The Waiting (Is The Hardest Part)!
Tom Petty was right. The waiting is the hardest part!
We always seem to be waiting. On the surface waiting sucks, but why not take advantage of the down time? Waiting can equal learning while you are:
- Waiting for, or riding public transportation
- Commuting to work and/or driving to meetings
- Waiting for an appointment
- Waiting in line at a store
- Waiting on a golf course between holes
… You the idea. There are many other examples.
- When you are on public transportation or waiting anywhere with respect to your role, have some “catalog time” with your company’s literature. It is incredible how much more comfortable I became with catalogs by focusing on them as little as 10 minutes per day.
- When you are commuting to work in your vehicle, or driving to appointments, listen to podcasts or audio books that will help you with business and/or personal development.
- When you are waiting for a business appointment, go over your notes to prepare and focus before the call. Don’t get distracted by email or phone calls. That can wait until later
- When you are in line at a store, always be in engagement mode (check out earlier post here http://bit.ly/KAcGXS )
- If you are golfing with customers, take time to really get to know them when you are waiting between holes. You have their undivided attention.
I used to get VERY frustrated with all the waiting that goes on in everyday life. But now I embrace it, and get as much done during business hours when I have time to spare. If I have put everything in to my work during the day, it gives me more time to devote to my family out of “office hours”.
- Do you make valuable use of your “waiting”, or do you just waste time?
- If not, what improvements can you make going forward?
Remember, waiting can equal learning if you use your time wisely!
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Posted on October 9, 2013, in Sales, Success and tagged Blogging, Learning, Opportunistic, Personal Development, Prioritization, Time management, Tom Petty, Wordpress. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 
good stuff you have there.. when I am driving or walking, i like to think about “stuff”. It is times like this that i listen to a business interview podcast and then relate the ideas to myself, my team or my organization. You will be surprised how much input that i got during these no-distraction moments.
Hey Chen Choon. Those are certainly great times to think about “stuff”. So often our minds wander off to “nowhere”, we can still be productive when we are driving or walking. Keep on creating, thinking and analyzing. Thanks again…
Nice post Tim. It speaks to being efficient with your time but also focussed on your goals. I particularly like the catalogue time. I will use that myself as there are assessments that I could do with clients that I don’t do simply because I haven’t had time to research them deeply enough yet. I little bit of prep time and I’ll have all that I need on my i-phone for those 5-10 minute gaps in my day.
Glad you liked the “catalog – time” concept. It is so easy to think that you cannot accomplish much in small blocks of time, but that concept proves that it can still be valuable.
Those 5-10 minute gaps that you discussed will certainly pay dividends long term as part of your prep time. Thanks again Rupert!
Thanks for the re-blog today! I really appreciate your support. Have a great night..
Reblogged this on Observations from a Business Insider and commented:
I think that Tim does a nice job here of basically saying “when you know what the end game is there is no such thing as wasted time.”
Great post, Tim. So much time is wasted on the daily commute. Turning that time into an opportunity to learn is a great way to get ahead. A few minutes a day can really add up over the course of the year.
-Erik K. Johnson
PodcastTalentCoach.Wordpress.com
Hey Erik:
Thanks for taking the time to comment! Yes a few minutes per day can really add up. I have really noticed a difference in my level of knowledge. And over a year, wow what a difference that can make.
Hi Tim, always be prepared for waiting, in fact, I look forward to appointments when I will need to wait. I always have my iPad and a few paper articles with me to read. Having “to read” items either downloaded on your phone or iPad makes the wait delightful, unless you need to be somewhere. I just need to schedule more appointments so I can catch up on my “to read” pile. Great post.
Thanks Tina! Sounds like a great plan to reduce the ineffectiveness of your “waiting” time. Ha ha… yep you need to certainly catch up on that “to read” pile. As usual, thanks for taking the time to comment and have a wonderful day…
Hi Tim
Enjoyed this again, time is so limited we need to learn to make the best of each moment we have when waiting!