Make Every Minute Count: What You Can Do With Those Chunks of "Wasted" Time

Unfortunately, most of us spend a fair amount of time waiting in doctor’s offices, in line for coffee and in queues to buy our take-out lunch. But even the minute you spend waiting for a document to print or for a meeting to start doesn’t need to be wasted time.

Here are 15 things you can do instead of watching the passing crowd or staring into space the next time that you find yourself biding time. We’ve broken them into three categories: Small work tasks, stress relief and dreaming and planning.

Small Work Tasks
While you’re waiting for a meeting to start or for your boss to get off the phone and be available for a chat, don’t simply twiddle your thumbs. Instead:

Call people who’d asked you questions with yes or no answers. This is best done during the lunch hour. When people are away, you can easily leave a message without wasting too much time on chitchat.
Leave voicemail messages or notes to remind yourself of tasks you need to complete, people you need to meet with or other meetings you need to attend.
Leave voicemail messages for your staff to check in on tasks or to assign work.
Think about tasks or projects that you can delegate or outsource in your work life. You may think that you have to do everything yourself, especially if you run a small business. You don’t. If a task or project isn’t important to you bottom line, either don’t do it or delegate it to someone else.
Ask yourself where you want to be in your career in five years. Will your current position help you get there? If not, what can you do to help yourself?

Stress Relief
Here are five things that you can do to relieve stress while you’re awaiting the arrival of your next appointment or the train home.

Breathe deeply. Close your eyes and try to fill up your lungs with one breath. Hold the breath for a count of ten. Let it out slowly. Repeat.
Go for a short walk. Walk back and forth across your office if you have to. The important thing is to take a few minutes to stretch your legs. If you really are stuck in one place for the moment, literally stretch your legs and bend a little at the waist.
Many people keep the stress of their daily lives trapped in their necks and shoulders. To alleviate that tension, roll your neck. Carefully move your head back and then around 360-degrees. Be careful not to pull too hard and strain yourself. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and then let them go.
Play some music you like. Whether you tune in to the radio, listen to your MP3 player or navigate to a favorite music site on the web, whenever you have a few stray minutes, play your favorite music and try to relax a little.
Read a book or magazine. If you’re at your desk—and not eating lunch—glance at the articles in a recent business publication that you’ve been meaning to read. If you’re waiting for the train, open your favorite non-business book or magazine and forget about work for awhile.

Dreaming and Planning
Waiting to use the copy machine or for your child to get out of dance class? Here are five things that you can do.

Plan your dinner for tonight or create a grocery list. What will you cook? What will you pick up?
Think Christmas gifts. Who is on your list and what would they all like? What can you buy online and have shipped directly to the recipient? The holiday season is ridiculously busy, so why not pick up gifts all year long? You’ll save money and be done with your shopping well before December.
Plan a birthday party for your friend, spouse or child. If the birthday person happens to be with you, discuss themes, colors and special events for the birthday. For your own birthday, can you schedule a golf outing or a weekend away with your spouse?
Imagine your next vacation destination. (This may also help with stress relief, too.) Where would you most like to go? Planning and buying ahead will make your vacation cost effective, and your boss, if you have one, will like knowing your plans well in advance of your trip.
Think about what you can outsource in your personal life. If you work 40 to 50 hours a week, do you really want to do yard work or household chores on the weekend? Would your time be better spent enjoying your family and/or your favorite leisure activity? If so, figure out how you can hire someone or barter to get your various chores done. Think in terms of maid service, gardening and lawn service companies, curtain and carpet cleaning firms and a handyman or woman to keep your house in tip-top shape.