Ummm..play on the computer or flip through decorating magazines and tear endless ideas out. Then I have to take the time to put them into sheets and store them in notebooks!

(Oh, sorry! Didn't mean to give you still another idea to encourage Type A behavior! LOL)

I resemble Ginger in the noodling on the computer and reading books aspect...oh if only I could resemble you Ginger with being motivated to get projects done :(.

I'm finally done with my hectic schedule at work, as the university is into summer school mode. And the kids' final day at school was Friday, hurray! So, it is really and truly my opportunity to dig in on all those organizing and decluttering tasks I've got on my endless list. What have I done so far? That's right: nothing :(.

I have the worst time getting motivated to do more than my maintenance level of cleaning, organizing etc. That keeps the house decent in terms of being relatively nice and tidy but it sure doesn't touch any of the extras, like organizing the files which are in desperate need of attention, or digging through the kids' rooms which are of course pits, or deep cleaning all the kitchen cabinets or [fill in the blank].

Sigh, I'm feeling internal pressure about all the wasting time I do when I have this block of 'gift' time. Fact is, till mid-August there is very little to distract me from getting a lot accomplished, other than my lack of motivation.

Ann

Absolutely sit on the computer....or go shopping for something I don't NEED, then end up getting rid of it later. (I've gotten better though)

Me, too (sitting at the computer). I've been getting better about it lately, though, from sheer necessity. In addition to my part-time job outside the home, I've taken on doing office work at home for a lawyer. It's really eaten into my home-improvement time, plus I took on some gardening projects this spring--impractical, perhaps, but I really love doing it. So I had to take a hard look at where I was wasting time. I don't watch TV, but I sure zone out in front of the computer! Like I said, I've been cutting way down.

I suppose one could say reading People magazine at bedtime is a form of relaxation, especially since I was given a subscription for my birthday. :-)

Susan

I knit, knit, knit and knit. Best time killer there is, in my book.

Computer, read, shop, take drives.

Read or watch TV, mainly. I work on the computer all day, so I rarely even want to look at it when I get home in the evening or on the weekends.

TV is my big "time-waster" though...something about just sitting staring and paying attention or not is very relaxing to me (I would have said reading several years ago, but watching TV I can do while still paying attention to my hubby, which I think he appreciates). I love a good trashy romance novel though, or a suspense mystery. :-)

I "kill time" on the computer. Internet, or playing a video game on the computer.

I "relax" by reading comic books. Sometimes by reading other books, but they aren't really very relaxing.

I kill time on the computer, somme of it may be a waste. I multitask when I watch TV, like knit or read newpaper, magazines, fold laundry, etc. A real waste is when I sit and do nothing while DH surfs channels. That's when I'll waste time surfing the net. Sometimes you guys are here too.

I guess I'm a lot like the rest of you. I spend too much time on the computer. We're still decorating our house, so I spend time looking for bargains on ebay. Of course, I have to visit here too! Like Terrapots, I usually multitask when watching tv - folding laundry, surfing the net, or reading a magazine. I love to read, but don't usually take the time now. I also have some hobbies like sewing, but I don't really take time for them now either.

My royal time wasters are similar to everyone elses with a slight twist: computer, organize closets (ok I am pathological) , flip channels mindlessly on the TV,when all of that fails I can stare at my face in a 10x magnifying glass to see every flaw and obsess about aging. Then I know I REALLY have to get my tush in gear and DO SOMETHING !!!

reading is NEVER a waste of time , IMHO.

Wow,Not a whole lot of time to waste but I find it really gets eaten up on the internet.I try to practice music when the choice is mine.The dog thinks he can help me make the best use of my time by pestering me nonstop for walks(about three to five daily).I usually waste as much of my Sunday as I can out grocery shopping and window shopping cuz the guys watch marathon sports of all kinds for about 15 hours straight.Talk about a waste of time!

cupajoe - yes I understand about the dog. We have two and we walk them only once per day but that is for 30 to 40 minutes, of very valuable (billable) time on the part of my husband who is an attorney. But I can't handle the dogs just by myself. They are big and untrained.

Actually good that DH is forced to spend at least these few minutes in non-work related (or non-TV related) activities. They are always at my feet, in front, in back wanting more and more attention (and food). Are kids like this (I don't/didn't have any)? LOL.
Don't watch TV but do spend way too much time on the web since I retired last year. I love my DSL.

I also read a fair amount, am in two book clubs and usually procrastinate. The week before the meeting(s), I'm reading madly. Sometimes the books are very long and it really becomes a full time job (for a short period).

Otherwise, I'm thinking, thinking, planning how to resolve some of the major remodeling problems we have to get our 75 year old house in some kind of decent shape. My friends don't understand what I do all day. It takes a lot of time/energy for me to think and investigate and try to resolve some of these. Thank goodness for the gardenweb forums. They have been very helpful in these areas hence my computer time isn't all really about wasting time (could be rationalization).

I seem to be very slow in coming up with some of the solutions that turn out to be pretty damn good/innovative/smart but boy do they take time. I know others do things much more quickly, most of all make decisions much more quickly. I have to mull over and mull over and mull over again but seems to pay off as long as my husband is patient and so far he is. He is so busy with other things, he doesn't have time to get on my case.

So I say some of this "wasting time" is actually "mulling over" time (even if you're on the computer playing solitaire). Sometimes "mulling over" takes place not necessarily in your conscious mind. I believe it was Newton who discovered the law of gravity while skipping rocks across a pond. (Not that I claim to be a Newton, LOL!)

Sorry if I've gotten away from the main point of the thread.

--Alice

1st thing in the morning--while drinking my two cups of coffee--the computer, mostly on these forums. I have a few other sites too, mostly related to home improvement topics.

The hard part here is getting myself to stop and get to work. I have a high stress corporate consulting job which allows for long workweeks, but flexible scheduling. Sometimes I don't make it into the office until after 10 AM. OMG. But when I do, I am there until 7 or 8 PM--plus everyone knows that I work plenty of weekends and evenings when necessary---not to mention all the travel. So no one bugs me about it.

2nd thing -- but not a time waster for me --- just a time burner -- is watching our classic DVD collection. Total collection incuding contemporary films is nearing 400, but about 1/2 of this number are classic B&W. Ingrid Bergman, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Ida Lupino, Cary Grant, Bogart, John Garfield--you get the idea. This is what I/we do every night, either in the LR on the 55-in HDTV, or in the MBR. I rarely read outside of work, since reading and writing reports and economic analysis is a big part of my job. By the time I get home, the last thing I want to do is read! I want to passivly relax and be transported away to another world.

Hubby is similar in his movie utilization habits, but he does a great deal of reading and research, usually until about 2 or 3 AM each night/morning and on insomnia nights he will read until the sun comes up. No fiction though - just economic theory and history.

L

I go for the "mulling" idea. When we're eating dinner, I start to look out the window or at the opposite wall, and DH says "You're THINKING again!" So far it's cost us a bundle! Seriously, reading anything I can get my hands on is probably my first choice (including catalogs); computer and genealogy stuff are a close second. Cleaning the house is way at the bottom, unfortunately (until company is coming).

I tend to "putter" and "re-organize and rotate" decorative items around the house. DH laughs when he sees items on their second or third round of being carried around the house!

Reading decor mags or other books, shopping, computer time, love old movies too!!