Affiliate Time Wasters: The Things We Think Are Productive

bySoniaZ

1.8K followers

4 weeks ago

You spent three hours designing a new logo… for your third niche site… that isn’t even live yet. Yep, we’ve all been there.

If you’ve ever ended a long “work” session with nothing published, no emails sent, and no new content to show for it—but hey, your folder icons are now color-coded—welcome to the club.

Affiliate marketing has a sneaky way of making us feel productive when we’re actually just… organizing ourselves into a very tidy stall.

Let’s break down the time-wasting habits that feel productive but totally aren’t—and how to know when you’ve fallen into the busywork trap.

The Sneaky Time Traps

We all have our thing. That task that makes us feel like we’re being productive when we’re really just tiptoeing around the stuff that actually moves the needle.

Here are some of the most common (and hilarious) “fake productivity” traps:

• Obsessively Tweaking Your Theme

You said you’d just “change the header font.” Four hours later, your sidebar’s in a new position, you’ve tried 11 color palettes, and your favicon’s now a coffee cup.
Meanwhile... zero posts were written.

• Designing Logos for Sites That Don’t Exist Yet

Sure, branding matters. But if you’ve got three Canva tabs open and none of your sites are live… You might be procrastinating in style.

• Rewriting Your About Page—Again

Nothing says “look busy” like endlessly editing the same three paragraphs. (Pro tip: your readers probably don’t care that you added the word ‘authentically.’)

• Reorganizing Your WA Training Folders

Yes, organizing is important. But if you’ve spent more time sorting your training than applying it, it might be time to hit pause on the color-coding and actually… implement something.

• Research Rabbit Holes

Spending hours comparing affiliate programs… but not actually joining or testing any of them. Ask yourself: am I researching or just hiding from action?

These traps sneak in because they look and feel like work. And hey, sometimes they’re necessary. But when they start replacing real progress? That’s when you know you’ve detoured into the “pretending to be productive” zone.

How to Tell If It’s Avoidance (And Not Actual Work)

Busy doesn’t always mean productive. So, how do you know when you’re crossing the line from intentional action into fancy avoidance?

Here’s a quick gut-check:

You might be avoiding progress if…

• You’ve spent more time “branding” than building.
• You can’t remember the last time you hit publish.
• You’re tweaking things no one else will ever notice.
• You’re always “researching” but never implementing.
• You feel busy, but don’t feel any momentum.
• You’re putting off the one task that makes you nervous.

And here’s the ultimate clue:

If someone looked at your task list, would they see movement—or a masterpiece of creative stalling?

When in doubt, ask: Is this moving me forward… or just keeping me busy?,

Confessions from the Trenches

Alright, here’s mine.

I once spent an entire weekend designing matching Pinterest pins for a site that had exactly two blog posts. I even made custom Canva folders by niche type.

Meanwhile, no one could actually find the blog because I hadn’t submitted the sitemap yet. (Yep. Oops.)

We all have our moments. The goal isn’t to be perfect—it’s to notice when we’re falling into the trap and course-correct with humor and grace.

💬 Spill It—What’s Your Go-to Fake Productivity Move? No Judgment!

Seriously, we’ve all got one.

The “I totally worked today” habit that secretly helped us avoid the scary stuff.

Drop your favorite fake productivity confession in the comments. Let’s laugh, cringe, and cheer each other on as we get back to the real work—the messy, meaningful stuff that actually builds something.