at first and will spend hours sifting through pointless stuff. And when we finally get to work, it's so tempting to take a quick break and wander off onto the internet to read the latest news. The World Wide Web is constantly distracting us. We need to unplug more often and go offline to make focused progress. Set aside a specific, precisely measured amount of time each day for the internet and all the chats. Be consistent and disciplined, otherwise you'll lose precious time – or are you married to your laptop and the internet? Exactly, you wouldn't keep your sweetheart waiting, would you?.

Furthermore, there's something else: modern communication methods also offer us a great deal of time savings, yet very few people make full use of them because they simply haven't grasped it yet. For example, we can set up our laptop or smartphone like an autopilot and automate responses to every message. We don't have to painstakingly type out messages; instead, we can speak them much faster with a suitable program, which, incidentally, sounds much more personal. We can listen to messages or entire books and no longer have to read them ourselves. While you're driving to work, have an eBook read to you and listen to it on the bus via headphones. The mechanical voice sounds a bit choppy, but we understand it and the content nonetheless. If you sell goods online, set up your online shop via autopilot so that you no longer have to strain yourself.

While you sleep, your system does everything by itself, you essentially earn while you sleep – from ordering and payment to delivery. Make your life easier with the help of the internet and clever programmes, and above all, save a lot of time. Then the web can be a blessing. Make full use of all possible programmes, send emails to an entire distribution list at once to everyone who should receive them, instead of writing to each individual. Whether it's accounting or calculations, presentations or graphics – the internet and the computer will save you a lot of time. Of course, you have to invest time first and familiarise yourself with the programmes; afterwards, you only gain. But always show iron discipline, otherwise modern technology will become a time-sink.

It is also a matter of personal organisation, how one sets oneself up and controls oneself. Consistency is paramount, otherwise time-saving will not work. Another point to consider urgently: in addition to losing time, there is also a loss of quality. Under multi-tasking, we make mistakes because we cannot be equally attentive everywhere. Anyone who chats with three people at the same time will eventually not even know who they e-mailed what to and will send out messages to someone that were intended for another. If we then also write texts on the side, inaccuracies creep in. This will not be optimal work.

Anyone who owns or is building their own business must be clearly structured. Here, time is truly money. If you get more enjoyment from computer games than selling them, then you'd be better off leaving it and becoming a successful gamer. You can only survive as a businessman or businesswoman if you focus your time optimally on making money. Work is work and spirits are spirits – which means nothing else but: you only have free time when the job is done. This includes personal structure. You must be cut out for taking care of your business and nothing else. That takes precedence, because it's about your survival.

In some circumstances, you may also be responsible for your own employees. Their jobs must not be jeopardised by your poor time management. Therefore, give your new business the right structure from the start. Every workflow must be thought out and coordinated with one another, like a major construction project. Many self-employed individuals think they are finally free, have no boss anymore, can do as they please, and control their own working hours. This is only partially true. Especially at the beginning, you are using your capital of time intensively.

Those who cannot invest much money must, however, at least sacrifice their time. This applies particularly to an internet business. You often tinker with it for ten or fifteen hours a day to get your business up and running. But once it works and you have it optimally set up, you save a lot of time. And you need high motivation, a strong will, a goal, yes, even dreams. Because you want to gain time for your family, your partner or your husband, to enjoy life together. For this, your business must eventually become self-sustaining. Then you have succeeded.

We've already spoken about our dear relatives in another context. Actually, they just wind us up constantly. They desperately want to visit, after all, it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. Aunt Frieda moans on and on, and we know exactly: she's stealing our time. But there's something else on top of that. We also have to prepare for their visit. Yes, that's right, her painting, which she gave us years ago, is gathering dust in the cellar. It absolutely has to be hung on the wall again before Aunt Frieda arrives – what a stress, and how much time is uselessly wasted on it. We really don't want to offend Aunt Frieda. And it's the same with all grandparents, siblings, and our own parents. We are, after all, well-brought-up people and do what our dear relatives expect of us.

Think about it: do you live for your relatives or for yourself? Organise a big family reunion once a year. It shouldn't matter to you whether they like each other or can't stand each other. One wash-up and things are good for another year, and you've saved a lot of time. Keep phone calls brief, give a concise overview of your family's developments – oh yes, Tom got an A in German, Lisa is playing the piano now, and the dog Beppo ate too much and was sick. Your husband has been promoted, and you yourself have dyed your hair. That's enough, and you've excitingly brought the relatives up to date without necessarily having to visit them. That's how you save time privately.
Discard all politeness and diplomacy, you are only wasting time. Be completely selfish when it comes to your own lifespan. Your relatives can shove it. This is about you. Apart from the fact that you are (unfortunately) related to them, and if it's by many degrees, you have nothing to do with them.

Avoid a foul mood, as grumpy, negative, and depressed people have a life expectancy up to nine years shorter. You also have to convert the time factor into lifespan. You want to live a beautiful and long life, ideally. So, save your time. Of course, you can achieve more lifespan through a healthy lifestyle, but don't overdo it.

Eat healthily, exercise, don't smoke too much, and above all, don't drink too much alcohol. Statistically speaking, all of this will extend your life, but it's not a given. There are no guarantees. However, you don't necessarily have to constantly cheat your own body; that would be the best and easiest way to a short life – short, but intense, which can also be a life philosophy. In this eBook, however, we want to focus on the time you gain, with which we can make our lives more beautiful and live them to the fullest.

We are poorly organised personally, or sometimes not at all. We don't plan enough and kind of act blindly. We lack a proper concept of time and we go down double and triple paths just to get through our daily routine. Even life must be planned. After all, a lot of time is lost there. We need to find smarter ways, think outside the box and not always just tread well-worn paths. Instead, we're constantly playing the Hare and the Hedgehog game with ourselves. We become rushed. The hedgehog is smarter, it has to be, because it's naturally slower. So it comes up with tricks, it's always there rested when the hare comes running, exhausted with its tongue hanging out. Think strategically, forge a daily and weekly plan. Give your personal life structure. Anyone who doesn't organise their studies properly as a student won't get them done.

