A quarter of Brits are serial time wasters

A survey commissioned by The Open University (OU) has revealed that one in four of the UK public is guilty of serial time wasters. Nearly three quarters (75%) of us claim to have more than 20 hours of free time every week, yet one in four (25%) admit to frittering away more than half of this spare time.

Topping the list of common time-wasting activities is watching TV; something over half (55%) of us confessed to being couch potatoes. Meanwhile, activities such as social media check-ins (45%) and online shopping (36%) also ranked highly.

However, the survey showed that we want to change, with a third (33%) of people wanting to do something more constructive in their lunch break and a quarter (25%) wishing they could put this time to better use by learning something new. More than 75% of Open University students are employed, so with many workers taking public transport (26%) or walking to the office (13%) this provides a great opportunity to tune in to study on the go and earn while you learn.

“Anything that’s worth doing takes commitment but finding the time to improve our lives is not always as difficult as we might think,” adds Pat Atkins, Director of Student Support at The Open University. “Evenings and weekend days represent a substantial amount of time that can be claimed back; 20 hours per week is more than enough to study part-time towards a degree. Our tutors and student support staff are experienced in helping our students deal with the problems of managing deadlines and coping with distractions. Our online study resources also provide a wealth of useful study tips and coping strategies. These include seeking out a dedicated study space; letting friends and family know you need time to study; keeping books and links to online materials and podcasts with you so you can take advantage of short periods of free time; and studying little and often, which helps maintain attention span and retention of information.”

The university’s approach to learning means that people don’t have to put their lives on hold in order to study; students are provided with a variety of materials to suit all lifestyles and abilities. Online student forums can be accessed from anywhere and each student has a dedicated tutor with whom they are in regular contact. OU students can choose where and when to study, making it possible to turn a train, the bath, or even a beach into a classroom.

The OU offers flexible part-time undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, certificates and diplomas, as well as free bite-size courses on a wide range of subjects via its online service, OpenLearn. Most people take up to six years to complete a part-time OU degree. It is also possible to study full-time and achieve a degree in three years. For further information and to download a copy of the ‘Get Started’ guide, click here.