Why do we hurry to wait?

People have different styles of waiting. Some need to pass the time by doing something —reading, listening to music, or knitting perhaps. Some become fixated on the event and hover in anticipation, checking their watch or—more likely—their phones every few minutes (or seconds). Some seem to handle delays better than others, though very few seem to be able to pass the time idly. Waiting is as much the product of personalities as it is the result of the social environment of the individual, and airports are a fantastic place to observe these behaviors in situ.