A character in my favorite book once complained that people waste too many small time slots while waiting in line at a store, waiting for a bus to arrive, etc. He suggested that these time slots should be somehow ‘banked’ away, and then claimed back. That would be so handy! We don’t have that luxury widely available yet, though.
Here are 5 things to do in 5 spare minutes that you might encounter during your day:
1. Call a friend or a relative
Is your bus running late? Have you called your grandmom this week? Now is a great time to pick up your phone and make that phone call.
2. Snap some photos
Is your bus running late? Snap some photos of objects/streets/stores around you. Can’t see anything conventionally ‘beautiful’? Pay closer attention. Anything can be interpreted in a creative way.
3. Do some exercise for your eyes
Digital screens tire our eyes out very quickly. Try a simple set of exercise for your eyes to ease the fatigue: look up and down, left to right, ‘draw’ diagonals and circles with your eyes, and then look far away. Repeat as often as needed.
4. Exercise!
Tabata intervals work great for that. Tabata training is a four-minute mini-workout that consists of 20-second intervals of exercising and 10-second rests. Here’s my favorite combo: Jumping jacks, push-ups, high knees, squats! Listen to your favorite song while doing that to make things more fun… or, you know, you can always just dance intensively to that song.
5. Have a silent conversation with yourself
We talk to others, we ask for people’s opinions, we make meaningless small talks every day. It is easy to forget to pay attention to your own feelings and ideas. Next time you have 5 minutes, ask yourself what mood you are in, is anything bothering you, or just ‘discuss’ a creative idea!