Some degree courses simply require a logical structure. You can't start with the major criminal law exam before the minor one, or tackle lesson two before lesson one. It's that simple, so structure yourself accordingly. Order is half the battle, as every child knows. And manage your energy. Draw on more life experience. Take your cue from the aging professional footballer who no longer needs to sprint down every channel that a young player, out of inexperience, simply still does. The experienced kicker knows where the ball is rolling or where an opponent is likely to pass it. With his brains and experience, he places passes so that his teammates are brilliantly and promisingly set up and can take the final shot. Even a tennis player who's getting on in years doesn't need to lunge about as much.
Brains and saving time is the motto here.

How much time do we actually waste on our commute? We drag ourselves through rush hour, through traffic-clogged streets, past red traffic lights, only to finally arrive and then have to search for a parking spot. We're annoyed and stressed. Can you really start your workday optimally like this? Hardly! Yet, you could make things much simpler and save time. Set up carpools – one person drives and takes three other colleagues along, who can listen to music or read the news during the journey, have an eBook read to them, or sift through their emails on their smartphone. You can even perfect a presentation you have to give at the office that morning while on the road. You can entertain the driver with world news. Alternatively, you could simply look for other, more convenient, faster routes. What do you think about switching to the bus or train? You'll arrive at your workplace feeling refreshed and use the time on public transport to listen to your favourite music or have a book read to you.

You can tinker with daily and weekly schedules during your commute to work, optimise your shopping, plan your next holiday. Make the most of your travel time, which you're otherwise spending uselessly. Fill these idle periods with other things you'd have to do later anyway and would then have to dedicate time to. We perform so many steps simply out of habit and never think about optimisation. But this is precisely where we waste time. Use your mind and abandon your instinct, your time-consuming habits.

We are struggling with outdated equipment, machinery, and cars, all of which consume energy and time. There are vacuum cleaners that clean faster and more thoroughly; you can even use robots for this now, and use the saved time for other tasks. Modern washing machines clean faster, ovens cook quicker, and there are even robot lawnmowers that mow the grass automatically. Invest in new appliances and save a lot of time. Coordinate individual processes better. While eggs are boiling on the hob, the washing machine can run or the tumble dryer can dehumidify our laundry. You can also outsource certain chores in the household – just think about the annoying task of ironing shirts. Laundrettes offer completely different time-saving options. Invest a little money to buy yourself precious time.

Even at work, you can upgrade your technology and save a lot of time in the process. Make the purchase of new equipment appealing to your boss by showing that such an investment pays for itself quickly and even generates additional profit. Slow, outdated computers or printers hinder workflows for colleagues as well. Even newer software makes life at work easier. Even in gyms, we can strengthen our muscles better with new equipment and reach our goals of a toned stomach or weight loss faster. Convince the operator to acquire better fitness machines. Then, he might also gain more customers. You would probably also be willing to pay a little more if you could get fit faster for it.

In the office, appointments with specialists are organised and optimally coordinated. But in our private lives, we act completely uncoordinated. We don't coordinate our daily tasks. Whether it's the doctor or the hairdresser, shopping or the bank, a new appointment for every errand. Why don't we make a plan and get all four tasks done in one go? Calculate how much time you could save.

Our own communication style can sometimes be quite complicated. We simply can't get to the point quickly and instead beat around the bush, dancing around the subject. We also suffer from procrastination. We leave unpleasant tasks like paying bills or filling out questionnaires until the cows come home, until it's almost too late and the pressure drives us. Then we become flustered and waste a lot of time in a disorganized way. The deadline pressure makes us panic and then we go over things twice or three times. Procrastination in itself isn't a bad thing, but you have to procrastinate intelligently and keep an overview. Don't let everyone pressure you.

Aunt Gertrude can also wait another week. You can combine the obligatory visit to your Aunt with other errands in one trip. That's much more efficient and saves time. A wise man from America even said once: „There are many different ways to fail in this life. The surest way is to want to do everything immediately.“ Even the key to sustainable success is procrastination. Sometimes we also just talk too much instead of acting. Don't discuss every little detail with your partner. You can also make some quick decisions yourself and tick them off. Endless discussions waste so much time, and in the end, you’ll get the same result anyway. Act quickly and be results-oriented. Think beforehand about what you want to achieve – and then get down to business.

Learn to express yourself clearly so that the other person understands you quickly. Your language must be clear and comprehensible to everyone. Also, define wishes more clearly („I absolutely want to see the new James Bond at the cinema tonight!“). Try to convey emphasis. It is your absolute desire, and only that will make you happy today. Your partner can then decide whether to jump on board or do something else alone. Put your cards on the table. Don't beat around the bush („I would actually like to... tonight...“ or „Maybe we could... together tonight...“).

This, precisely, leads to endless, drawn-out discussions and misunderstandings that rob you of precious time. Be firm, not evasive! Shed your genteel reserve and diplomacy. Don't confuse your counterpart either. Don't write a personal Christmas greeting to every relative or friend. Letters can be phrased to still sound personal but to be sent out a hundredfold more time-efficiently. Use all modern possibilities for this type of communication as well. Record messages or greetings on your smartphone, sing a song, send photos or videos. This is quicker to accomplish and has a wow factor. It's not the cheap greeting card that's been sent out repeatedly for twenty years. Our time has become more modern, better, and faster, so adapt and become the same.

