Pumping at work sucks (pun, yes, forgive me).  These are the things I did when I pumped at work to help myself not go totally crazy.  Please share what you did or are doing right now, too.  I have a feeling all the pumping mamas out there could use all the encouragement they can get!

1. Load up those podcasts. You’re going to want to drown out the droning pump, and one of the best ways to do that is with a full set of podcasts.  My personal recommendations: The Longest Shortest Time, I’m Better in Real Life, Witch Please (for all you Harry Potter peeps) and The Baby-Sitters Club Club, and all those other Gimlet & NPR ones. (Full disclosure: I also run a podcast too called World’s Okayest Moms, but it felt weird to recommend it here….like I am right now, I guess!)

2. Read eBooks. I prefer getting free eBooks through my library’s OverDrive service on my Kindle, but you can also get a free OverDrive, Kindle or other eBook app for many devices.  The best part is that this type of reading leaves you a little less encumbered than a book that requires two hands might.  I would set my Kindle down on the desk and that was that.  My personal recommendation: The Folded Clock by Heidi Julavits (short essays were perfect for pumping sessions for me because I could finish one in a sitting and feel like I’d actually accomplished something beyond sucking milk from my body — important yes, but not intellectually stimulating).  Plus, the nice thing about reading eBooks is that your hands can be free for…..

3. Snacks! Let’s hear it for snaaaaaacks.  Snacking works on airplanes to stave off boredom and it works with pumping too.  Pack those snacks every day and relish them on your pumping flight.  My personal recommendation: Those Kashi granola bars with the chocolate chips.  You know the ones.  The good ones.

4. Plot a novel. Sometimes I would jot down novel notes while I listened to the steady rhythm of the pump.  Granted, this novel still isn’t finished, so this advice maaaay not actually be as productive as it felt.  Still, if the muse strikes, don’t let that pump drown it out.  I have no recommendations for what your novel should be about, but maybe it’s about a mom trapped pumping and plotting big things…

5. Subscribe to some TinyLetters. They’re the new blogging!  After you’ve picked the ones you want, save them all in your inbox as they arrive until it’s time to pump.  My personal recommendations: Everything Happened and Kittens & Kindness.

So what did you do to pass the time while you pumped?  Share your tips & tricks here, please!