75 Waggish Ways to Waste Time January 3, 2011
Posted by nrhatch in Humor, Mindfulness.trackback
1. Watch the grass grow.
2. Skim stones across a pond.
3. Watch the clouds roll by.
4. Count the stars in the night sky.
5. Watch the tide, ebbing and flowing.
6. Blow bubbles.
7. Fly a kite.
8. Twiddle your thumbs.
9. Play hop-scotch.
10. Watch your toenails grow.
11. Listen to a cat purring.
12. Watch an ice cube melt.
13. Play Bejeweled Blitz.
14. Bemoan the passage of time.
15. Obsess about the past.
16. Worry about the future.
17. Watch golf, poker, or pool.
18. Memorize the phone book.
19. Strive for perfection in all things.
20. Alphabetize your canned goods.
21. Figure out how to please ALL of the people ALL of the time.
22. Count the grains of sand on the beach.
23. Wait for someone else to fix your life or “save you.”
24. Watch “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.”
25. Calculate how long you’ve lived so far . . . in seconds.
26. Envision being an honest politician, like Abe Lincoln, in today’s world.
27. Figure out how to keep up with the Joneses.
28. Maintain an up-to-date list of your Top 100 Daily Annoyances.
29. Build a sandcastle. Protect it from the incoming tide . . . forever.
30. Learn to pronounce the scary sounding ingredients in junk food.
31. Play dress up with your pets.
32. Figure out how many hours you had to work to buy the stuff you own.
33. Count the hairs on your dog’s head.
34. Take an imaginary trip around the world as your favorite Super-Hero.
35. Get out the Ouija board and have a chat with Edgar Cayce.
36. Shop until you drop.
37. Practice strutting your stuff, like Mick Jagger.
38. Rush to take offense at imagined slights.
39. Attempt to change things you cannot change.
40. Refuse to accept the inevitable.
41. Drink 100 bottles of beer.
42. Sing 100 bottles of beer on the wall.
43. Complain about health maladies to complete strangers.
44. Watch a candle flame flicker.
45. Try to eat just one Lays Potato Chip. Oops . . . try again.
46. Count the junk food products available in your supermarket.
47. Calculate how many calories you eat in a year.
48. Make a list of everyone who’s ever angered or annoyed you.
49. Figure out your laugh/frown ratio for the past month.
50. Recount non-sensical dreams to anyone who will listen.
51. Listen to idle gossip. Spread it around. Be vicious.
52. Read every word in the New York Times Sunday Edition, backwards.
53. Re-live the worst day of your life, over and over, in excruciating detail.
54. Ride a never-ending see-saw of ups and downs.
55. Build a house of cards or domino trail. Knock it down.
56. Dive down the Blog Hole or Stumble on StumbleUpon.
57. Envision being a powerful wizard, like Dumbledore.
58. Make a list of everything that’s wrong with the world.
59. Make a list of everything that’s right with the world.
60. Pick a mistake you made. Press {{Rewind}} and fix it.
61. Imagine yourself as a Super-Hero . . . taking a round-the-world trip.
62. Flush the toilet and calculate how long it takes to refill.
63. Build a giant snowman as tall as Hagrid . . . or King Kong.
64. Search Google for Quotes on Time or Time Travel.
65. List song titles mentioning Time (e.g., Time Passages, Time in a Bottle).
66. Build a scale model of the Empire State Building using toothpicks.
67. Get addicted to Reality TV, Facebook, or Solitaire.
68. List the names of everyone in your first grade class.
69. Skip rope, or Skip to the Loo, My Darling.
70. Stare at a blank wall.
71. Think up 75 Waggish Ways to Waste Time.
72. Envision infinity . . . and beyond.
73. Read Wasting Time for Dummies.
74. Calculate your lifetime batting average. Are you an MVP?
75. Write 1,001 MORE Ways to Waste Time.
Time is our most valuable and irreplaceable commodity ~ a bank account which mandates daily withdrawals, prohibits deposits, and pays dividends when we spend it wisely.
Thought to ponder: If you’re enjoying yourself . . . is it wasted time?
Related post: 21 Ways to Simply Be (Always Well Within) * How To Eject Your Inner Critic * Your Brain On Bliss * Guided Meditation * Mindfulness Meditation: A Miracle Drug * Deepak Chopra: Mindfulness Meditation * Meditation 101
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Spirit Lights The Way 
# 70 – Stare at a blank wall. In some forms of meditation/traditions, you do ‘stare’ at a blank wall. So for those folks…it is an investment.
A matter of viewpoint? A matter of purpose beyond the action?
We should always ask ourselves, ‘am I really enjoying this?’, whatever this may be. The answer, if answered honestly, would surprise us.
Thank you for giving us this ‘time’ to reflect.
Thanks, Debra. Your comment is spot on.