In our jobs, we coordinate and optimise our work to save time – so why not in our private lives? Instead, we take long, complicated routes. We don't structure our daily routines and go to the bank separately, to the post office, to the supermarket, to the dry cleaner's or to the hairdresser's. If we combined several errands into one trip, we could save a lot of our precious time. We would have more time for our families, for our partners, and could participate in the good things in life. Instead, we lack the time for exactly that. It's called „planning is half a life“ for a reason. There's really something to that.

With a good plan, we can save half our lifetime and then enjoy it to the full. In our private lives too, we can delegate, outsource and offload tasks. Have your blouses or shirts washed and ironed; you know yourself how time-consuming that is. The hairdresser and nail/foot care specialists will also gladly come to your home for a little extra money. You, however, save the journey and the time. If you can afford it, hire a cleaner for a few hours – especially for the time-consuming task of washing windows. It’s easier to hand over curtain and carpet care to external providers. It’s better to invest a little money in your quality of life. This is a good form of investment and yields returns in the form of time.

We've already discussed the internet in another context. As much as it offers us numerous conveniences, which we must recognise and utilise, it is, however, also a great time-waster. We need iron discipline. Therefore, set specific times when you will go online, otherwise turn it off. It always tempts us to play around and waste time uselessly. Try it out; it is possible to do without it. Also, feel free to tell your friends that you are not available 24 hours a day, but only at precisely defined times of the day. Then they will also adjust to it. Anyone who has something urgent to discuss with you can use other means, for example, by calling you. You know it from yourself; you write a text and interrupt your urgent work to quickly check emails or read messages.

The best thing to do is go and work somewhere you don't have any internet at all, then you won't be tempted. And if you do have the World Wide Web at work, simply switch off all chats, messengers, and the ringing for every email you receive. Because every sound will startle you and tempt you to take a look or even reply. Switching off acoustic and visual signals is an important measure. Just as your desk shouldn't be overloaded with all sorts of distractions, so too the internet shouldn't prevent you from getting on with your actual work. It robs you of precious time that you'll miss later for your quality of life. And it's exactly the same with your smartphone. Put it on silent when you have important things to do. Don't constantly fiddle with your device. Especially for people who have a tendency towards gambling addiction, this is an ideal time-waster. Recognise this and counteract it.

Childcare also involves a lot of wasted time because it's also very emotional. We want to be the best parents and give our children the best possible care. But have you ever thought about how much of that actually gets across to your children? They're often already thinking about other things, about toys and their friends. You're spending far too much unnecessary time. Make it easier for yourselves. Organise carpooling and childcare co-operatives.

Bid your child a warm farewell at the front door and have them picked up by a neighbour who is also taking her little one to kindergarten. Take turns.

This is also known as making full use of available resources and creating synergy effects. Join forces with other parents and share the workload. Then everyone gets a break and can get other things done. If three or four parent couples team up, you all save a lot of time. This can also be organised for the school run, for homework or tutoring, and even for doctor's appointments. Set up joint playdates and plan childcare for leisure activities. This way, your children can also find new friends and playmates. Find a babysitter so that you can go to the cinema or for a meal in the evening.

Optimise your daily commutes and journeys. Whether you're driving to work, taking the children to school or nursery, going shopping, or running errands like visiting the authorities, doctors, and other necessities – save yourself plenty of time in any case. Make the most of journeys that are already on your to-do list by combining them with your shopping, returning borrowed books to the library, collecting shoes from repair, posting mail, withdrawing money from the bank, and so on. Make a plan every day and avoid making the same trip twice. You can also organise carpooling for the journey to work. What's faster – driving your own car or taking the bus? Sometimes, you might even be better off cycling. How much time do you waste if you always make extra trips? Simply organise yourself better. Think a little before you blindly set off again.

Time thieves lurk everywhere at work. Whether it's a bad, uncoordinated work organisation or bored colleagues who constantly steal our time through pointless conversations. Workflows are not aligned. This results in duplicated work. We can optimise this ourselves by streamlining our own work and saving a lot of time in the process. We have to be more effective than our colleagues. Or simply submit a suggestion for improvement. Make it clear to your boss how much potential savings your suggestions offer and thus save the company a lot of money. Protect yourself from colleagues who steal your precious time. Remain nice and polite, say hello, but avoid employees who just want to chat so they don't have to work. „Sorry, I'm working on an important project right now and have to go to the boss straight away!“ The boss trick always works, it deters others from stealing your time. Don't get involved in every office gossip. „We can gladly talk about it later, but I absolutely have to get back to work now, my client is coming immediately and wants to see the quote.“ Get your colleagues to understand over time that they shouldn't disturb you at work with unnecessary conversations. You're happy to discuss a work-related problem and help with a quick solution – but no more than that, true to the motto: work is work, booze is booze. Others are welcome to drink alcohol after work, but without you. You can also arrange to chat after work.

We've already spoken about friends and dear relatives in a different context. Now we also feel constantly obliged to respond immediately to emails, texts, letters or other messages. Essentially, we've become slaves to our own communication system. Tell yourself this more often. Feel free to leave emails lying around; we don't need to be available 24 hours a day. Don't become hounded.

Take the time, at a specific point, to go through all your emails at once and then respond with focus in one go. Constantly checking our mail robs us of an infinite amount of precious life time. The postman only comes once a day at a specific time. Tell yourself this again and again. Your friends and relatives can also wait. Turn off the speaker on your smartphone or laptop so that the annoying ringing doesn't relentlessly distract us from our actual work or steal our time.
Keep telling yourself: "I don't deal with my physical post immediately either, it can also wait." Why on earth do we react so frantically to electronic mail? Besides the wasted time, we also lose our concentration. We are constantly interrupted in our work, and mistakes inevitably creep in. Our texts, which we are currently writing, don't get any better because of this either. Or consider other tasks, in the household, in the kitchen, at work, while driving – we lose concentration and make mistakes. How much working time is spent on this when we constantly reply immediately to any old messages or chats? So much has become trivial. Someone posts their lunch – so what? Or what's the point of the cinema ticket that someone puts online? Ignore all of it and save a huge amount of time for your truly good life.

