waiting in line

waiting in line is a divisive topic in my experience.

some people can’t tolerate it at all, while others look forward to making use of their time while waiting.

i knew a guy once who told me traffic was the most insufferable thing he had to deal with on a regular basis.

which is fair to him, i think his commute was something like 35-45 minutes every day back and forth.
meanwhile my daily commute is just over 8 minutes either way. so, i count my blessings.

but stuff like waiting for a halftime to be over or waiting to be called next,
i’ve actually found reading to be delightful in these periods of time!

i recently purchased the new Kindle Scribe, and it’s been a pleasure to use
as an introductory tool to the world of e-reader technology.
a few pages here and there in times of waiting really adds up!

but it raises an interesting question:
should we be so concerned with “making use of our time?”

after all, this is why people are annoyed with regards to being stuck in a queue.

it’s only because we feel like something “more productive” could be happening that we feel
like we’re pissing away what precious hours, minutes, and seconds we have on this earth,
or closer yet, until the next workday.

Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman explores this question in detail
and posits that time is not a thing we own and we shouldn’t perceive it in such a way.
in fact, to do so permits such a toxic behavior as demonstrated by hating queues,
among other disgraceful acts of conduct or general bothersome attitudes.

it was a great read. i recommend it.

thank you for reading today’s post.
actually, since i’m waiting in queue, this is a good chance to do my laundry..