Author and connector Scott Ginsburg wrote a blog post about business trends. In it, he explained how waiting is the new working. In other words, by rethinking your productive hours, you can work less and get more done.
If you travel a lot you spend a lot of time waiting in lines, but there are other places too. You can wait in line at the grocery store or Starbucks or on people you’re meeting.
You can also wait on information to move forward on a project.
You can look at this waiting two ways:
1) You can let it stifle your productivity by feeling annoyed or aimlessly surfing the w
2) You can use the time productively.
If you’re waiting in line, you can write a few lines of a blog post or brainstorm ideas. You can use the “notes” function on your smartphone or good old fashioned paper.
If you’re waiting on information to move ahead on a project, you can switch to a different project.
It sounds simple enough but how many times do we find ourselves feeling huffy or stymied by waiting? How many times do you find yourself checking Facebook or Twitter or refreshing your email when you’re not sure what to do next?
Yet, think about it. What if you spent your waiting time writing blog posts or working on an information product or otherwise doing something to move your business forward?
15 minutes a day is 1.75 hours a week. That’s 7 hours in a month. It adds up. What if you spent an additional 7 hours a month on creating content? Would you have a book?
Here’s an example from prolific writer and businessman Chris Brogan.
A few months ago, I saw a Google+ post by him. The post showed a picture of his open laptop on an airline tray table. The caption read “Writing 10,000 words at 30,000 feet.” (I’m paraphrasing.) That image and his statement has stuck with me for months.
Why? It illuminates how we have to take charge of the time we have.
It also made me think about how unproductive I often am when flying. I use the excuse that I’m tired or not in the right “mindframe” or whatever.
I’m changing that. Last week for example, I made headway on a DIY SEO ebook I’m putting together—while waiting for a plane.
What about you? Have you found ways to turn unproductive time like waiting into productive time? If so, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