Everyone knows: you never go shopping without a shopping list, because it saves a lot of money and even more time. Don't waste time browsing all the special offers unnecessarily. Work through your list purposefully and don't stay in the shop any longer than is strictly necessary. Choose the checkout that will be free the soonest, or simply use the express checkout for just a few items. Be a complete egoist in the supermarket and don't get drawn into any unnecessary conversations. You should have realised by now that these supposed bargains are a trap. Resist all temptations in the supermarket; they will only steal your precious time. Or, you could simply ask a neighbour to bring you what you urgently need. That way, you'll save even more time. In some shops, you can even order online and have the goods delivered to your home. That's how you save time on tedious shopping nowadays.

We aren't specialists in every area, but sometimes we want to be and want to do everything ourselves. Let's take inspiration from the business world more often. Outsourcing is the magic word here. We hand things over to professionals who can simply do it better and faster. We don't have to build our website on the internet ourselves, optimise the page for search engines, lay out the garden ourselves, paint the house, pave the driveway to the garage, clean the clogged drain pipe in the toilet, repair the broken toaster, wallpaper the rooms, change the oil in our own car ourselves, teach the children, cut and dye our own hair or perm it, assemble a shelf, iron the laundry, and so on.

Aside from carrying out such tasks inadequately and making mistakes, we also waste far too much time because we simply don't know the time-saving techniques of a specialist. Delegate more in your private life too. We are so stubborn and want to do everything ourselves, even though it's precisely this that prevents us from engaging more closely with our partner and enjoying that, for example, watching a good film together at the cinema.

Have you ever found yourself consumed by furious jealousy? How much time do we waste on these pointless reactions when we're jealous of our partner – for example, after an argument or a breakup? We spend so many thoughts considering what they're doing now, who they're with, where they are. Yes, sometimes we stalk around like a dog in its territory, go near places where we suspect they might be, observing an ex like a stalker. Jealousy robs us of so much time in this way. We still imagine a chance and want to be near them. We ponder all the things we could do, secretly call to find out if they're at home.

We play detective, think up gifts, write letters or emails, send flowers or simply follow them.

Recognise quickly where there is nothing left and where the relationship is truly at an end. Realise this and accept it. Draw a line and don't waste any more time. You have to know when it's truly over. Tell yourself again and again: If there is still a spark of hope, then it will happen that way. Stay cool and considered, don't lose your head.

Jealousy can quickly lead to envy and hate. You're jealous of your ex who has a new partner. Envy brings up negative feelings that quickly turn into hate and lead to impulsive actions. Yes, you can even become violent and want to destroy things. Scratched cars and house walls pelted with paint bombs are just two examples of where you'd be uselessly investing your time. Just begrudge your ex their new partner; they'll soon see what they had in you. Always be magnanimous – begrudge them the breakup and the new partner. Defeat doesn't look so bad in hindsight, does it? It offers a chance for something new, perhaps even better.

Save yourself the time of negative feelings. Instead, tell yourself: Other mothers also have handsome sons. Quite apart from that, hatred and revenge are dangerous advisors. They will only bring you trouble. Don't play the worldly judge. Everything has its own compensating justice somehow. Envy and jealousy can also arise from feeling disadvantaged, for example, at work. Your colleague gets promoted faster, earns more for the same work. You compare yourself too much with others and believe you are getting too little. Don't constantly eye up others, including neighbours, who have a bigger car or a better house. All of that just costs you time.

Useless thoughts are as dangerous a waste of time as anything. What’s actually going around and around in our heads? Switch them off quickly, because they achieve absolutely nothing, they just rob you of your time. Thoughts are indeed free, they cannot be seen by others, only you yourself can filter and switch them off.

Obsessive thoughts also cost us a lot of time. We believe we have to do or not do certain things: I have to call Aunt Erna or Uncle Philipp now because the distress has become too great and I haven't made contact in a while. I have to go to church, I have to congratulate the neighbour on her birthday, otherwise she won't speak to me anymore, I absolutely have to have sex again now, and so on.

We always think we have to – but you don't have to do anything. Who dictates that to us? Exactly, the nasty little time-waster that's constantly on our backs. He constantly makes us feel guilty. All he wants is our time, nothing else. He’s a terrible fellow. Resist him; nobody obliges you to always have to. Instead, switch to wanting – yes, I finally want to have good sex again. That sounds much better, and then time is well spent. If you have to have sex, you are obliged – to a must. That's guaranteed not to be good sex, and your time is uselessly wasted.

How often do we argue pointlessly? We call that „arguing about the Emperor's beard“. That best expresses the futility. The Emperor grows his beard as he likes. We can't change that anyway. An argument about it is as superfluous as a goitre. Don't constantly argue with your partner about trivial things.

Let go of arguments with teachers, kindergarten teachers, officials, work colleagues, neighbours, friends or relatives. It is time-consuming and achieves nothing. Some people are quarrelsome as a matter of principle. They always want to be right, they are so-called know-it-alls. They always want to have the last word. One likes to avoid such people and would rather leave them standing alone. They are unpleasant characters in the guise of time-wasters. Whoever always wants to be right wastes a lot of time on it.

Quickly recognise where it's important to argue and where it's not. Arguing with the cashier over a bill is pointless. The goods have been scanned and already have their correct price. You wouldn't argue over the price of petrol at the pump, either. Certain things are self-evident; they're like the law.

