The Most Productive Ways to Spend 30 Seconds of Down Time

Have a few seconds to spare while you’re waiting for a burrito to cook, your computer to reboot, or a game to load? Don’t just stare at the screen, put those precious moments to good use. A lot can happen in 30 seconds. Let’s talk about how to make them useful.

There’s something to be said for downtime, don’t get us wrong, but staring at the monitor waiting for something to load, or waiting for your painfully slow PC to reboot isn’t anyone’s idea of time well-spent. A lot can happen in the time it takes to microwave some leftovers. Of course, we share a lot of time-saving tips every day, but this time we’re looking specifically for things you can do in a short period of time that make your life—or your schedule—a little easier to deal with.

We have some of our own, and we’ll share them in the discussions below, but instead of just throwing a list of items together, we want you to share your own with us too, on the same terms. Here’s how to format your time-saving life hack:

1. One hack per comment please! Let’s keep it simple and easy to read—if you have multiple time-saving tips, add them as separate comments!


2. Try not to repeat tips! If you see someone who’s already shared your time-saving trick, click the star or reply to their comment to give it a boost!


3. Tell us how you picked up the habit, just for story’s sake. You don’t have to tell your life’s story, but where did you learn that trick? Did it just come to you one day, or do you consider it common knowledge? You might be surprised what you just assume everyone does that’s specific to you!

So then, let’s begin! We’ll get you started with some of our favorite time-saving tricks in the discussions, but we’re really interested in yours, so fire away.

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The Most Productive Ways to Spend 30 Seconds of Down Time