When the crowd zigs, zag!

I was talking to someone last week and asked, like so many of us do, what are you up to this weekend? They said, well I have to get some groceries and then might go to the mall to shop and then maybe catch a movie Saturday night. All I could see as they talked were lines. Lines of people, lines of cars.
I wanted to say to this person, do you have brain damage?! I thought the question because I see how so many of us are conditioned to this approach of wasting our time by following the herd. I had to go by Costco a few weeks ago on a Saturday. I knew what I was in for and sure enough, it took 20 minutes just to get into the parking lot and find a space 300 meters away. By the time I got to the front door I turned and walked back to my car. It just wasn't worth the headache. Hence my thoughts on brain damage. I went back early Monday morning when they opened and the place was empty. No crowds, no traffic. I was in and out faster than it took to park my car the day before.
So here is my advice. Start to operate when and where the masses don't. I have found that I start to schedule tasks and events for times when I know fewer crowds will be there. I can do the same shopping, events, errands in half the time. Sure sometimes it means going to work earlier to leave at 4 so I can beat the 6pm crowd to the grocery store. It means an errand at 1pm when I know the lunch crowd is gone.
I see people wasting hours and hours each week by travelling when everyone travels, shopping when everyone shops and eating when everyone eats. Add up the time you spend in traffic and in line. It is staggering.
Sure I hear people say, but I have to be at work from 9 to 5 and I don't have a choice. Maybe. Have you ever asked your boss to give you some flexible hours even one day a week? Have you stopped to plan your time instead of just following your conditioned instincts? Different approach will give you different, new options.
Take the extra 5 minutes to plan your week, outsmarting the crowd and see if you don't create more free time for yourself. Owning your time and creating more of it IS the point.