The thing about being ill is that you will always find yourself in waiting rooms.
Hospital waiting rooms, lab waiting rooms, doctor's office waiting rooms, crowded ones, empty ones, ones with ample reading material, others with none... You may find yourself reading the same pamphlets and the same silly cartoons or memes pinned to the walls over and over again, or maybe you'll get into the habit of finding a nearby coffee shop to pass some time.
The simple fact is that waiting is a huge part of chronic illness.
When you are always required to wait, there are ways of approaching this activity that differ from person to person.
Some people make appointments and show up right on time - in a futile effort to reduce their waiting time. Sure, this CAN work, but it can also increase stress levels and can backfire if the doctor is running on time or early (yes, contrary to popular belief, this does happen on occasion).
Other people may put in ear buds and get lost in some music to help pass the time. This can be effective, but what happens when you miss your name being called? These appointments are incredibly important and the last thing you want to do is miss being called.
Then there are the magazine flippers, the social media scrollers, the cell phone game players, and (most annoyingly) those who decide to have a very loud phone conversation while they wait. But let's be honest here... Those magazines are out of date, you cannot keep refreshing social media stories and expect hundreds of new stories to appear every two minutes, games take up valuable data, and any loud conversations can be seen as discourteous to the other people in the same situation.
What I suggest is to bring a book or a small project. If you don't like to read novels, bring your own magazines, or bring along some paperwork that needs to get done. If you find yourself too distracted to read something new, reread an old favorite. Then it doesn't matter if you miss or skip details. But then, every waiting room is another opportunity to read something you already know you like. It will help pass the time better than you might think. It will allow you to get into a book you enjoy while still being able to listen attentively for your name to be called. And, because you have read it before, when they do call your name, you won't stumble and fumble to try and save your place.
So the next time you know you'll be waiting and waiting and waiting, bring along a book or project that you can mindlessly participate in while you wait.
Those adult coloring books can also be a good option these days!!
If you are going to spend hundreds of hours just waiting, you may as well be productive in other ways!