THE PERKS OF WASTING TIME

In a world focused on productivity, we need to adapt our mindsets

- ZOE SNELL

The notion that time is our most precious resource can bring with it a sense of time pressure. Time is money, we are always told, and time is running out - so we must manage it well and spend it accordingly. We take time-management courses, adopt various techniques, buy new planners, download the latest productivity app, and divide our day into blocks so our time is never wasted.

WASTING TIME IS INEVITABLE

We are bound to waste time - we put things off, take too long to start, become distracted, overlook the efficient route, run late, scroll and chit-chat too long with a colleague at lunch. But we also judge how we spend our time rather harshly, treating everything that isn't deemed a productive use of our time as a waste, when there may be value in those moments, too. We don't have to view every moment we don't spend the way we expected to as a waste - we can simply appreciate the part it played in our life. In a society that emphasises productive use of time, we can easily forget that time we enjoyed wasting is not wasted time.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO FAIL