A sprinkling of these “time wasters” are indeed opportunities for meditative pause and reflection, or garnering insights into who we are or our place in the world ~ i.e., the “higher” purpose behind the action or inaction.
Others, of course, like keeping track of perceived transgressions and petty annoyances, are not likely to reap any real rewards. 😉
[…] that I think will give you pause and reflect on your Enjoyment of Time….the post title is 75 Waggish Ways to Waste Time. In fact, re-read the post…I bet your eyes have roamed over some ‘ways’ as we […]
Brilliant!
I’m off to try my two favourites: envisioning being a wizard, and naturally counting the dog’s hairs. Macaulay may not necessarily cooperate.
And now for your Grand Opus: 1001 ways….
Not just any wizard . . . a time traveling wizard who actually has a {{Rewind}} button! 🙂
76: Play Zuma Blitz, while wondering why you’re doing it in the first place.
The thrill of victory? The agony of defeat?
Actually, Nancy, I can make a point for each and every one of those activities being a NON-waste of time. In fact, I think I posted something about it yesterday on UhW.
For many people those passtimes could indeed be fruitless, but for a writer… for a writer it is all research.
We’re special . . . so special . . . we get to waste time and call it research:
* Eating an entire box of chocolate . . . research.
* Traveling to distant shores . . . research.
* Hanging out at the food court . . . research.
Life is good when you’re a writer. 🙂
“If you are enjoying yourself…Is it wasted time?” I don’t think so.
My Dad used to harass my Mom about always having her nose in a book. He thought it was a waste of time. She has always loved to read. Then Dad had to spend his final year working for 3M on the road, sleeping in hotels, and embraced her love of reading after he realised he didn’t much like what was on TV.
Love your list! Jeanne
The biggest waste of time is engaging in activities (or inactivity) that doesn’t further our personal goals in some way.
Whenever we are enjoying ourselves . . . it’s hard to view that as “wasted” time. 😉
Glad you dad realized that books rule!
I’m guilty of #11, 13, 15, 16, 45, and 50. Eck.
Was it for research? 🙂
Even when I’m not meditating, I know that listening to my cat purr is doing good things for my peace of mind.
Hi Nancy,
I like your thought-provoking question. We all need to be playful sometimes and have periods of down time. Some of these suggestions are great ways to do that. Others are scary – like #53 and #67!!!!!! Thanks so much for the link luv!
Scary, indeed. We are often our own worst enemies . . . adding to our suffering needlessly, by re-living it in technicolor. 😉
You’re welcome. I’ve added you to my blogroll as well. Your posts are full of life-affirming information.
I love to listen to my cat purr. It’s so amazing. And I think my mom may have done number twenty when I was growing up. I totally do not!
I’m with you. When Tigger wants to get on my lap and purr, I almost always close my eyes and listen.
My pantry is organized . . . but I am proud to say it’s not alphabetized.
#62 … ours doesn”t at all at the moment, so #76: watch the drive for signs of the plumber’s arrival …
Oh, I hope you get that sorted out in short order. It’s hard to “skip to the loo” when the loo is on the fritz.
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is a great time waster- loved it. And Zuma Blitz is fun too.
We watched Attack of the Killer Tomatoes after the 2nd day of the 3-day exam for admission to the NC Bar.
Too drained to study another statute, I decided to “veg out.” 😉
Please tell me that these are not all from experience 🙂
Thinking about reading the NYT backwards, I saw a best seller all about finding pictures in ice crystals. You can find anything if you look hard enough. Perhaps we can predict the next ice age by reading the days mags backwards…
They are not ALL from experience. 😉
Are you talking about “Hidden Messages in Water”? That book fascinates me since we are 97% water. If water responds to positive and negative thoughts . . . wouldn’t we?
That’s the one! Someone was talking about it at a recent get together, sounded right up your alley.
Here’s a link to the post I did a few months ago:
https://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/hidden-messages-in-water/
Soon, I’ll have my own way: grading essays.
I must not assign random grades. I must not assign random grades. I must not assign random grades. . .
That is too funny . . . and so tempting! 🙂
This list made me laugh, smile, wince, … and yet I freely admit to not considering many of its items a waste of time – especially if one takes into consideration (or believes) that any- and every step leads eventually closer to the light. But for me the deciding factor for considering something I’m doing time-wasting, is where I am (my focus is) when I’m doing whatever it is I’m doing.
I agree. When I started the list, I planned to stop wtih 30 items . . . but I was having so much fun that it kept growing and growing.
If what we are doing plants us firmly in the present moment ~ e.g., blowing bubbles. I see real benefits from each bursting bubble.
On the other hand, if we’re just going through the motions . . . we’re missing most of life.
[…] posts: 75 Waggish Ways to Waste Time * OMPM ~ Overkill * OMPM ~ Hanging on to Anger * Blogging: A Waggish Waste of […]