Don't suddenly argue with your partner about their figure or hair colour. You knew that before you married them, so don't start an argument about it now. You received a ticket because you had to take your son to the hospital with a broken leg. You feel you are in the right because you had to park in a no-parking zone because of this. Don't start an argument about it; you committed an offence, the ticket has been issued and registered – tough luck, the parking attendant couldn't have known the problem you were dealing with. So don't waste time on a useless and unsuccessful argument. It's better to quickly pay the fee before it ends up as a fine in court. Save yourself your precious time and your annoyance. It's really not worth anything.

Simply avoid arguments as well. If you have a different opinion, for example on a political issue where the other person holds a completely different view, you don't need to start an argument about it now. Instead, realise that you both have different opinions and that's that. Endless discussions about it won't get you an inch further, so don't argue, save your time for other, nicer things in life. We often think about time lost through arguments very wrongly. We desperately want to get our point across to the other person, our opinion, perhaps to be able to change their mind, to make them think. What's the point of that? Absolutely nothing, only your loss of time. Don't play the world improver either. Leave that to the politicians with peace of mind. You have no influence on it anyway.

Do you actually know how much time is lost because negative feelings and thoughts constantly surface within us? We get annoyed with a neighbour who always leaves her rubbish outside her front door. You inwardly curse the teacher who allegedly treated your child unfairly. You get angry about the driver who overtook and cut you up on the road, forcing you to brake. You complain about the poor appointment scheduling at the doctor's surgery and the long waiting times. The customer in front of you at the deli counter irritates you. You think negatively about relatives who are always bragging and want to be more than they are. All these negative feelings only hinder you from getting your actual work done. You are slowed down. You lose time because you produce too many bad thoughts. If you were inclined differently and started your day positively, many things would go more smoothly in your daily routine. You could complete your tasks much more freely and quickly.

Think positively and don't waste your time getting upset about people you won't change anyway. Finally, abandon your pessimism. In addition to wasting time, it also drags you down. And that seriously impacts your quality of life. Negative thoughts also prevent us from making clear, quick decisions ourselves. They disrupt our own daily routine and that costs a lot of time. Furthermore, negative feelings can also turn into hatred, revenge, and destructive rage. We invest even more time and then lose it, to spend more pleasant time with our family.

Bad dreams rob us of the sleep we so desperately need to concentrate on our work. If we go to work tired and unrested, we produce poor results. We are in a bad mood, irritable, and furthermore, spread a bad atmosphere. Nightmares make us ill. In extreme cases, they can even lead to depression. Insomnia is an illness. It costs us a lot of time in our lives. Those who wake up drenched in sweat do not start the day rested.

Never go to bed with the intention of thinking about and planning the next day's schedule. Also, never go to bed with negative feelings. Instead, try to take something positive with you into sleep, such as thoughts of good sex. Imagine with whom and how you could best and most beautifully reach your climax. Then you will fall into pleasant dreams and deep sleep.

For example, you could picture your dream woman or man in your mind's eye. What would they ideally look like, what qualities would they have? What kind of sex would you like to have, what do you like best, how would you like it? Or another example: What would you do with a lottery win of millions, which dreams would you fulfil? Imagine in your dream how you would spend a million euros. Or imagine what your dream job could be – perhaps under palm trees in a hammock with an online business? This way, you'll quickly fall into a healthy sleep and go to work the next day in a good mood – that's how you gain time.

Look after your health. Because if you are ill, you lose a lot of time. An immune system weakened by pessimism makes you susceptible to any flu. Bacteria and viruses will knock you out straight away. Your work will pile up if you have to stay in bed. You will then have to catch up when you are well again. This costs double the time. And illness also prevents you from going to the cinema with your partner or girlfriend or going on a trip. In some circumstances, you may also have to cancel a city break that has already been booked.

Pay attention to a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle. Avoid alcohol and cigarettes, and exercise sufficiently. People who are in a positive mood get sick less often because their immune defences are in order. Go for regular check-ups to detect serious illnesses in good time. Because once you have contracted cancer, all the time in the world cannot save you anymore. Your quality of life will be gone, and you will lose precious, pleasant time. Therefore, always look after a healthy body, listen to yourself and to the signals your health is sending you. You don't have to become a hypochondriac straight away, but a certain amount of caution and careful handling of your own health are important to continue enjoying your life to the full. What good is it if you develop incurable bowel cancer at 50 and have disregarded all preventive measures?

Excessive ambition can be very time-consuming. It then escalates into an obsession. For example, we focus on the goal of reaching the boss's position and invest a lot of time in it. We find ourselves in a hamster wheel, pedalling away, without really achieving the goal. Because we are constantly running in circles, but don't find the turn-off lane. You are a victim of your own high standards. You want to achieve more than others, to be better because you want to reach a specific goal. If you're unlucky, you'll never make it because you have superiors who simply ignore your ambition. Then you'll get stuck and have sacrificed a lot of time. You can already see the obsession on the faces of people with such excessive ambition. They live under constant tension. Even if they have achieved their goal, they don't get rid of their frown lines and never relax. Because ambition remains, you don't leave it at the cloakroom. Work must also be fun, it shouldn't become a burden just because you want to get ahead. You should certainly have goals, but you must never subordinate your life to these goals. Anyone who loses the joy of life through ambition is doing something wrong and belongs on the couch. Ambitious people also ruthlessly step over bodies to achieve their goals. Ambition is not limited to professional life. In private life too, ambition can become a problem and a time-waster – for example, if you absolutely must have children, build a house, need a bigger car, or if your partner must become beauty queen. Definitely aim lower, nothing is obligatory, everything is possible – but please not with an ambitious crowbar. This becomes an unbearable burden that only costs time. Lower your expectations.

