During the day, there are usually moments of downtime—anticipated and unanticipated. But, the busier we become in our careers, the more valuable those moments of unanticipated downtime become. If you are prepared to maximize your downtime, you can accomplish more throughout the day. For example, while waiting in line at the grocery store, answer an email or two. And, instead of getting angry that your gynecologist is behind and has you waiting 20 minutes for your appointment, pull out your Surface Pro, turn on your phone’s hotspot, and draft that memo you need to get done.

Boom, you are unstoppable. 

No laptop? Type yourself an email from your phone with the text you want to include in the memo, and cut and paste it later. Whenever you are faced with some downtime that is unintentional—and you don’t want to simply relax—ask yourself, “what could I do during this time that needs to get done?” Be creative. Maybe you return a phone call, schedule your son’s parent-teacher conference, or pay some bills online. Either way, you are maximizing your time and plowing through your to-do list, win win.