

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Buy Back Your Time" by Dan Martell. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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Are you struggling with time management at work? Do you find yourself caught in a cycle of chaos and stress?
In his book Buy Back Your Time, Dan Martell explores common time wasters at work and how to overcome them. He offers insights into habits that drain entrepreneurs’ energy and productivity, providing strategies to identify and confront these behaviors.
Read on to discover how you can stop wasting time at work by changing some of your habits.
Surprising Time Wasters at Work
Martell writes that entrepreneurs should first tackle habits that may be sapping your time and energy. He argues that many entrepreneurs become so used to chaos and stressful situations that they feel anxious during periods of calm. As a result, they unconsciously seek out or even create problems.
Consider whether you’ve developed any behaviors that add up to time wasters at work that create and perpetuate chaos within your business, such as:
Time Waster #1—Procrastination: You hold off on making big decisions, stalling the progress and development of your business.
Time Waster #2—Haste: You make decisions too quickly, often prioritizing the quickest, cheapest, or simplest options. Without taking the time to reflect on your decisions and the reasons for their failure, you often end up repeating the same errors.
Time Waster #3—Wearing all hats: You have a tendency to micromanage while failing to adequately train or empower others to develop and learn. If you fall into this category, you might find yourself doing tasks you’ve hired other people to do.
Time Waster #4—Saving instead of investing: You save money instead of using it to make smart investments—for instance, you hoard funds instead of using them on time-saving tools, technologies, or services to increase your company’s operational efficiency and productivity. Martell argues that this is a shortsighted strategy that can lead to missed opportunities that could potentially offer high returns and catalyze company growth.
Time Waster #5—Unhealthy coping mechanisms: You resort to vices as a reward for success or an escape from failure or pain. This behavior can drain productive hours, affecting your overall energy and productivity.

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Here's what you'll find in our full Buy Back Your Time summary:
- Why running a successful business doesn’t have to take over your life
- Practical ways to eliminate time-wasting behaviors
- How to create optimized schedules for achieving your personal and professional goals