Don’t just stand there!

A few months ago, I got really irritated with my husband. He put something in the microwave to heat up and then just, well, stood there. Waiting for it. I just wanted to say, ‘you know, it’s not going anywhere and while you are waiting, why not fill the dog dish?’. Ok, I did say this. And he looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. He didn’t even realize why I was a tad perturbed. Maybe it’s the difference between men and women, maybe the difference between linear and non-linear thinkers, right brain/left brain, or just my strange, geeky mindset. But my feeling is that if you have to stand around and wait for something to get done, why not have a mental (or physical) list of small tasks that you could do in the meantime.
Some suggestions:
-while waiting for the shower to get hot…clean the toilet
-while waiting for the iron to heat up…make the bed
-while waiting for your email program to load the messages…file some papers
-while waiting for the water to boil…empty the dishwasher
-while waiting on hold with the doctors office…put it on speaker and plow through some emails
As you may have heard, multi-tasking for higher level thinking really doesn’t work, but this is a form of it that does. I look at these minutes as useful little pockets of time that can take something off my plate that I otherwise would have to dedicate space in my schedule for at a later date. Plus, these little things add up so a big cleaning/organizing/work/etc. project gets whittled away before you know it.
So don’t just stand there . . . go, you know, do something!