time-wasters
Pointless activity consumers
Time-wasters are people or things that consume time without producing worthwhile results.
A person who wastes your time—showing up late, rambling through meetings, demanding attention for trivial matters—is a time-waster.
Activities that absorb hours without benefit also qualify: Social media can be a real time-waster.
The term carries judgment; what counts as wasted time depends on who's measuring.
Habitual task avoidance
- doomscrollingCompulsive consumption of distressing content
- dawdlingLeisurely time-wasting
- dilly-dallyingWasting time indecisively
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
lollygagging · frittering · shilly-shallying · pottering · piddling · tarrying · meandering · loafing
Rigid administrative system
- paperworkAdministrative written tasks
- busyworkMeaningless assigned tasks
- committeesGroups delegated specific duties
- brainstormingGenerating many ideas freely
Rapid consecutive episode viewing
- streamingReal-time digital delivery
- surfingRiding waves standing up
- gamingInteractive electronic entertainment
- gossipingTalking about absent people
trolling · memes · chatting · texting · snapchatting · scrolling · clickbait · soap-operas
Light, casual conversation
- chitchatInformal light conversation
- gossipInformal talk spreading rumors
- schmoozingCasual strategic socializing
- gabbingTalking at length casually
nattering · yapping · loitering · bullshitting · venting · drama
procrastination
Habitual task avoidance
- doomscrollingCompulsive consumption of distressing content
- dawdlingLeisurely time-wasting
- dilly-dallyingWasting time indecisively
daydreaming · lollygagging · frittering · shilly-shallying · pottering · piddling · tarrying · meandering · loafing · slacking
bureaucracy
Rigid administrative system
- paperworkAdministrative written tasks
- busyworkMeaningless assigned tasks
- committeesGroups delegated specific duties
binge-watching
Rapid consecutive episode viewing
- streamingReal-time digital delivery
- surfingRiding waves standing up
- gamingInteractive electronic entertainment
gossiping · trolling · memes · chatting · texting · snapchatting · scrolling · clickbait · soap-operas · tabloids
small-talk
Light, casual conversation
- chitchatInformal light conversation
- gossipInformal talk spreading rumors
- schmoozingCasual strategic socializing
gabbing · nattering · yapping · loitering · bullshitting · venting · drama
time-wasterstime-savers
Methods reducing task duration
efficiencies · force multipliers · shortcuts · optimizations · productivity tools
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