Social obligations are such a time drain. We feel obliged to go to the neighbours' funerals, show our faces at Aunt Emma's birthday party, or join in every child's party. Society around us demands far too much of our time – why do we always jump on that bandwagon?
Say „I don't have to do a damn thing!“ more often and be done with it. You don't have to be everywhere – seeing and being seen is just a burden. You don't have to sit in the front row at church, show up at your neighbour's daughter's wedding, or visit Uncle Will's rabbit show. All of that can happen without you. And what are „social obligations“ anyway? Who imposes them, and why do they apply to me and not others? Break free from these obligations more often and you'll see how much time you gain for yourself.
You can even plan your holidays with acquaintances and make your life easier. Take the initiative and organise childcare optimally yourself. Find families with similar interests and then plan. Make contact at nursery or school, for example at parents' evenings or through notices on the noticeboard, which can even be found in department stores and supermarkets. Don't feel like a bad mother when you hand your child over. Your offspring knows exactly where home is. After all, you also save valuable time, during which you can then spend more intense time with your children.
How can you save time with a few tricks and tips? Sometimes a simple excuse does the trick. An experiment has shown that in long queues, people with a valid excuse are usually let to the front (I have an urgent doctor’s appointment, I need to get to my antenatal class, or I’ll miss my train otherwise). However, if someone simply pushes in brazenly for no reason, they will face the collective protest of everyone waiting. You’ll see for yourself if you ask politely at the sausage counter: „Could you please let me go first? My bus leaves in five minutes and I don’t want to be late for work.“ Then they’ll let you go first and you’ll have cleverly saved some time. Another trick is to think of quicker routes, to think outside the box and not always march along the well-trodden paths. Our lack of focus costs us a lot of time – coupled with a lack of discipline and the inability to give our lives some structure. On top of that, there are plenty of distractions. This hodgepodge is a compact package of time-theft. That’s what makes life so difficult for us. Especially in today’s multi-tasking world, those nasty time-thieves are lurking everywhere. If we’re not careful, we’ll sink into the quagmire and won’t be able to get our work done anywhere; we’ll lose a great deal of time. We really ought to take a course in concentration – but that’s not necessary at all if we simply always focus on the main task that’s important right now. Look for alternative ways to avoid the inevitable rush hour. Plan every single journey and use routes for multiple tasks; don’t set off separately for each one. Give lifts to friends, acquaintances or neighbours, and in return, let them give you a lift next time. We always make the same mistake and drive alone in our cars – leaving at least three seats empty. Often, out of habit, we take complicated, time-wasting detours. Think about how you can get to your destination faster – perhaps by going a few kilometres further
Don't let work emails disturb you when you've finished your work or on weekends – they belong entirely to you and your family. Your life needs to run smoothly and shouldn't be constantly interrupted by outside influences. Those who start the day without a plan waste a lot of time. Act more than you react. Take the lead by knowing exactly what can be done together – shopping, post office, bank, hairdresser, dry cleaner, massage, doctor, and nursery. Your daily schedule should be well thought-out. You'll be amazed at how much time you've freed up as a result. This naturally assumes that you can plan and think structurally. If you don't have this skill, you'll have to learn it.
It's not that difficult at all. You can put together your shopping list, can't you? So you also know which tasks you need to get done each day. Usually, it's the same routines anyway. Organise yourself better so that you save time.
And another thing: distractions are a big time-waster, so get rid of anything that prevents you from concentrating on what's essential. Your desk shouldn't be home to „toys“ like pictures of loved ones, make-up pots, hand cream, pin-up girls or erotic ashtrays, magazines or a fish tank. Your kitchen shouldn't have a TV or a stereo system. In the car, please don't hang dolls from the rear-view mirror; teddy bears on the dashboard are also just a distraction. Do you see where the time-wasters are lurking everywhere? Sometimes you also need a change of strategy in your private life: driving to work or taking the bus, ironing yourself or sending laundry out, baking bread or buying it, going out or cooking yourself, mowing the lawn or hiring help, cleaning yourself or having it done, and so on.
Don't think like everyone else. Look for more intelligent solutions. Claw back time everywhere. Where does most time get spent? Hours waiting at the orthopaedic surgeon, queuing at the housing benefit office, sitting in traffic jams, long queues at the supermarket, consultations at the chemist, and so on. Invent touching excuses everywhere, or use the express till for a maximum of five items even if you have ten, for example. Pay cash instead of with a card; that slows things down. Have change ready instead of searching for cents in your purse for hours (we know that from some senior citizens with plenty of time). Be flexible too.
If the queue at the cash machine is too long, withdraw cash at the checkout. Build good relationships and dependencies everywhere, friendships – following the motto: "One hand washes the other." Your acquaintance is the main person at the doctor's surgery reception; she'd be happy to bypass you past all the other patients. Build a good rapport with your doctor – if he just sees you, he'll whisk you straight into the consultation room. Find common ground, such as similar holiday destinations or hobbies.
Do your doctor a favour by placing a nice article about them in your local newspaper as a local reporter. That way, all doors will be open to you and it will save you time. Or, if you know someone well at the council, arrange an appointment with them directly. Perhaps you're in the same bowling club; friends help each other out – no one needs to know. Relationships only harm those who lack them. "Vitamin B" still counts for something in our society today. This is how you can get the better of time-wasters with a few tricks.
We should first wait and think, sleep on it, and then act with careful consideration. Analyse your supposedly terrible situation precisely. A little later, it won't look so bad anymore; sometimes we even laugh at our initial panic. Some things resolve themselves favourably and sort themselves out. In the face of terror, we switch off our brains instead of remaining cool. All sorts of thoughts suddenly race through our minds – mostly negative ones. What could all this lead to, what are the consequences of the event, how do we need to react as quickly as possible? We don't need to do anything, just wait and think wisely.
