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How can you make waiting a little easier?
How do you make a wait a long time?
How do I learn to wait patiently?
What should I do if I have to wait for something?
- Turn on some music. Several studies find that listening to music can reduce the stress of waiting, whether you’re stuck in line or anxious to hear your name called in a hospital waiting room.
- Bring a friend. In a 1992 study, participants who socialized during a 10-minute wait did not find the interval stressful. In comparison, people who waited with strangers and kept to themselves experienced stress (which was then alleviated by listening to music).
- Be mindful. Scientists find that mindfulness can help ease anxiety and stress—feelings that can kick into overdrive during a wait. When you’re stuck behind a dozen families trying to mail that package at the post office on the Saturday before Christmas, try a little mindfulness meditation.
- Think about that money-back guarantee. When companies guarantee to serve their customers within a certain amount of time—like with a 30-minutes-or-less pizza delivery—making good on that guarantee makes customers feel more satisfied with their experience than they would be if they had not been quoted a maximum time.
Dec 5, 2014 · Anticipating bad news and trying to find the positive in it—preparing ahead of time for failure, in other words—may not help to ease the anxiety during the waiting period, but can be helpful once...
- Meditate. Finding a form of meditation that speaks to you can be helpful in offsetting the stress of not knowing. In one study, researchers found evidence that mindfulness, including mindfulness meditation, was helpful in abating the stress of waiting.
- Do things that induce your flow experience. Activities that are immersive and require your complete focus help you achieve a flow state. Being in your flow can be calming, grounding, and rewarding.
- Create awe-inducing experiences. In a study at the University of California, researchers discovered that participants exposed to an awe-inspiring video (a high-resolution video of a sunset) were significantly better able to tolerate the uncertainty of waiting for test results than participants who watched either a neutral video or a cute video of animals.
- Limit how often you check your phone or email for an answer. Constant checking is draining, and when we fall into habitual checking, it becomes a vicious cycle of checking, disappointment, and more checking, as every time we check holds the promise of some news.
- Focus on the present. This is a good time to learn some mindfulness skills and use them! Do things to bring you back to the present rather than living solely in the possibilities of the future.
- Research the future. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT do this if you are waiting on medical test results. All you will do is increase your anxiety and make yourself miserable in the process.
- Learn from your last book. Use this time to look back on what is ending to make way for the new in your life. This is not a time to assign blame or beat yourself up for perceived mistakes.
- Get Organized. Often when we’re waiting there’s a lot of down time. This is the time to get yourself ready for the upcoming changes. Are you accepting a new position that will limit your time?
Mar 29, 2018 · If waiting is driving you crazy, here’s how to quiet your thoughts and shake hands with either outcome to make waiting less worrisome. Acknowledge that you really, really want this Embrace...
Feb 23, 2023 · Method 1. Helping the Time Pass. Download Article. 1. Occupy your time. One of the best ways to avoid become anxious during a long wait, is to do something else at the same time to occupy you.
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Mar 9, 2021 · Even if you are not waiting for something in particular, we are all waiting for COVID-19 to be a thing of the past. Aren’t we? Katharine Sweeny, PhD, researches how to make waiting easier and has come up with two surprising techniques. I’ve added a third that works for me and many of my clients.
