I don’t mind waiting. You shouldn’t too

With everything we need to get done, we are becoming increasingly impatient. We run, rush, run again, and then some… and we hate it when we have to wait. We can’t stand waiting. I used to be like that, too. Now I don’t mind waiting.

Impatience causes lateness

In my past blog post about the problem with being on time for meetings I highlighted the need to shoot for being 15 minutes before the scheduled appointment. But how can I tell you to be a quarter of an hour before something when you could get so much done in 15 minutes and with your increasing pace you need all the minutes you can get!

The epiphany: your smartphone is your friend.

I carry my iPhone 4 with me at all times. It is my life-saver for my “waiting time”. I have all bunch of apps installed there that keep me busy… when I’m waiting for someone or something.

I have Reeder app for reading RSS news, Kindle app for reading books, iPod for listening to my audio books or music if I want to relax… and on top of that I have my web browser and email app where I can bring my inbox to zero. And I have my Nozbe app to review my to-dos :-)

When I wait, time is never wasted.

That’s why I never get inpatient when I wait. My time is never wasted and I can do so much on the go, I don’t mind being 15 minutes or even 30 minutes before an appointment. It’s not a big deal. With my iPhone I can be productive on the move and not feel bad about leaving my home office a little earlier.

Bonus 1 - my wife loves shopping with me again

When my wife wants to go shopping, I offer to go with her. She’s pleasantly surprised. When she visits numerous different shops in the shopping mall, I sit on the bench and read something on my iPhone… and when she wants to try something out, I put down my smartphone and go with her to assist her in her shopping. What can I say? I’m a perfect husband now :-)

Bonus 2 - I actually look forward to being earlier for something

I don’t have time to read so much anymore. Being earlier for something gives me the much-needed time to catch up on blog reading, book reading and such. I actually look forward to waiting now and I’m kinda angry if someone shows up on time :-) OK, I’m not, but you get the picture.

Do you like to wait? How do you deal with your impatience?