Always be prepared is one of the best time management strategies for busy people. In today’s life there seems to be a bombardment of time stealing occurrences. For those of you who, like me, waste precious time sitting in a doctor’s office, medical facility, or any other place that can keep you from your writing/work, you can still be productive. A challenge I had a couple of months ago happened as I waited for hours in a hospital while my husband was getting a medical procedure done.
Being experienced at this sort of thing I brought my laptop, my zip drive and a notebook. I also brought a book on marketing I was reading at the time. I looked forward to having this uninterrupted time alone to work. So, I eagerly set up my laptop and started an article. I typed and typed, and typed. Each time I saved the document I noticed it gave me an unfamiliar message, but I just saved away. After about an hour, I realized the trial version of Word Perfect that came with my laptop was no longer available. I felt like letting out a scream, but looking up from my laptop I noticed there were 10 other people sitting in the small waiting area. Three of them had laptops also. Under the circumstances I thought it best to refrain from any outburst.
I took a deep breath and tried to get into a trial version of Word, but I needed an internet connection for it. Unfortunately, lately I seem to be under the ‘Murphy’s Law’
spell and couldn’t get a connection. On to plan C, I took out my notebook. Although, I’m from an era in which all we did was write - there were no computers, laptops or cell phones when I was growing up. Even though I grew up with writing, it’s not something I like to do. I find it cumbersome and slow. There is no delete, no copy/paste, no getting it down as quick as I can think. Nevertheless, pen in hand, I persevered and finished my article. It was in the sloppy kind of quick script I use when I have to use pen and paper, but it was done.
At this point it was 2 hours since my husband and I arrived at the hospital. I took out my marketing book and read for another hour. Finally, a nurse from the Short Stay unit informed me my husband was back in the unit. While it did take a little planning to make sure I brought enough items to keep busy with, had I not been prepared to utilize my time productively, I would have wasted the entire 3 hours. To really be prepared you must try to prepare for the unexpected.