Everything can be solved; there is a solution for every event, no matter how terrible. Tell yourself this again and again, and you will become much more composed. A bill doesn't knock you off your feet straight away. Check the payment request and, if necessary, arrange to pay in instalments.
An accident can be bad, but there are good doctors who will nurse you back to health. Even the termination of your employment loses its terror if you immediately start looking for a job and pull out all the stops. Register immediately with the employment agency and look for a new position with all the support. Under certain circumstances, you may also need to examine your termination carefully and enlist the help of a lawyer. Go through the entire repertoire of your options. And even if your partner leaves you, the world doesn't end immediately. See every defeat as a new opportunity; you can only learn and win from it. But don't waste time with thoughtless action and blind activism. Don't do more than is absolutely necessary. The time you waste will then be missing from your quality of life. Don't lose your precious time due to unconsidered panic. You have to proceed like a minimalist here, like a time manager in our private sphere. But this also happens in the working world when we can't make decisions quickly.
Panic costs us a lot of time. We have an accident or receive a hefty bill we didn’t expect, such as a back payment demand from the tax office. We panic and react thoughtlessly, resorting to blind actionism. This wastes a lot of our time. We then also make wrong decisions that later have to be laboriously rectified. Yet we should always keep the saying in mind: Nothing is final, only death. Everything can be managed.
I have to write this exact text now and focus only on it, everything else around me doesn't matter. Then you can write the best text even with loud music and conversations all around. Tune out, don't listen at all, turn a deaf ear. Then you will succeed in any work even with noise. Just take the bus driver: If he let himself be distracted by all the conversations on the bus, he would guaranteed have an accident with twenty or thirty passengers on the bus. No, he is completely the bus driver and does a good job because he is focused. The machine operator in the steelworks has to concentrate entirely on the expensive machine he is operating, otherwise he would deliver faulty work.
Even the housewife needs to be careful when cooking to avoid burning her fingers and letting the food burn, which she would then have to throw away. And all mistakes made due to lack of concentration just cost time. Save yourself this by paying attention and always being fully engaged. Use a quintessentially German virtue for this, namely iron discipline – even with yourself. We need so many structures – at work, in traffic, at school, in business life – so why not in our private lives too?
With more structure, you will save a lot of time. So, tie together a package of concentration, discipline, and structure. Then you will gain the time you need for a pleasant life, and with that, you can truly gain a lot. This applies all the more if you have your own business; you must embody these virtues then. Otherwise, you would not be successful. Anyone who approaches their self-employed job with the attitude of „Now I'm finally free“ is guaranteed to lose. Time is money, especially here. Simply always remember: Life, work, the job, and even private life is a test, which you must also work through with concentration, otherwise you would not pass it.
Consider which work steps logically and practically follow each other. Group certain things together in a way that constitutes a real time-saver. We often say "in one go," and there's something to that. You don't wash every cup individually, after all.
Let's get several necessary errands done in one go. Don't go to the baker and then the butcher and then the florist separately – do it all in one trip, instead of making extra journeys. In the office, the meeting follows the presentation, not before. The first half of a football match takes place before the second, the second half of the season follows the first, a boxing match ends in the twelfth round unless there's a knockout in the first. Our lives are made up of logical, inevitable sequences. Let's respect that and organise ourselves accordingly. Let's get the most out of our valuable lives through smart planning. Otherwise, we can waste a lot of time if we don't manage ourselves well and take overly complicated paths. Don't make life harder for yourself.
Some businesses suffer and are less successful because the individual work steps are not optimally coordinated. Take the simple example of construction: if the heating engineer comes after the screed layer, they can no longer install underfloor heating. Or if the electrician wants to lay their cables when the interior plaster is already on the walls, they have to tear everything up again. If the roofer only appears after the windows have been installed, rain can destroy the wood. Everything would have to be repaired with a lot of time and effort. Therefore, optimal coordination of the individual work steps is part of work organisation – incidentally, this also applies in private life. You do clean the windows before washing the floors, don't you? This saves you double work, because water and cleaning materials always drip onto the floor when cleaning windows. You don't go to the hairdresser to have your curls done if you intend to shower afterwards. And when eating, you don't serve the roast before the soup. You don't drive your children to school before bedtime. Everything has its own order, you just need to be in control of your own organisational talent. Time is money here, especially. Therefore, it is important to be well-organised at home too.
Go through all areas of your life and think about where you are wasting time. Think and act a little more intelligently. Make a plan for yourself daily. Avoid going back and forth. And finally get rid of the many distractions. The magic word is concentration, after all. You have so many mandatory tasks to complete day after day, so buckle down and get them done without listening to music or watching television at the same time. Concentrate on preparing meals, doing the washing up, or cleaning the house, on your job, or on how you spend your free time.
Please check your driving habits in your own car. We overtake another vehicle only to have to stop at the next red traffic light. Drive more intelligently and with more foresight. Recognise certain situations in good time and react in a time-saving manner. You won't gain a single metre by constantly changing lanes hectically and forcing yourself into gaps, thereby perhaps hindering another driver or even forcing them to brake. Stay calm and composed, even in traffic jams. You'll reach your destination faster if you calm down and don't get worked up. Don't put yourself under pressure with a schedule that's too tight.

