5 things to do while waiting (No phone attached)

By Yameng Zhang

Waiting can be annoying, but if you think about it, waiting is a way of giving you the precious time to do whatever you have in mind.

In our generation, phones, laptops and those palmtops are always at hands, while they made our life easier, they can be quite a distraction. Let’s put them down for a second, try to utilize the waiting time as cavemen and see what may happen.

-      Think things through
While you lose your devices to check the emails, you got yourselves the chance to hear what’s on your mind. Don’t panic, you can get through this, by thinking. The good thing about thinking is that nobody would notice and you can be the only one who is aware of the little activity.

-       Bring back the handwriting
When was the last time you wrote? Try to write whatever you may type. If nothing comes to your mind, you always have options- record a short diary each time you wait, you know how interesting and entertaining to read a diary, even just a word.

-       Take a look around
Here comes the best part of waiting, it gives you the time to appreciate what’s around us. The hand-holding couple, the playing kids, the ads about weird stuffs, the faces of other waiting people… There are always something that worth looking at, you can catch up with a lot of them while waiting.

-       Talk to strangers
If you are waiting where other people are waiting as well, please take down your headphones and mingle a little bit. It is always a good thing to meet new people, especially when you need time to fly faster. Be nature. People can be really talkative when it comes to themselves, so you may hear some really interesting stories and learn something new afterwards.

-       Be empty for a while
You have to admit the fact that there are so much going on and it can be really hard to even clear your mind. Waiting gives you the chance to relax your brain. Get everything out of your head and concentrate on the emptiness. Yep, just like what you do in yoga. Let every waiting time becomes your time for practicing, practicing your control over your own mind.

Next time if you are brave enough, you should put down whatever you have and try to wait without them. There are a big portion of our time spend on waiting, waiting for planes, classes, orders…… Your phone may never leave you, but you can always leave them for a new state of mind.