It’s important to me that I spend my time well. After all, time is one of the most important things that we have – it’s the only thing that we can’t buy more of.
Small ways of wasting time can quickly compound. I sit down after a long day at work, and suddenly I have watched 2 hours of Youtube in a passive state. In some ways, that’s because of the engineering team at Youtube: The hundreds if not thousands of engineers trying to optimize how much time I and everyone else uses when we visit their platform.
I’m not against using Youtube – sometimes there are great videos on there. It’s doing it by default. Not thinking about it, but being dragged into it.
And it’s the same thing on other social medias and news platforms: Wasting time becomes the default state. In the US, internet users spent 2,5 hours each day checking social media.
That’s 2,5*365 =912 hours, or 114 8-hour working days.
Technology audit: How do you use technology?
I have come across a great tool that helps give you an overview over your use of technology. I call it The Technology Audit.
The method is simple:
1. Getting the data
First of all, you need a way to track your usage of your phone and your computer. I use Screen Time for iPhone and Cold Turkey for Windows.
Once you have installed tracking software, see an overview over the last few weeks, separated by website/app.
Now, for each one of them, write down on a piece of paper how many hours per week you use them.
It could look something like this:
2. What do you gain?
Now, go through the list again, and add another column: How do you feel about the specific service you are using your time on? Does it make you happy when you are using it? Does it solve some important need for you?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy does it make you? Your paper should end up looking something like this:
3. Compare
Now comes the important part: Look at the two columns and compare them: Are you using 5 hours each week on something that creates 2/10 feelings? Or 20 hours on something that creates 4/10? Then you should probably reconsider your use of time.
A useful rule of thumb is: If you are using a service more than 2 hours per week, it should be AT LEAST 6/10. Otherwise, you are wasting your time.
Based on that, you can make a list of the services that you should limit.
4. Break free
Now you have gotten to a point where you know which services you want to limit. To help myself limit my use of those types of technology, I use two products (no affiliation):
- Freedom: Helps me block websites and apps on my phone
- Cold Turkey: Helps me block websites and programs on my computer
Usually, when I have identified a service I would like to limit, I set up a 1 month block on it. If I feel like I have been missing too much out, I can set up a time schedule for it (e.g. I can watch Youtube on Thursdays at 8pm).
5. Find an alternative
Now you’ve saved a few hours per week. Now the question becomes: How will you use them? Will you start a new hobby, will you drink more coffee with old friends or will you pick up a new skill?
Before you block yourself off, figure out what you will do instead.
Wrapping up
How we spend our time has a huge impact on our lives. In fact, that’s what our lives are made up of: The small choices we make everyday.
I’m worried that I will look back in X amount of years and realize that I wasted my time on Reddit, Youtube and other websites, when I could have used it on people and projects I care about.
That’s why I use the technology audit once in a while to help me keep control.
