Waste Not, Want Not

Waste Not, Want Not

Posted by Doug Ramsay on May 19th, 2010 — 1 Comment
19

May

Hello readers…hope this blog post finds you in well spirits.

Growing up, my mother use to drill into me and my siblings, a quote she liked – ”Waste not, want not!” While that applied to eating all the food put on our plate, it definitely applies (in my book) to time management.

Continuing on the topic of using the 24 hours each of us has in our respective days in the most efficient way, I did two things, in particular, that I’ve been meaning to do for some time. The overall task was to take a VCD (yes, another acronym) – “virtual clearance day.” My definition of a VCD is, essentially, a day to clear (eliminate) all virtual sites that I have frequented that really don’t provide any benefit to me. I define “benefit” (in this case) as that which will propel me to reach specific goals.

The underlying task I accomplished was to get rid of my personal Facebook page. Without getting BACK on my soapbox, I basically became fed up with their “Wild West” type privacy changes, and the need for members to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out how to maximize their privacy settings, (especially having to opt-OUT, instead of in) of personal data sharing, should they choose to do so. Facebook became a entity that I was essentially wasting time on. I had eliminated the use of other social networks that I found myself “wasting time” on, based on some of the tenets in an article on the Productivity 501 website entitled, How to Keep from Wasting Time on the Web.

By doing so, it’s turned out that I’ve actually been able to devote that time spent in a more efficient manner. Easier said than done? Maybe. Virtual habits DO have a great deal to do in success versus non-success, so an honest assessment of that area can go a long way. I came across an excerpt The Productivity 501 website that speaks volumes:

“It really comes down to how much time you must expend doing things that matter less in order to be able to do the things that matter most. This requires a balance of your particular priorities. You only have one life, so spend it wisely.”

While the last sentence is common sense (to me), it’s the first sentence that speaks volumes, for sure.

Thanks for the read, I appreciate it!