Practice in a queue
Five minutes standing in a line you did not choose to be in. Waiting is the one resource nobody wants and everybody has; this is what to do with it.
- Length
- 5 minutes
- Suited to
- Starting out
- Published
- 22 Oct 2026
The script
Pauses are marked inline. Read at the pace that suits you; the timer below can keep time for you.
Stand as you normally would. Do not change your posture or take out a phone. 15 s
Feel both feet on the floor. Notice which one is carrying more weight. 30 s
Shift the weight until it is even, then leave it alone. 30 s
Now let the queue move without you following it instantly. Move one second after the person in front. 45 s
Notice the pull to look at the phone. Let the hand stay where it is. 45 s
Notice the pull to see how much longer it will be. Let that question go unanswered. 45 s
Feel the floor again. It has not changed. 45 s
When you reach the front, take one breath before you speak. 20 s
Anchor
the floor under both feet while standing still
If attention goes
Three things to do when the mind leaves — because it will.
- If the queue is for something urgent, skip the practice. Attention is not owed to every wait.
- If you are in pain or exhausted, sit down if you can rather than standing practice.
- If you take out the phone anyway, note the moment you did it. That note is worth more than a perfect queue.
01Waiting is the practice
Queues are uncomfortable because they are the clearest case of time you cannot use. The standard response is to fill them with a phone, which converts waiting into a slightly worse version of work.
Using a queue as practice does not make it pleasant. It makes it bearable, which is a different and more useful outcome.
02Two small tests
The first is the one-second delay: move after the person in front rather than with them. It sounds trivial and it exposes how much of queueing is anticipation rather than response.
The second is leaving the phone where it is. This is harder than it sounds, and the number of times you reach for it in five minutes is a fair measurement of how much of your attention is on a leash.
03What it does not require
You do not need the queue to be long, quiet or moving at a particular speed. You also do not need to look serene — nobody is inspecting you, and the practice is invisible from the outside either way.
If the queue is genuinely the wrong place for this — a hospital, a crisis, a queue at a till when you are late — skip it. The practice is meant to widen your options, not add one more obligation.
Timer
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Questions that come up
How is this different from just waiting?
Almost nothing, and that is the point. The only addition is that attention is deliberately placed on the feet rather than on the clock.
Should I do it every time I queue?
No. Twice a day is plenty. Done every time, it turns waiting into a task, and then you have lost the one thing waiting was good for.
What if I am with someone?
It still works — nobody can see it. It is polite not to fall silent mid-conversation, though.
Terms used here
- Anchor — The one thing attention is asked to return to when it wanders.
- Restlessness — The agitated quality that makes sitting still feel unacceptable.
- Noting — Giving what has distracted you a one-word label, then returning.
- Equanimity — Steadiness that does not depend on things going well.
Before you begin — Everything here is general information about attention and breathing, offered for educational use only. It is not medical or psychological treatment, and it is not a substitute for care from a qualified professional. If you have a heart or lung condition, a history of panic attacks or trauma, are pregnant, or are being treated for a mental health condition, talk to your clinician before starting breath-holding or long body-scan practice. Stop if a practice makes you dizzy, breathless or distressed.