Your meeting ended earlier than you expected.
Your conference call didn’t take as long as you thought.
You find yourself on the train for a commute that is taking a little longer than usual.
The dentist is late finishing up with the patient before you.
You’ve got 15 minutes.
What are you going to do with that time?
For me, those are the times when the guilt sets in, when I think I should be doing something “productive.”
And productivity experts would be quick to jump in and give me tips on how to make the most out of that time – how those little pockets of 15 minutes throughout the day can lead to getting a lot more done.
But I find it kind of ridiculous that we’ve come to believe that we have to fill every nook and cranny of our day with doing something.
If we can’t give ourselves the fifteen minutes in the waiting room at the dentist or the five minutes in line at the grocery store to just chill out instead of sending emails or making a phone call, then we’re doing something wrong.
We’re doing too much. And we’re focusing too much on productivity techniques being the trash compactors of lives – squishing as much as possible into the small space we’ve got in a day.
If productivity is supposed to about getting more of my life back, then I’ll take my 15 minutes back.
And gladly do nothing but stare out the window.
Jessica Lawrence Quinn 
Hear, hear. I have learned the hard way to cherish those 15 mins when they come along – they keep me sane. Great post and a reminder to us all.
Jacqueline
Thanks Jacqueline!
Great point Jessica, I could use some practice at allowing 15 minutes to float by me every now and then…it’s one of those things I guess when I’m worried about what I might figure out in the silence…
That’s right – I think you and I were talking about this. About getting in the car and not turning on the radio right away. I guess the truth is that that the thoughts and feelings are there. The fact that they surface when you’re silent is probably a good thing. : )
Except when that 15 minutes is time spent reading! Love fitting that in wherever!
Yes – totally. Unless you’re like me and get addicted to reading business books. : )
15 minutes is enough to just do nothing. Just let every hydraulic pressure lose its purpose, just to stare into space. A perfect period to clear the mind. Let go of things. It is in these rare pockets of solitude that an epiphany may occur. Or just enough time to allow the shoulders to sag, the legs to stretch out and just say ‘I’m done’. Value those minutes to yourself. it’s ‘me’ time, baby!
Absolutely! I don’t think we realize how we don’t even let our shoulders relax for entire days at a time sometimes.