The Secret World of Doing Nothing Book

I had many moments of surprised recognition in this book--perhaps you would too. "Other people do that too?" moments. The three sections of the book--waiting, routines & daydreaming--talk about what we do & why we do it. My favorite section was the one on waiting--their summary (From David Maister's work) of what makes waits feel longer or shorter I thought was a brilliant encapsulation. I always say, tell me it will be an hour and I will wait relatively patiently; tell me it will be 20 minutes and then make me wait an hour, and I'll be really angry. It's not the hour. Their summary:

1) People want to get going--waiting for a menu feels like longer than waiting for the food
2) Uncertain waits are longer than known, finite waits
3) Unexplained waits are longer than explained waits
4) Unfair waits are longer than reasonable waits--as when someone answers the phone while you wait in the office for your own turn (they cut!)
5) The more valuable the service, the more patience the customer will show
6) Solo waits feel longer than group waits

Their conclusion at the end of the book is that what seem like very private moments are actually based on shared understandings.

Anyway, it was worth it just to see that other people do what I do when they are just sitting around....