Why Your Spending Too Much Time On Rubbish Tasks

Yesterday I spent two hours tweaking my website footer.

Two. Hours.

On a footer that maybe 3% of my visitors actually look at.

Meanwhile, I had three posts with declining traffic that desperately needed attention. Posts that were actually generating revenue. Posts that readers were actively searching for.

That’s when it hit me: I was majoring in the minors, focusing on low-value tasks while high-impact work sat waiting.

If you’re wondering whether you’re falling into the same trap, here are five clear signs you’re spending too much time on tasks that don’t move the needle – and what to do about it.

Sign #1: You’re Perfecting Posts That No One Reads

The symptom: You spend hours polishing posts that get less than 100 monthly visitors, while your popular content sits untouched.

Why it’s a problem: Every hour spent perfecting low-traffic posts is an hour not spent improving content that’s already proven to attract readers.

The fix:

• Check your analytics for posts with under 100 monthly visitors
• Place these in a “low priority” folder
• Focus enhancement efforts on posts with 500+ monthly visitors
• Only update low-traffic posts if they target valuable keywords with realistic ranking potential

I had to face this reality with a post about “mindful blogging practices.” Yes, it was beautifully written. Yes, I’d spent hours on it. But it averaged 47 visitors per month while my “How to Write Better Blog Headlines” post was getting 2,000 monthly visitors and needed updating.

Guess which one deserved my attention?

Sign #2: You’re Constantly Tweaking Design Instead of Content

The symptom: Your task list is full of design tweaks – new fonts, color adjustments, sidebar widgets – while your actual content remains unchanged.

Why it’s a problem: Design improvements rarely drive significant traffic or engagement gains compared to content improvements.

The fix:

• Limit design changes to once per quarter
• Create a simple design checklist and stick to it
• Track the actual impact of design changes on metrics
• Redirect design time to content enhancement

Here’s what I learned: After testing 14 different fonts, my time-on-page improved by exactly 4 seconds. After enhancing my top 10 posts with better introductions, time-on-page increased by 1 minute 23 seconds.

The data doesn’t lie.

Sign #3: You’re Creating New Content When Existing Posts Need Help

The symptom: You have a publishing schedule for new posts but no schedule for improving existing content.

Why it’s a problem: New posts require much more effort than improvements, yet improvements often deliver better ROI.

The fix:

• Implement a 1:3 ratio – for every new post, enhance three existing ones
• Create an enhancement calendar alongside your publishing calendar
• Set specific “enhancement days” separate from creation days
• Track ROI of new content vs. enhanced content

Real numbers from my blog:

• Average time to create new post: 6-8 hours
• Average time to enhance existing post: 45 minutes
• Average traffic increase from new post: 150 visitors/month
• Average traffic increase from enhanced post: 380 visitors/month

The math is clear.

Sign #4: You’re Obsessing Over Social Media Metrics

The symptom: You check social media stats multiple times daily and spend hours crafting perfect posts, but your actual blog metrics aren’t improving.

Why it’s a problem: Social media vanity metrics rarely correlate with business results like email subscribers or revenue.

The fix:

• Limit social media checks to once daily
• Automate social sharing with tools like Buffer or Hootsuite
• Focus on social content that drives traffic back to your blog
• Track social traffic that actually converts, not just likes

I spent months growing my Twitter following to 10,000. Know how much traffic it sent to my blog? About 2% of my total. Meanwhile, enhancing my top SEO posts increased organic traffic by 43%.

Sign #5: You’re Drowning in Analytics Instead of Taking Action

The symptom: You have 15 different analytics dashboards but no clear action plan based on the data.

Why it’s a problem: Analysis paralysis prevents you from making actual improvements to your content.

The fix:

• Choose 5 key metrics maximum to track
• Create specific action triggers for each metric
• Set up a simple weekly review process
• Document actions taken and results achieved

My simplified metrics:

1. Organic traffic to top 10 posts
2. Email opt-in rate
3. Average time on page
4. Bounce rate on high-traffic posts
5. Revenue per visitor

That’s it. Everything else is noise.

How to Shift Your Focus to High-Value Tasks

Ready to stop wasting time on low-value work? Here’s your action plan:

Step 1: Conduct a Time Audit

For one week, track every task in 30-minute blocks. Categorize each as:

• High-value (directly improves traffic/revenue)
• Medium-value (indirectly supports growth)
• Low-value (no measurable impact)

You’ll be shocked at where your time actually goes.

Step 2: Identify Your Top 20% Content

Look at your analytics and identify:

• Posts that generate 80% of your traffic
• Posts that generate 80% of your revenue
• Posts that generate 80% of your email subscribers

These deserve 80% of your enhancement efforts.

Step 3: Create an Enhancement Priority System

Score each post based on:

• Current traffic (1-5 points)
• Revenue potential (1-5 points)
• Ranking opportunity (1-5 points)
• Enhancement effort required (1-5 points, where 5 = minimal effort)

Focus on posts scoring 12+ points first.

Step 4: Implement Time Blocks

Schedule specific blocks for:

• Monday: Analytics review and planning (1 hour)
• Tuesday/Thursday: Content enhancement (2 hours each)
• Wednesday: New content creation (3 hours)
• Friday: Strategic improvements and testing (2 hours)

Protect these blocks fiercely.

Step 5: Track Your ROI

Create a simple spreadsheet tracking:

• Time invested in each task
• Measurable results achieved
• ROI calculation (results divided by time)

Review monthly and adjust your focus accordingly.

The High-Value Tasks That Actually Matter

Based on data from successful bloggers, here are the tasks that consistently deliver the best ROI:

1. Enhancing post introductions – Can reduce bounce rates by 20-40%
2. Updating outdated statistics and examples – Often leads to improved rankings
3. Adding relevant internal links – Increases pageviews per session
4. Improving meta descriptions – Can increase click-through rates by 5-15%
5. Expanding successful posts – Typically generates more traffic than new posts
6. Optimizing for featured snippets – Can double or triple organic traffic
7. Adding FAQ sections based on reader questions – Improves engagement and rankings

The Real Cost of Low-Value Tasks

Let me share some hard numbers that finally convinced me to change:

Time spent on low-value tasks in one month:

• Design tweaks: 12 hours
• Social media perfectionism: 15 hours
• Analytics rabbit holes: 8 hours
• Editing posts nobody reads: 10 hours

Total: 45 hours

What I could have done instead:

• Enhanced 60 high-traffic posts
• Potentially increased traffic by 22,800 visits/month
• Generated an estimated $4,560 in additional revenue

That’s the real cost of focusing on the wrong things.

Your Next Steps

1. This week: Conduct your time audit
2. Next week: Identify your top 20% content
3. Following week: Implement your first enhancement sprint
4. Ongoing: Track ROI and adjust your focus

Remember: The goal isn’t to work harder—it’s to work smarter by focusing on tasks that actually move the needle.

What low-value task will you eliminate first? Drop a comment below and let’s hold each other accountable to focusing on what matters.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​