Nobody enjoys waiting unless they are waiting for something exciting and fun like a date, a vacation trip, a dance, or something similar. In fact, many people waste time every day simply because they are forced to wait.

We wait at traffic lights. We sit and wait in the doctor’s office. We wait in the checkout line, the bank line, the dry cleaner’s queue, and the drive-thru at the fast food restaurant. We wait in the carpool line at the beginning of the day, at the movie theater, at the ATM machine, and in the carpool line at the end of the day.

What can we do though? The lines aren’t going to disappear simply because we are tired of waiting. Perhaps, we can learn to be more productive while waiting in these lines. We can accomplish a few small tasks while waiting in line. All it takes is a little bit of planning and a lot of practice and diligence on our part. Use the list below to incorporate a few productive strategies into your waiting time.

• Go through a few of the catalogs that you have been saving up or one of the shopping sites that you have in your list of favorites. Toss or delete the ones that you no longer want or like. Whether it is some new clothing to refresh your wardrobe, that electronics gadget it is a while you want to buy, or some new furniture for your home or office, mark the items that you plan to purchase or add them to the basket. If time allows, call your orders into the company or order directly online.
• Compose a to-do list for your children or your husband. Compose a list of things that you need to check into such as a new insurance company, a new hair stylist, or a repairman for the appliances.
• Schedule the car for an inspection.
• Make a list of all of the things that you accomplished that day.
• Make a list of all of the things for which you are grateful.
• Catch up on your needlework, knitting, or darning.
• Read a book, do a crossword puzzle, or look up a few words in a dictionary.

Granted, not all of these tasks can be performed every time we wait in line. Select a few for each of the many lines that you are forced to wait in each week. If it doesn’t go well the first time you try to get something done while waiting, don’t give up. Try something else. Not all locations are going to be conducive to each of these suggestions. Make sure to coordinate the tasks that you intend to accomplish so that they don’t interfere with your original purpose for being there.

Making changes to your behavior while waiting in lines will free up some much-needed time. True, it might only save you five minutes here and ten minutes the re, but over the course of a week, you could easily save yourself a full hour, enough time to take a relaxing bath, start a new book, take a nap, or play a game with the kids.