Techniques to make waiting Productive!

Friend 1:“Hey, what you doing? Let us go out for a coffee.”

Friend 2: “I don’t think I can make it, just found an ATM. The queue seems too long”

If you are part of the population who survives on cash, you know what I am talking about.

Demonetisation had us all talking about a lot of things – economic downturn, Opposition party views, mobile wallet and long queues outside ATM and Banks. Now we all know what a task standing in a queue can be, imagine 30 minutes of doing nothing?

Worry not! Next time you are waiting in a queue, do one or more of these productive tasks:

1. • Make a to-do list: An average human being makes 3 different kinds of the to-do list in a day: Work list, Chores list and What-am-I-doing-over-the-weekend list. He/she spends an average of 10 minutes making each one of them that is a good 30 minutes! So why not do it while you have nothing better to do?
     If pen and paper is not handy, you can use one of the following:
     –Wunderlist is one of the easiest to-do list apps to use for beginners. Creating and sharing lists is easy, as is setting up deadlines for getting them done – and reminders to ensure you’re not caught out.
     –Google Keep isn’t just for to-do lists. It’s an Evernote-style service for keeping (hence the name) notes, photos and even audio recordings that you don’t want to lose in your device.
     -While many to-do list apps look the same, Clear has taken a bold, colourful and different approach to helping you keep on top of your tasks. Simple gestures create, rearrange and tick off your to-dos. And you can create separate lists to ensure your shopping and working duties aren’t jumbled together. Its desktop Mac and Apple Watch versions synchronise neatly
     –Habitica is an app for tracking and ticking off daily tasks like the others, but wrapped around that is an RPG-style game to motivate you to complete them. You create a character, unlock armour, pets and quests, and battle “monsters” all within the framework of completing your to-do lists. Meanwhile, a reward system encourages you to spend the “gold” you loot on time for treats in the real world as you get organised.

1. • Check and reply to emails: Imagine being stuck in a queue in the morning, while your phone is constantly buzzing, notifying you of yet another work e-mail. You start panicking because the queue is too long and there is no way you can get to work on time. In this situation, what do you do? Work! Yes, check your work emails, reply to them, schedule meetings and for all you know conduct some telephonic meetings. The result is a productive employee and a happy boss.

1. • Retail Therapy:  Thank god to these gazillions of e-commerce applications, now shopping is just taps away! Grocery shopping? Big-basket it. Apparel shopping? Myntra it. Talk about earning while shopping? Paytm it. And if want to do it all, simply Amazon it. Or better yet just make a wishlist, that aint costing you any money. The World is your oyster if you have a smart phone.

1. • Network: Human Being is a social animal, what better place than a queue full of strangers? There is a bunch of topics you could use to break the ice, for starters “What do you think about demonetization?” “Do you think Modi Government could solve the issues before the end of this year?” “Will this impact the startup industry?”. Or rather keep it simple “The weather is pleasant today, what do you think?” “Pollution is increasing by the day, something should be done soon.” You get the gist.
     If you still find it difficult to break the ice, use technology! Applications like vibrance, happn, bumble help you find interesting people around you, and all you need is a tap to let the conversation flow. And if talking to strangers gives you jeepers, use facebook nearby option to find friends near you.

1. • Click your way to being a photographer: We are the insta generation! Right from our food to our shopping everything is instant. And the plethora of photo editing applications has each one of us clicking that perfect shot, using the right hashtags to get appreciation. Instagram, Prisma, vsco – for interesting street photography or perhaps boomerang or snapchat to add a bit of funk while waiting in the queue.

Tell us how you like to be productive while waiting in an ATM/Bank queue? And share the post if you like the above ideas.