Playing the juggling act between your work life, personal life, and business tasks can seem grueling at times. Distractions plague the creative entrepreneur left and right. You’ve got deadlines, responsibilities, and not a minute to waste. Even amongst all these, there are 3 things that I implore you to steer clear of in your pursuit of happiness.

Emotional Vampires

Emotional Vampires will suck the optimism and serenity right out of you. Not only will these folks waste your time, but they can also cause physical fatigue! Yikes! It is imperative that you recognize who these folks are and head for the hills. They are not worth investing your precious effort or energy in.

Emotional Vampires may come disguised as colleagues or acquaintances, but they also can take on the form of family members or friends.

If you run into someone who often:

1. Criticizes
2. Condemns
3. Complains

there is a chance they might be an emotional vampire. Don’t let them latch on to you and steal your joy!

Worrying

Let’s be clear. Worrying will get you absolutely NOWHERE. I repeat. NOWHERE. Worrying brings on self-inflicted stress which in turn causes you to become distracted from what’s important. Time is your number one asset. Allowing it to be wasted on things you cannot control is silly.

Instead of worrying, focus on things you have control over yourself and your actions. Attempt to make positive progress forward no matter what your circumstances are. This is easier said than done, but you can do it!

Social Media/Cell Phones

Admit it. We’ve all been down the rabbit hole. One minute you’re doing a quick Google search. The next hour you’ve found yourself sucked into Youtube and accomplished absolutely nothing.

Or how about this?

You receive a text message. You reply back. Minutes later you’re not watching and in a full-fledged text conversation that has resulted in you forgetting what you originally intended doing on the phone.

Communication is essential for us all but it’s important to prioritize. Just like you prioritize your to-do list, you should prioritize who you communicate with. Spend your energy on people and in places that matter.

Practice “pumping the brakes” on diving into your Twitter feed and instead dedicate that energy to something more productive. Cultivate the relationships that matter but don’t allow them to rule your life.

Are there any time wasters that you feel I missed? Share them in the comments section.