While holiday shopping among the crowds, you may find yourself waiting in line so check out these Top 10 Things to do When Waiting in Line. Unfortunately for most of us the fact is that a lot of our time can be spent waiting in line. Here we will go through a few of the many ways that you can entertain and better yourself when you are forced to que up.
#1 Sharpen your senses
When you are forced to be in a line for a long time such as in line to go to a concert or if you have to wait for a store to open then this might be a good time to practice being more aware of your surroundings. Listen to the people around you and try to pick out conversation amongst them. You don’t need to be eavesdropping to do this but rather close your eyes and imagine what is going on around you. Listening to things going on in the back and fore ground is a great way to train yourself to be more mindful.
#2 Start a Conversation
If you find yourself in a routine lineup such as at the grocery store or in a bank you might want to strike up a conversation with the person standing next to you. Instead of pulling out your phone try to find a common ground between you and the people around you. It can be pretty easy to start talking about the various products you are buying and ask other people why they choose certain things over others.
#3 Smile
This one is very simple. All you have to do is make eye contact with the others around you and make an effort to convey a friendly and happy demeanour. Today people are so disconnected from others that they do not realise that simple courtesies paid to others such as smiling or giving a friendly nod of the head can have a major impact on someone else day. You will be surprised of the end result and this one thing may lead to new conversation and lead to making new friends.
#4 Games
If you are with friends or you manage to make a new friend while waiting in line then you can play a wide variety of games that require nothing more than your eyes. A common game to play is the alphabet game. This is where you start by identifying an object that starts with the first letter of the alphabet and then the next person has to identify an object with the next letter. This goes on until someone is stumped or you get to the end of the alphabet. It can be surprisingly hard to finish all the letters.
#5 Accents
If you have the ability to do it, a fun pastime can be to adorn a fake accent with your friends and try to convince other people that you are from a different country. This may take some time to develop properly and you might not want to try this by yourself if you are not used to interacting with strangers in such a manner.
#6 Planning
If you have a lot to do this week a perfect use of your time would be to plan out what you are going to do next. If by chance you are in an amusement park you might want to use the time taken in line to figure out what it is next that you want to do.
#7 Scavenger Hunt
If you have the unfortunate task of having to spend several hours in an airport and happen to be with friends an easy thing to do to spend your time is organize a small scavenger hunt. By assembling a small list of items you can break off into groups and then search for them. Extra fun can be had by choosing things that are difficult to get to such as a coffee from a vendor that is only in one terminal when everyone is starting out in a different one. Or perhaps a business card from a small airline that is hard to find.
#8 Read a Book
Although this may not be the most fun it can be a good way to spend time that would ordinarily be spent standing staring at a wall. The need for bringing hard copies of books is now gone and you can download several books onto virtually any type of mobile device. You might be surprised at how much you end up reading in an average week.
#9 Thumb Wrestling
A fun way of creating a joyous atmosphere when all you and your friends have to do is stand in line is thumb wrestling. If there are a few friends in your group then you can create your own thumb wrestling tournament. You might even want to invite others in line to join the fun.
#10 meditation
If you have a hectic life and find yourself in stressful situations everyday you might want to start taking breaks and start meditating. By allowing yourself to empty your mind from time to time you will see that you will feel less of the stress that your daily routine brings to you. There are many online apps that can help you get started as it is not an easy thing to jump into without any help
Hopefully you have enjoyed these suggestions of things to do when waiting in line. If you are interested there are many many more ways that people have found to make waiting in line into something that is enjoyable.
