How To Do More Using Your Idle Time:
PROFITING FROM YOUR
“IDLE TIME”
PROFITING FROM YOUR
“IDLE TIME”
Have you ever experienced those moments in life where you have some idle time on hand but they are not enough to do something substantial, yet they are long enough?
These are those little moments in life that we experience on a daily basis. Those are the moments that we are literally forced to sit idle doing almost nothing.
Can these idle moments add value in our life? Can we use it and achieve something worthwhile for ourselves?
Let’s compare these spare moments with small denomination coins.
CHILLER or spare change is what we call 25 paise or 50 paise coins. Today a one rupee coin is also considered as spare change.
We usually tend to get rid of these coins by giving it to the street beggars or not bothering to ask the bus conductor to return the change amount that he owes us.
For us at that particular moment they are coins that have not much value or worth as it cannot buy us anything.
But this blog is not about these small denominator coins called CHILLER. It is infact not about money at all.
This blog is about something more precious than money.
THIS BLOG IS ABOUT VALUE OF TIME!
I gave you the example of CHILLER money because just as we have CHILLER money in our pocket, we also have CHILLER or idle time in our daily lives.
Let us suppose that at the end of each day you take out all the spare change out of your pocket and put it in a piggy bank. Continue doing this for one whole year. What happens at the end of the year?
Your piggy bank is full of those spare changes that can add to give you a sizable amount, anything between Rupees 300/- to 500/- or even more.
Remember, this is the same money you didn’t value much.
Now, let us take this example and apply it to the ‘time’ in our daily routine.
The Cause of Idle Time and the Hours We Waste Being Idle…
Today travelling or commuting has become a part of our daily lives.
In this era of traffic jam we waste a lot of time in transit. And what do most of us do when we travel?
Nothing!!
Really, think about it. How many times have you creatively used your traveling time?
People just sit quietly looking out of the window or they listen to songs on their mobiles.
Everyday we do the same exercise and waste so much time of our life doing nothing constructive.
Today traveling takes a minimum of any where between one to two hours from home to office and back.
Now let us do some simple calculations. Traveling two hours daily for six days a week adds up to 12 hours.
Now let us go one step further. There are 4 weeks in a month, some months even have 5 weeks but for calculation sake let us stick to 4 weeks, and so we end up consuming 48 hours per month of our lives traveling.
If we calculate it for one year then it comes to 576 hours per year.
When we convert 576 hours into days we have 24 days.
Wow!! It is almost a complete month.
Can you imagine? In one calendar year we have used up almost a month to travel to our office and back home.
Just imagine, if you were given this extra one month what would you have done?
Now let us shift our scenario to the office. Here also you have idle time in your hand on various occasions like:
When you are waiting for your computer to start
Waiting for the project as the computer prints it
Waiting for your computer to download a file that might take 30 seconds to a minute
And many, many more instances where you have to sit idle for minutes
When you wait for these tasks to finish you don’t give much thought to the idle time that you have to spend waiting to move ahead. It is because the time is just about few minutes or less.
But, once again if we apply the above calculation, we will be shocked to know as to how much time we have wasted at the end of one calendar year. This is in addition to the time that we use to commute.
We have to commute daily for work. We cannot avoid it. At the office, we have to wait for things to happen as we sit in front of our computer or wait for a call to come in or wait for the boss’s approval on a particular task.
So let us think what we can do to make our little idle minutes productive.
How We Can Utilize Out Idle Time to Achieve More
While we are commuting we can do the following:
1. Read the daily newspaper or the report that requires your immediate attention when you reach office or any other book that will enhance your thinking.
2. If you are traveling in a group, have a healthy discussion on any topic of common interest that will educate you as well as entertain you and the other strangers who are traveling with you.
3. Make important calls ahead of your day or for the next day while you return home.
4. Take this time to ponder and plan your future moves in life.
5. Think how you can improve your life’s worth.
6. If you yourself drive to work, then instead of listening to the blah-blah of the radio jockey use your travel time to listen to audio CDs of some great business leaders or Motivational Speakers. Train yourself in a new skill by listening to such Audio CDs.
Go ahead and let your mind run free. You can do a lot in those hours.
And at your table in your office you could do the following:
1. As soon as you get few free minutes use it to organize your files and table.
2. Write down all those on job achievements of yours till date.
3. Check your “To-Do” list and if you don’t have one make it in your spare time.
4. Do research on a topic of your interest.
5. Take a break. Go to the bathroom.
6. Take your daily cup of tea or coffee.
7. Expand on the idea that you have been working on.
8. Get out of your chair and stretch your body to normalize the blood flow.
9. Dream about something that will bring a smile on your face.
Well can you think of something else to do in your idle or “CHILLER” time?
Use your CHILLER time creatively and see how many things you can achieve in that time. The things for which you thought you never had time.
Can you find anything more rewarding than having realized how to spend those idle moments?
When you add up those idle minutes it will amount to enough time to take a long vacation with your family or even take power packed positive action that will change the course of your life for ever.
So, next time you have those “IDLE TIME”, use it creatively and constructively.
All the very best with your idle moments in life!
How do you use your idle time? Do share it in the comments section. Your thoughts are welcome!
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