Commuting & Waiting: 3 Ways to Diffuse a Ticking Time Bomb
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If you’re like me, and commute from the suburbs to the city, you’ve logged some serious hours of travel time: on the LIRR, the subway, and bus. Then, there’s the seemingly endless waiting time: in lines and at appointments. It’s enough to make you feel like you’re wasting (and waiting) your life away and it can create more stress than necessary.

That’s why, as an experienced lady-in-waiting, I’ve come up with a few ways to cope:

1.Be prepared: Keep catch-up materials at your fingertips: books, links to articles you’ve saved, correspondence you need to write or read. This is a great time to focus on something that makes you feel productive, instead of staring at your watch.

2.Always have a to-do list handy: Never trust anything to memory. Use this time to review it, organize it according to priority, and schedule what needs to be done next (remember—a ‘what’ needs a ‘when’ to happen). I’ve even managed to tackle many items on my list–like clearing my inbox– right in the middle of a crowded waiting room.

3.Reach out: Run through your contacts and connect. This is a great use of time for quick acts of networking or kindness, or both!

We may not be able to control the LIRR (sigh) or our doctors’ schedules, but we can take better control of ourselves and our time, and make the best of it.