The most productive people aren’t more effective because they have more time during the day, but because they make every minute count.
We all have idle (or “down”) times throughout the day where we’re simply sitting or standing still. This could be when you’re doing your laundry, stuck in traffic, or just resting at work.
While having rest time is essential for recovery, these idle times can start to add up after a while.
Instead of letting these times drift by, we’ve devised seven productive things you can do on the go to maximize your time.
1. Listen to audiobooks
Knowledge is power, but not everyone can carry a book wherever they go. This is where audiobooks come in.
Using apps like Audible or Audiobooks.com, you can not only have someone read you the books for you, but you can get through a book twice the time since it allows you to increase the reading speed.
Personally, listening to audiobooks is the first thing I do whenever I ride the bus or the metro (where WiFi doesn’t work). An average audiobook will be around 3-5 hours long, and reading two books a week is more than possible if you’re commuting daily. Think about the knowledge you’ll have!
2. Play brain activity games
Another great way to spend your time is to play brain activity games. There are apps out there that I recommend, like Lumosity, where you can train your memory retention, math skills, and pattern recognition in a fun and easy. Apps like Lumosity have gamified the system, allowing you to stay engaged throughout the learning process while improving your cognitive functions.
3. Learn a language
Learning how to speak a new language used to involve in-person meetings, but not anymore. With the rise of powerful communication tools like Skype or Google Hangouts, it’s possible to connect with professional, native-speaking teachers worldwide. Why not learn to speak Spanish while sitting restlessly in traffic?
Many companies have taken full advantage of these powerful communication tools and have made it incredibly easy for busy people like yourself to learn Spanish on your own time. You can book an unlimited number of private lessons at any time of the day, and any day of the week, allowing you to spend as little as 30 minutes/week to reach fluency faster.
4. Write down your goals
A study was done on Harvard’s graduate students, and they were asked if they have set clear, written goals for their futures.
The result of the study was only 3 percent of the students had written goals and plans to accomplish them, 13 percent had goals in their minds but hadn’t written them anywhere, and 84 percent had no dreams.
After ten years, the same group of students was interviewed again, and the study’s conclusion was astonishing.
The 13 percent of the class who had goals, but did not write them down, earned twice the amount of the 84 percent who had no plans. The 3 percent who had written goals were making, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent of the class combined.
Which one of these three categories do you currently belong to?
If you’re not writing down your goals, you can start today during your idle times.
5. Catch up with an old friend
Loneliness is even more dangerous than obesity. According to Psychology Today:
- Doctors themselves confided that they provide better or more complete medical care to patients with supportive families who are not socially isolated.
- Living alone increases the risk of suicide for young and old alike.
- Lonely individuals report higher levels of perceived stress even when exposed to the same stressors as non-lonely people and when they are relaxing.
- Lonely people’s social interactions are not as positive as those of other people. Hence, their relationships do not buffer them from stress as they usually do.
All of us have felt loneliness in one form or another, and calling an old friend we’ve lost touch with may be the solution.
You’ll feel more energized for the day, exchange some laughter, and increase your level of happiness.
6. Finish up 2-minute tasks
2-minute tasks were introduced by David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done. We all have these tiny tasks that need to be done but are challenging to prioritize in our schedule since we have more important things to finish.
It could be sending an email, reorganizing your schedule for the week, or booking a round-trip ticket. Whatever the task is, if you can get it done within 2-minutes (or so), create a list of these tasks ahead of time.
Then during your idle times, you can run through these as quickly as possible and dedicate a time segment to complete them instead of spreading them throughout the day.
7. Reach out to a mentor
Having the right mentor to guide you can significantly shortcut your path to success. A mentor is someone who has been where you’ve been, made all the mistakes, and can share how you can achieve your goals.
Most people either don’t have a mentor at all or don’t have the type of connection they’re seeking from a mentor. In many cases, it’s because the mentors we want are busy people, but it’s also because we’re not reaching out enough.
With a bit of persistence and reaching out to more mentors in our industry, we can significantly increase our chances of finding the right mentor for our life, business, and career.
Create a list of people you’d like to connect with, and during your next idle time, send them an introduction email or a follow-up from your previous one. If you can keep up this routine, you’ll have a mentor in no time.
