8 time-wasting activities successful people eliminated from their lives years ago

by Lachlan Brown | May 13, 2026, 10:55 am

Ever wonder what separates those who seem to have it all together from the rest of us who are constantly playing catch-up?

Many of us have experienced that frustrating feeling of having packed days but looking back and realizing we’ve accomplished depressingly little. We’re constantly busy but getting nowhere meaningful.

That’s what makes studying successful people so revealing. It’s not just their habits that set them apart, but what they’ve stopped doing. Their success often has less to do with adding more to their plates and everything to do with ruthlessly cutting out the activities that were silently sabotaging their progress.

Here are the eight time-wasters that successful people ditched years ago. These are the subtle productivity killers that most of us still fall for every single day.

1. Endless scrolling through social media

You know that feeling when you pick up your phone to check one thing and suddenly 45 minutes have vanished into the Instagram void?

Successful people recognized this trap early and set hard boundaries. They don’t let algorithms dictate their attention. Instead of mindlessly scrolling, they use social media intentionally, often scheduling specific times for it or removing apps from their phones entirely.

One strategy that works well is taking regular technology breaks. The constant pull of notifications fragments our focus, so putting your phone into airplane mode for the first two hours of each morning can be transformative. That simple change alone has the power to dramatically improve productivity.

The truth is, every minute spent watching someone else’s highlight reel is a minute not spent building your own life.

2. Saying yes to everything

Many of us fall into the trap of thinking that being helpful means never turning anyone down. Every request, every favor, every “quick call” gets an automatic yes.

But here’s what successful people figured out: saying yes to everything means saying no to your priorities. They learned that their time is their most valuable asset, and they guard it fiercely.

Before accepting anything, ask yourself: Does this align with my goals? Will this matter in six months? If not, a polite no is perfectly acceptable.

3. Multitasking

We’ve been sold the myth that multitasking makes us more productive. But research consistently shows it makes us slower and more error-prone.

Successful people practice what you might call the art of single-tasking. They focus on one thing at a time, giving it their full attention before moving on.

This is something worth embracing in any kind of focused work. When you write, write. Nothing else. No email tabs open, no phone within reach, just you and the words.

The quality of work you produce when you’re fully focused versus scattered across multiple tasks? There’s no comparison. Your brain literally cannot effectively process two cognitive tasks simultaneously. What feels like multitasking is actually rapid task-switching, and each switch costs you time and mental energy.

4. Complaining without action

We all know someone who’s perpetually complaining about their job, their relationships, their circumstances, yet never does anything about it. Successful people eliminated this energy drain years ago.

They understand that complaining without action is just noise. It changes nothing while reinforcing a victim mindset. Instead, they either accept the situation or take steps to change it.

When you catch yourself starting to complain, ask: What can I actually do about this? If there’s an action you can take, take it. If not, let it go and focus on what you can control.

5. Waiting for perfect conditions

How many times have you heard someone say they’re waiting for the right time to start that business, write that book, or make that change?

Successful people stopped waiting for perfect conditions because they realized perfect conditions never come. There’s always something that could be better, some reason to wait.

I learned this when founding Hack Spirit in 2016. Was it the perfect time? Absolutely not. But I realized there was a gap in practical, accessible self-improvement content, and waiting for ideal circumstances would mean never starting at all.

The successful approach is this: start where you are with what you have. Perfection is procrastination in disguise.

6. Consuming without creating

Reading another productivity article, watching another motivational video, taking another online course. Sound familiar?

While learning is valuable, successful people recognized when consumption became procrastination. They maintain a healthy ratio of consuming to creating, ensuring they’re actually applying what they learn.

Treating creation as a daily discipline rather than waiting for inspiration is key. The act of creation teaches you far more than passive consumption ever could.

7. Holding onto toxic relationships

Whether it’s the friend who only calls when they need something or the colleague who constantly brings negativity, toxic relationships are massive time and energy drains.

Successful people learned to identify and distance themselves from people who consistently take without giving, criticize without supporting, or create drama without resolution.

This doesn’t mean being ruthless or unkind. It means recognizing that you become the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Choose wisely.

Making tough decisions about relationships that hold you back is never easy, but the mental space and energy you reclaim is invaluable.

8. Living in the past or future

Regret and worry are the twin thieves of the present moment. Successful people stopped giving their energy to what’s already done or what might never happen.

They understand that ruminating on past mistakes won’t change them, and excessive worry about the future won’t prevent challenges. The only moment you can actually influence is this one.

Through mindfulness practice, it’s possible to catch yourself when your mind drifts to past regrets or future anxieties. A simple question brings you back: What needs my attention right now?

This doesn’t mean ignoring lessons from the past or planning for the future. It just means not living there.

Final words

The path to success isn’t just about doing more. Often, it’s about doing less of what doesn’t serve you.

These eight time-wasters might seem harmless individually, but together they can consume hours of your day and years of your life.

Fortunately, unlike adding new habits, elimination is immediate. You can stop scrolling right now. You can say no to that unnecessary meeting today.

Start with one. Pick the time-waster that resonates most with you and eliminate it for a week. Notice the space it creates, the energy you reclaim, the progress you make.

Success isn’t about being busy. It’s about being intentional with your time and ruthless about protecting it.

Lachlan Brown

Lachlan Brown is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Brown Brothers Media, a digital publishing network reaching tens of millions of readers monthly. He holds a Graduate Diploma of Psychological Studies from Deakin University, though his real education came afterward: a warehouse job shifting TVs, a stretch of anxiety in his mid-twenties, and the slow discovery that studying the mind is not the same as learning how to live well. He started experimenting with Buddhist principles during breaks at the warehouse and eventually began writing about what he was learning. That writing became Hack Spirit, a widely read personal development site, and his book Hidden Secrets of Buddhism became a bestseller. His work breaks down complex ideas into frameworks people can apply immediately, whether they are navigating a career change, a difficult relationship, or the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it. Lachlan splits his time between Singapore and Saigon. He writes about high-performance routines, decision-making under pressure, digital innovation, and the intersection of Eastern philosophy with modern life. His perspective comes from having built things from scratch, failed at some of them, and learned that clarity comes from practice, not theory.