set takes some working at and some getting used to. But it can be
done. Anger and frustration are not inevitable results of waiting.
Step 3. Use the Wait
You’re running late, racing the green turn arrow to the inter-
section. But the bozo in front of you is poking along, blissfully
unaware of your need to make that signal. The bozo, of course,
makes the light while causing you to miss it. It’s just one of the
unwritten laws of physics.
You can scream and fume, spiking your blood pressure while
adrenaline oozes out your ears. Or you can proclaim a rest and take
one of your mini-vacations for deep breathing or mental roaming.
Too unproductive for you? Spend forty-five seconds visualizing
a perfect golf swing or tennis stroke. (There’s evidence that posi-
tive visualization might even improve your stroke or swing.)
Conduct a mental dialogue with someone you’ve always wanted
to talk to.
Brainstorm solutions to a problem.
Plan a week’s worth of dinner menus.
You’ll wait a lot longer than forty-five seconds at the doctor’s
office. So come prepared. Bring that book you’ve been trying to
find time to read, your “read” folder from work, or the crossword
puzzle you’ll never have time for later.
Tend to your knitting.
Write a haiku.
Read one of those moldy magazines that seem to survive only in
historical societies and waiting rooms. Pick something you wouldn’t
usually read. You’ll gain a new perspective on life and learn things
you never would have known. And that way it won’t make any dif-
ference that the magazine is old; it’s all new to you anyway.
T U R N D O W N T I M E I N T O P R O D U C T I V E T I M E