How Do You Kill Time?
As I write these words, I’m traveling to my first live eventin 14 months. The connection on my flight got pushed back several hours. I hadthree hours to fill in my connecting airport which gave me plenty of time toreach my connecting gate. What do you do during those times of sitting aroundwaiting?
Some people pull put a novel and read. Others sit and watchpeople. Others shop in the airport shops. I tend to pull out my AlphaSmart 3000and do a bit of writing.
This little gismo is rarely seen—old technology yet it holdsover 140 pages of text. A full size keyboard, you only see four lines on yourscreen and it is not connected to the Internet. It works on several AAbatteries and you never lose anything you put into it.
Of course when I get to my computer, I move the materialfrom my AlphaSmart to my computer for editing and safe keeping. This littlekeyboard is just for writing. I’ve written on airplane, in libraries and allsorts of places because it is so easy to use.
To be honest I am not skilled at texting on my phone. If I were, I could possibly do this unexpectedwriting on my phone. You do have to plan ahead to carry the AlphaSmart with youand then pull it out and use it in these unplanned moments to kill time.
For each of us, unexpected things come in our day. Maybe you plan a meeting and that persondoesn’t come. Or you arrive at a session at the wrong time. Do you havesomething which feeds into your writing life to pull out and use in these sparemoments?
Here are some writing related ideas:
Listen to anaudiobook. In the past, I’ve mentioned my love for audiobooks. I carry someear buds. I’ve checked out these audiobooks through my local library(overdrive). If I have a few moments, I will put on my ear buds and listen to afew more minutes of my audiobook. I’ve listened when I’m standing in a longline and other places. I normally listen to nonfiction books which feed into mywriting life. After I complete the audiobook, I usually take a few minutes andwrite a review to post on Goodreads and Amazon.
Read a small physicalbook. I select a small book and carry it with me in my briefcase or travelbag. In these unexpected moments, I will read more pages in my book. Like theaudiobook, when I complete it, I will write a short review.
Plan a new writingproject. Like most of us, I have more ideas than I can ever possibly write.When these ideas come, often I will make some notes and maybe the start of anoutline for it to get it moving. For my writing life, capturing the essence ofthe idea is an important part of the process and can happen in these momentswhen I’m killing some time.
I’m probably missing some ways to kill time. Let me knowyour methods in the comments below.
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