Hey, you don't need a paper planner, but scheduling your day is a must. I use Google Calendar and Keep to organize my tasks and goals all the way down to the daily ones. It's all about efficient use of time of course.

I'm always trying to find ways to save time or do more in the same amount of time, and I also make sure I'm wasting the least amount possible. What do I mean by wasting?

Well, that would be doing things that don't improve myself or others. It is a similar definition to yours. I used to play video games for example. How could I really justify it? There's no good excuse for them. I have children, and I would sometimes play games with them.

Should they be wasting time playing games though? Wouldn't both of our times be better spent doing fun things together that also improve them or other people? Sure, that is a better use of our time together than playing video games.

The main problem most people have though is that they simple don't care about wasting their time. Slowly over the years I've learned more and more to not waste my time. At first it was not fully understood. A good example is back in 2001 I completed a ton of studying and 7 or 8 exams to get my MCSE in Windows 2000.

While working towards that goal, I was still playing EverQuest and World of War Craft. How much more could I have accomplished though if I had not been playing the games? Yes, I got the one goal done, but I could have done so much more.

As humans we tend to easily come up with excuses to do less and not achieve our goals. It is a constant battle we must fight with ourselves though. There's no one else to blame but yourself for failure too. I am surrounded by people who blame everything but themselves.

My main life motto is "stop playing or watching the part of a hero, and be one instead." It sums up the understanding I have gained through life. Is what you are doing improving yourself or others? You're wasting your valuable time then.

Speaking of time, it is our most valuable resource. The better you can manage it, the more successful you'll be. I have managed my time pretty well in the last 20 years, but I could have always done more.

Planning my day makes sure that process always improves too.

A person on steemit recently asked a simple question. They asked, "If you could go back and tell your 18yo self one thing, what would it be?" My answer is very simple and didn't require much contemplation...

Stop wasting time!

P.S. I wouldn't waste your time replying to bots or haters either. Just ignore them. :)