5 Things That Help Keep Your Composure While You Are Stuck Waiting

Our lives are filled with moments where we wait for things or people. This could be waiting at a red light, waiting to pick up your child, waiting for your baggage to arrive, and many more.

These waiting periods can be tricky. They have the power to overtake our emotions. When wait times go longer than expected, things start to change. You can see people cutting lanes, honking when not needed, losing their composure, and saying things they may regret later.

The majority of the time we may not have something super pressing to tend to right after. But we have invested so much of our energy in one area that it causes a change in our temperament.

In this article, I cover 5 simple things you can do during these waiting periods in life. They take divert your attention from what you are focused on and help maintain composure.

1. Listen to a Podcast

This is my favorite go-to. Especially since I can choose to engage with it for however long I can. If you are listening to a series, it can be a perfect opportunity to make progress on your podcast.

I like listening to podcasts like Feel Better Live More where experts in each field share their valuable insights. Spiritual ones from Sounds True are great when I want to feel centered.

2. Short Meditation Or Breathing Exercises

Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash

Meditation and breathing exercises help bring your mind back in to present moment. If you own a meditation app, you can pick a 5-min meditation that you could do while you are waiting. I often resort to listening meditation where I just listen to sounds as they come for a few minutes.

If you are not into meditation, you can spend a few minutes practicing deep breathing. Most smartwatches have a feature to allow you to practice breathing. My most recent favorite is the Four Pebble Meditation By Thich Nhat Hanh.

3. Read A Book

Books can help you escape your current situation and carry you into a new world. When you know you ahead of time that you would spend time waiting, it helps to keep a book with you or listen to an audiobook.

4. Movement Activity

We may not be able to do a handstand but can rely on other movement activities while waiting. I have benefited from filling in the waiting periods with short walks, jump ropes, or squats. If you are in the habit of tracking steps, these in-between times can be perfect opportunities.

5. Refer to your To-Do List

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

There are many tasks that we can complete in under 5 minutes. This could be paying a bill, following up on emails, scheduling your cleaners, etc. Next time you are in this situation refer to your to-do list whether it’s stored in your mind or digitally.

Every time I find myself waiting for something, my mind immediately goes to one of the activities above. I see time in increments.

5 minutes of waiting → Perfect for a short meditation
10 minutes of waiting → Podcast opportunity
15 Minutes of waiting → A walk or book

With minimal planning, we can turn the dreadful waiting periods into windows of opportunity. An opportunity to center ourselves and recharge using our favorite activity.

You may have noticed that I didn’t list browsing social media as one of these. It is the easiest option that we have access to. I find that wherever I choose this I don’t feel as rejuvenated as one of the other activities.

I hope this inspires to use your waiting period in a way that recharges you and helps maintain calm.

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