We’ve all experienced the miniature trauma of gratuitous waiting– in line, stuck in traffic, canceled flights, waiting to meet the right partner – or waiting 145 days until you finally can retire. Most of us are familiar with the frustration that fretting over waiting – for any length of time — can bring on.
If you add up all the minutes you spend waiting resentfully, you are likely to recognize a significant chunk of squandered life. Time is precious, it’s all we have. Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones’ lead singer, crooned a song when he was quite young, “Time Is On My Side” written in 1963. When he was older, he sang another song about the passage of time, entitled “Time Waits for No One “ written eleven years later, in 1974. What a difference in attitude about the passage of time!
David Maister, podcaster and author of the article “The Psychology of Waiting in Lines,” has interviewed store owners, restauranteurs, medical practices, airport personnel, and places where people often get frustrated waiting in lines. His results showed that how long the wait feels may not have anything to do with the actual time spent waiting. Maister says that occupied time is less irritating than empty time. As a result, some airports provide devices such as rocking chairs, massage chairs, shops and restaurants. The restaurants often entertain children with crayons and puzzles. Hotels provide full-length mirrors by their elevators so that people can look at themselves while waiting.
If your wait time has been neither explained nor defined in terms of minutes, it will feel longer. Moreover, waiting by yourself feels longer than waiting with a friend or in a group.
Cultures seem to treat waiting time differently. Which countries, do you think, are the most and least patient? Maister reveals that the most patient countries include Sweden, Japan, and Germany. Conversely, the most impatient countries are China, India and USA.
Do you remember Latin class from decades ago learning the phrase for Time Flies! I vividly recall the wall clock in my 9th grade Latin class with a sign covering it that said Tempest Fugit! If you wait for the future, you miss out on the present. If you miss out on the present, you erode your life away. Instead of tapping your foot and becoming irritated, next time you find yourself waiting, make a list of small actions you can accomplish.
Here are ways to turn wasted moments into profitable time:
- Delete unwanted phone messages
- Compose a grocery list
- Update a to-do list
- Breathe deeply and consciously
- Catch up on emails, phone calls, text messages
- Handle a business issue
- Stretch
- Do a crossword puzzle, Sudoku, or word game
- Read a chapter of a book
- Think of names for a new pet
- Window shop
- Take a walk
- Send a handwritten note to a friend
How do you usually respond to waiting in lines and what do you turn to in those moments?