What do you do to fill time?

What do you do in those in-between times?

When you have nothing to do, what do you do?

When you are waiting, what do you do?

Most people fill this time on their phones. It is just a few minutes until the next thing after all. It is unimportant or unproductive time. It is when you are supposed to check out.

Others use this time to eat. Typically, these food choices are not healthy ones. It is common to make other unhealthy choices as well.

I would suggest these filler times are more important than we think. No, we probably cannot use this time to do deep work, but we can use it productively. We can create a positive habit (or two) for such times. I have three.

One of my habits for this time is to read. I try to bring a book with me wherever I go now. When I have this extra time, you might think of it as a “recess,” I spend that time reading. It may be for five minutes or 20. Many times, we don’t know. A healthy recess habit can be helpful for such times.

Additionally, if I am switching tasks during my day, sometimes I will get hung up. Especially on days where I do not have a lot of meetings, it can be paralyzing to figure out what to focus on next. There is so much, right? Similarly, if I have not batched my meetings or tasks well, task switching can be difficult. Simply take a 5 minute recess and use one of your recess habits to help you switch gears.

Some healthy recess habits may include reading, praying, breathing, napping, checking simple tasks off your list, eliminating email, decluttering (physically or digitally), reaching out to a friend or even just relaxing. The two important boundaries are “intentional” and “healthy.” Have two or three things set aside as your recess habits, so you can go to them when you have in-between times.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting you must alway be “productive” during recess. I am suggesting intentional habits. Taking a break is fine. If you want to get sucked into a phone game, that is okay. Just be intentional. You already have habits for this time. Are they the ones you want? Do they help you with your day or just cause more chaos?

I believe recess habits are clutch. They help you move along in your day, switch from one thing to the next, and give you rest. Choose yours today.

Do you have have two or three healthy recess habits? What are they? Please share in the comments section.