By the way, we should approach all areas of life more intelligently. Let's just think about what else we could get done on the way to work. You don't have to make a separate trip to the bank to withdraw money, or go to the postbox to mail a letter, or make a special trip to the dry cleaners to pick up your suit, or to the library to return borrowed books. How can we organise ourselves better in our private lives, in the household, in our leisure time, and also with our partner? You can draw up a plan together and get it all done at once. This saves time, which is efficient. For example, a desk should always be tidy and only contain the absolute essentials. Framed pictures or magazines, ashtrays or make-up pots, none of that belongs there because it only distracts us from doing what's really important. Nothing should distract us. Often, a change of strategy is also needed, like taking the bus instead of walking, or the train instead of the car.

Saving time with tricks and tips is a skill to be learned, but once mastered, it is very efficient. One must push past long queues and come up with crafty excuses. Waiting at the checkout? Queuing at the registry office? Lingering at the sausage counter? Sitting for ages in the doctor's surgery? With a few tricks, you can bypass all of this and gain a lot of time.

Our headlessness costs us a lot of time. When something terrible happens, we react like a rabbit in front of a snake. We freeze in shock, make the wrong decision, instead of calmly holding out and working through the case in a structured way. Wrong decisions are time-consuming to fix. Instead of thinking calmly and sleeping on it, we fall into blind activism. In hindsight, even the most dramatic situation is a doddle. Sometimes we even laugh about it afterwards. Nothing is so bad that it cannot be sorted out somehow. And nothing is as final as death, which we cannot prevent. Hasty action robs us of precious time, which we then lack for a good life. Because everything that then has to be laboriously repaired due to wrong reactions is basically wasted time. If we had reacted appropriately and correctly right away, we would have saved a lot. One must proceed like a minimalist here, like a time manager in our private sphere. But this also happens in the workplace when we cannot make decisions to the point. However, this is also always a question of how we and our employees are structured. If we cannot organise ourselves optimally, we lose a lot of time. It is not for nothing that there are specialists who only work on optimising workflows in order to save time and money.

Distraction, lack of concentration, lack of discipline and lack of structure are further time-wasters that make our lives difficult. We allow ourselves to be distracted far too easily and too often by all sorts of things. Be it the pin-up girl on the desk, a picture of our loved ones, or a golf ball. All sorts of „toys“ around us disturb us from doing what is at hand at the moment. We cannot concentrate on the one important thing, namely our work, for example. We keep getting sidetracked. If we didn't have all this play material, we would have no choice but to work. We are not disciplined enough towards ourselves. Yet, iron discipline is precisely what is required when working. If we have to pass a test, we have no choice but to complete the tasks. Especially those who are self-employed must give their lives structure, otherwise they will not get anywhere. Their business would go down the drain. Here, time really is money.

A non-optimised work organisation wastes a lot of time. Just take construction as an example. If the individual trades in house building didn't flow seamlessly into each other, a lot of precious time and, of course, a lot of money would be lost. Work must be optimally coordinated. This is where the greatest time savings can be achieved. Just consider how much can be saved if the optimum is fully exploited. There are even specialists who solely focus on improving work processes to perfection. It's just like your commute to work, during which you can get all sorts of other things done. By utilising a route we have to take every day anyway for other necessities, we save a lot of time. We take so many duplicated journeys and consequently lose vast amounts of time that we lack elsewhere for enjoying life.

The loss of time due to rampant jealousy and envy is widespread. Here we encounter one of the biggest time-wasters. Out of jealousy, we spy on our exes, stalk them, and still hold onto a spark of hope for reconciliation. We overthink and get lost in unrealistic thoughts. We plan gifts, calls, and other impossible reactions. Have you ever thought about how much time is wasted here? All the while, we become more and more jealous – has she or he perhaps already found someone new? If we then even find out that another partner is already involved, our jealousy turns into blind hatred. This, too, costs a lot of time because we plan revenge actions. It also becomes dangerous. Envy of others who are doing better also costs us a lot of time because we want to catch up and then invest time and money in it. The neighbour has a bigger car, so we have to get an even bigger one. We scrape together all our money, look for a fatter ride, and only end up losing.

Don't dwell too much on the useless and pointless. Too many foolish thoughts circle in our heads and just rob us of our time.

We constantly have to do something or refrain from doing something, carry out certain actions or change ourselves. Coercion robs us of so much time. Yet, we don't have to do anything at all.

So much time is also lost through pointless arguments. We argue with our partner, with our children, with neighbours, with friends, relatives, the teacher, the boss, colleagues, with offices, authorities, insurance companies, property management companies, and so on. Often it's the little things. Sometimes it's so trivial that one might think we're only arguing on principle, because maybe we're just quarrelsome. Just consider how much time is spent arguing over absolutely nothing. We fuel ourselves up more and more and forget all the wonderful things we could be doing with that time.

Negative thoughts and feelings are also enormous time-wasters. We uselessly torment ourselves with bad, unpleasant situations, dwelling for hours on what is going wrong and how we might react to it. Pessimism only drags us further down; it diminishes our quality of life. It prevents us from making clear and correct decisions. Negative thoughts often turn into hatred and revenge, which cost us more time but don't move us forward, only put us in danger.

Bad dreams rob us of restful and necessary sleep. They put us in a foul mood and can actually make us ill. And they can lead to depression, which prevents us from enjoying life's pleasures.

Illnesses and a weakened immune system cost us so much time. We're laid up and can't get on with our work, which eventually still has to be done. We're much more susceptible to colds, for example, when our immune system is unstable. Every bout of flu knocks us out and prevents us from doing enjoyable things. We then lack the time.

Closing words

Do we have to be happy, start a family, have a child, build a house, plant a tree, get the better job, buy the fatter car, and be everywhere? Fun!

No, we don't have to! It's all just a waste of time, and whether we'll lead a better, happier life afterwards is anyone's guess. You can live perfectly well on your own; a family can make you unhappy, and a mortgage can become a burden. Say no more often and save yourself more time in the process.

That's precisely the point. Make time for what you genuinely want and enjoy. Ask yourself: what do I *really* need time for right now – for myself, for my partner, for my job, for my children? Everyone has different priorities here. The goal is to gain more time for the things we find enjoyable, where we'd most like to spend it – more time for a better quality of life. Break free from the constraints of time thieves; don't give them another chance to steal your time.

Enjoy your reclaimed time!

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