Have you ever ended the day exhausted but with little to show for it? Your to-do list still has unchecked tasks, and you feel like time slipped through your fingers. The culprit? Time wasters.

Time is one of your most precious resources, especially as a high-achieving Black woman juggling career goals, family responsibilities, and self-care. Let’s uncover how to identify your time wasters and eliminate them fast so you can reclaim your day and focus on what truly matters.

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What Are Time Wasters?

Time wasters are activities, habits, or even people that consume your time without contributing to your goals or well-being. They often masquerade as necessary or harmless but can quietly derail your productivity and leave you feeling frustrated.

For example, think about all the times you checked your email or scrolled through social media intending to take “just a minute,” only to lose half an hour. Or perhaps you’ve been in meetings that could’ve easily been an email. These small distractions add up and rob you of valuable time.

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Why It’s Important to Tackle Time Wasters

Impact on Career Growth

As a Black woman in leadership or aiming to climb the corporate ladder, you already face unique challenges, such as having to work twice as hard to prove yourself in environments where you may feel undervalued. Time wasters can stall your progress, keeping you stuck in busywork instead of focusing on impactful tasks that advance your career.

Mental Health Toll

When time slips away due to distractions, it often leaves a feeling of guilt or inadequacy. This stress can lead to burnout, especially if you’re already balancing multiple roles. Eliminating time wasters creates space for much-needed rest and self-care.

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Common Time Wasters for Black Women Professionals

Workplace Time Wasters

• Unnecessary Meetings: We’ve all been in meetings that seem endless and unproductive. These are often a major source of wasted time.
• Constant Interruptions: Being the “go-to” person for everyone in your office can pull you away from your priorities.
• Micromanagement: Either micromanaging others or being micromanaged yourself can sap valuable time.

Personal Life Time Wasters

• Social Media and Streaming Apps: What starts as a quick scroll through Instagram can turn into an hour-long rabbit hole.
• Overcommitting: Saying “yes” to too many social obligations or family requests can leave little time for your own needs.
• Poor Planning: Without a clear plan for the day, it’s easy to drift between tasks and lose focus.

Internal Time Wasters

• Overthinking: Spending too much time second-guessing decisions or seeking perfection can delay action.
• Procrastination: Often driven by fear of failure or perfectionism, procrastination is a sneaky time thief.

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How to Identify Your Time Wasters

Step 1: Conduct a Time Audit

The best way to figure out where your time goes is to track it. Keep a log of your activities for 3-5 days, noting what you’re doing every 30 minutes. Be honest! This exercise can be eye-opening. Download my 1-Week Time Audit worksheet today, for an easy step-by-step time tracker.

My personal example:
I once thought I was spending only 20 minutes or so a day checking emails. After tracking my time, I realized it was closer to 3 hours spread throughout the day. That was three hours I could’ve spent on more strategic tasks!

Step 2: Categorize Activities

After completing your time audit, categorize your activities into:

• Essential tasks (aligned with your goals).
• Non-essential tasks (nice to do but not critical).
• Distractions (activities that don’t serve any purpose).

Step 3: Identify Triggers

Ask yourself what triggers these time-wasting activities. Are you avoiding a difficult task? Feeling stressed and turning to social media as a distraction? Recognizing these triggers is the first step to breaking the cycle.

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How to Eliminate Time Wasters Fast

1. Set Clear Priorities

When everything feels urgent, nothing is truly important. Use tools like the Eisenhower Matrix to sort tasks into four categories:

1. Urgent and important.
2. Important but not urgent.
3. Urgent but not important.
4. Neither urgent nor important.

Focus your energy on the first two categories.

Example:
I used to feel overwhelmed by my to-do list, that my to do lists had to do lists!!! Until I started each day by identifying my top five priorities. Once I tackled those, everything else became more manageable.

