# People Who Waste Your Time

Source: https://www.theminimalists.com/waste/
Published: 2026-06-17
Updated: 2026-06-14
Author: Joshua Fields Millburn

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Don’t you hate it when people waste your time?

Me, too.

Of course, no one has wasted more of my time than me.

Imagine if a friend forced you to\
 mindlessly scroll for hours a day.\
 “Just one more video…”

Imagine if they pressured you to\
 stay up late watching vacuous television.\
 “Let’s start another episode…”

Imagine if they filled your calendar\
 with commitments you didn’t want to keep.\
 “Come on, saying *yes* is much easier…”

Imagine if they convinced you to go window shopping\
 and then tricked you into repeated impulse purchases.\
 “It’s on sale, you might as well get it…”

You’d probably call that relationship toxic.

You’d want to set boundaries\
 and create distance\
 to protect your time.

Eventually, your mounting discontent\
 would rally you to [stop tolerating](https://www.theminimalists.com/discontent/)\
 their inconsiderate conduct.

So I’ve got to ask…

Why do you and I tolerate\
 that same behavior from ourselves?

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