“Time really is limited. We can’t pretend it’s not. Time spent doing one thing is time spent not doing something else.

It’s so easy to waste time doing stuff that’s not important, not really fun, and not useful to anyone, not even yourself.”

Derek Sivers “Hell Yeah or No”.

Here's another forcing function question to ask yourself the next time you're about to say "Yes" to doing something:

"Is this taking me closer to where I want to go?"

It's also a good question to ask yourself when you realise you're about to start your eleventh game of blitz chess today*. Or before you delve into the edited, curated snapshots in your Instagram feed because your brain's switched into over-active toddler mode and you need something to keep it occupied.

There's nothing wrong with doing things like this if you're taking a break. But then you could ask yourself "would it be better to take a walk instead?"

P.S. A different way to ask this question is “if I weren’t doing this what else could I be doing?”

*Yes, I'm writing this for myself as much as anyone else.