2. Create and Enforce Boundaries

You can’t eliminate time wasters without setting boundaries. This might mean:

• Saying “no” to additional responsibilities that don’t align with your goals.
• Limiting interruptions by turning off notifications during focused work sessions.
• Communicating your availability clearly to colleagues and family.

Pro Tip: Practice saying, “Let me check my schedule and get back to you,” instead of committing immediately. Giving yourself time and distance makes it easier to make the better decision for yourself. Especially important for people pleasers and those of us who don’t like conflict.

3. Limit Digital Distractions

Social media and notifications are some of the biggest time wasters. Combat them by:

• Scheduling specific times to check your email and social platforms.
• Using apps like Freedom or Focus@Will to block distractions.
• Turning off push notifications for non-essential apps.

4. Address Internal Barriers

• Perfectionism: Set realistic standards and remind yourself that done is better than perfect.
• Overthinking: Limit the amount of time you allow yourself to make decisions. For example, give yourself 15 minutes to decide on something, then move forward.
• Procrastination: Break large tasks into smaller, manageable steps, and focus on just starting.

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Tools and Strategies to Manage Your Time

Time Management Tools

• Google Calendar or Outlook: Plan your day with time blocks for focused work and breaks.
• Trello or Asana: Organize tasks into boards or lists for easy tracking.
• Pomodoro Timer: Work in 25-minute intervals followed by short breaks to stay productive.

Time Blocking

Allocate specific blocks of time to each task on your list. This keeps you focused and prevents tasks from spilling into other parts of your day.

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Success Stories: Reclaiming Time for Growth

One of my clients, a senior executive, struggled with constant interruptions and overcommitting to team projects. After conducting a time audit, we identified that she spent 4-5 hours weekly on tasks that could have been delegated. By setting boundaries and using time-blocking strategies, she not only reclaimed those hours but also used them to mentor junior staff—a task she found deeply fulfilling.

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Why Eliminating Time Wasters Matters for Black Women Professionals

As Black women, we’re often expected to perform at higher standards while navigating unique workplace challenges like microaggressions or lack of representation in leadership. Eliminating time wasters isn’t just about productivity; it’s about reclaiming agency over your time and focusing on what truly aligns with your goals and values.

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Wrapping It All Up: Take Control of Your Time

Time wasted is life wasted, but time managed is life mastered. By identifying your time wasters and implementing strategies to eliminate them, you can take back control of your day, reduce stress, and focus on what truly matters—whether that’s advancing in your career, nurturing relationships, or simply enjoying more moments of peace.

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Call to Action

Struggling to keep up with your busy schedule, sis? ⏰ Let’s reclaim your day and boost your productivity through expert executive coaching. Book a V.I.P. Roadmap Session with Dr. Twanna and discover how personalized strategies can optimize your time, ease your stress, and elevate every aspect of your career. Let’s partner up and make sure every minute counts! ✨💁🏾‍♀️

Your time is precious—use it wisely! 😊

I’m an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and a certified executive coach for Twanna Carter Professional & Personal Coaching, LLC. I flubbed my first career transition from the military so badly, it took me the next 10+ years to build my confidence and  recover. I know what it feels like to struggle with imposter syndrome and uncertainty about my leadership skills in the workplace. It’s why I am dedicated to empowering Black women. Helping them navigate career challenges and uncertainty by providing them with the tools and strategies they need to be successful. Schedule a V.I.P. Roadmap session today.

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Curated Reading List

1. Melaninated Magic: 180 Affirmations to Nurture Your Soul and Unleash Your Black Girl Joy by Twanna Carter, PhD
2. Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less, by Brian Tracy
3. Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity by Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD
4. I’m Not Yelling: A Black Woman’s Guide to Navigating the Workplace (Successful Black Business Women), Elizabeth Leiba.
5. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler.
6. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini.
7. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
8. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg.
9. Dare to Lead by Brene Brown.
10. The Memo, by Minda Harts.
11. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear
12. Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life, by Jamie Kern Lima
13. 33 Tools to Remake Your Career by Paul Gabriel Dionne