Time

"Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted."
 -John Lennon

We always talk about productivity and of the value of getting stuff done.  People spend time doing things, as if time is a commodity that can be traded and given a valuation.  Most people would consider a productive activity a valuable use of time.  But what is productivity, really?

Productivity is creation, basically.  When you're productive, you're creating something.  You're making food for yourself, making a cleaner house, making art or music, or making an excel spreadsheet for work.  Productivity is more flexible than we think.  Many things that we may consider 'wastes of time' are actually productive in abstract, interesting ways.  

There are some things, though, that are pretty obviously not productive and not useful.  
They vary from person to person, but, for me, these things are a 'waste' of time:
-Excessive video games  
-TV commercials (and much TV, for that matter)
-Gossip
-Self-loathing

Chances are, we've had times in our lives where we've wasted time in those ways.  It's possible for those things to be productive (like if you're a video game designer or a gossip columnist), but for most of us, I'd say that stuff is unnecessary.  

It's also remarkably popular.  Video game sales increase every year.  TV ads are not going away anytime soon.  People have always talked about each other behind their backs and they'll probably continue for a long, long time.  Some of the biggest industries are based on wasting time.  Why?

I've come to think that we're taught not to value ourselves as much as we should.  We see wasting time as a way to relax after being productive.  In setting a limit on how productive or creative we should be (ie, 9am-5pm), we're drastically underestimating ourselves.  We're selling ourselves short.
  
Don't think of productivity as a chore you need to work through in order to be able to waste time.  The status quo is to create 'productive' output for 40-50 years, then retire and 'waste' time for the remainder of one's life.  All I have to say is this: really?
  
Everyone has something that, if they devoted even half of their potential productivity to it right now, would lead them to extreme creativity and great bliss. I encourage you to find whatever that source of bliss may be for you, and embrace it. Instead of working as a chore, work as a manifestation of your appreciation of living and being active. Even if you push pencils all day, there's productive bliss to be found in it.

Alan Watts said, "Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes."
 
Just peel the potatoes.

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