Older people still remember well what queues are and how to behave in them. No, not today's miserable three or four people on the way to the supermarket checkout, but real large-scale Soviet queues in which you could spend half your life. Yes, then it was a real subculture with its own rules, folklore and traditions.
However, although today we are practically deprived of such a dubious "pleasure", sometimes it is still possible to seriously and permanently get stuck in queues. This usually happens in public institutions, polyclinics, at the approaches to the offices of officials or ticket offices, as well as in other crowded places. In order for a spoiled and untrained modern consumer not to lose heart in an unusual environment, we have prepared a small memo on how to usefully spend the waiting time in queues.
Play games, browse through bookmarks in the browser, reply to emails, watch Facebook* or Twitter on your smartphone. Read magazines. Take a book with you wherever you are. Listen to music or podcasts. The most important thing is that you should do it with pleasure and interest, and not because you got bored. Then you will treat the queue as a gift from the gods, which has been sent down to you so that you can rest.
Have you read a lot about the benefits of planning and have you wanted to do this closely for a long time? Now is the time! Create a to-do list for yourself, review your approaches to time management, and set up expense accounting. In short, spend this unproductive time to become more productive.
We all have responsibilities that we never have enough time for on working days and are so lazy to do on weekends. Perhaps this is a call to parents, to their adult children, or just to an old friend whom I promised to call back two months ago? Just pick up the phone and dial the number.
If you are mainly engaged in specific and logical operations at work, then try to use your resting creative potential. Draw a sketch in a notebook, compose a poem, or even come up with a fairy tale for your children. On the other hand, if you are mainly engaged in creativity, then it's time to start calculating your financial budget, solving Sudoku, or even just trying to multiply three-digit numbers in your mind.
Even the simplest phone has enough functions that you don't know about or don't use. What can we say about modern smartphones, to master the capabilities of which you need to spend a fairly large amount of time. Get to the bottom of the most hidden menus, try new settings and functions, try new applications. Become a guru for your mobile assistant and you will need it more than once.
Never underestimate what you can learn from strangers. Sometimes even the most insignificant meeting at first glance can change your life. You can meet an interesting person, learn a new recipe or even the right solution to your old problem. Or maybe on the contrary — you will become the starting point that will change the life of your interlocutor. After all, there are no random meetings, right?
In everyday life, do you often find time to just dream? If not, then it's time to do it. Just close your eyes and let your thoughts go. It can really relax you, inspire you and, who knows, may even spark a spark for new adventures.
If you can't stop thinking about your work for a minute, then being in line is not a reason to relax at all. Modern means of communication allow you to stay in touch at any time. Write a report, draw sketches, count balances, plan purchases, do your urgent business.
You can meditate almost anywhere without the need for any props or special music. Meditation is a great way to calm your mind and reduce stress — try.
Yes, if you sit in the splits right in the queue in a serious institution, it can cause an ambiguous reaction. But, fortunately, there are enough exercises that will not cause excessive attention of eyewitnesses. Take the time of forced downtime to perform toning and stretching exercises for your back, neck, arms and even buttocks. Just strain and relax certain muscle groups and by the end of your turn you will feel like after a good workout.
Yes, no one likes waiting time, especially when it is not planned. But in many ways it's just our attitude, which is dictated by the fear of impending boredom. Learn to spend this time usefully for yourself and you will immediately stop being afraid of queues and, who knows, even love them :).
And what secret ways to deal with queues do you have?
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