It is just a dispersal of effort.

[englishhobby]

Can I write 'It is just a dispersal of time and effort' instead of 'It is just a waste of time and effort' (in an essay, to avoid repetition of the phrase 'waste of time and effort')? It would be great if you could help me find synonyms for 'time and effort' as well or rephrase the whole expression in some other way.

 

[jutfrank]

No.

We can't advise you any further without seeing the text. It may not be necessary to avoid repetition, and it probably is a bad idea to try to look for synonyms.