What to Do While Waiting

I've got a number of things I'm waiting for.  I've been waiting for some of these for years, but I haven't given up.  It occurs to me that there are different ways of waiting and I have a choice as to how I go about it.

1. I just sit and wait.  I don't do anything until the person, event, or "thing" appears.  This means that I'm essentially dead in the water, not accomplishing anything and daily growing more impatient, angry or discouraged.
2. Watch and pray.  Really prayer can and should be a part of whatever waiting scheme you choose.  Watching and praying means that daily I'm anticipating the appearance of what I'm waiting for and I'm actively looking for it.  I live on the cusp of expectation.  Just around the next corner, at the chiming of the next hour, before the end of the day the answer is going to be there.  This is kind of like living on tip-toe.
3. Incorporating several means.  This is the Matt.7:7-8 model.  I don't just ask, I also seek and knock.  This is somewhat like the "Watch and Pray" model, but is more active.  I run around looking for the appearance of the object of my waiting.  I not only ask God, I ask people as well.  This can get to be a bit frantic, and eventually tiresome.

Truth be told, I find myself vacillating between these forms of waiting.  I tire of the same one over a period of time and need to move on to another.  The one I really fear is the "sit and wait" approach which means that I'm not accomplishing anything in the meantime.  Maybe I'll try the method of the "persistent widow" in Luke 18.  I'll become such a worry-wart that God and everyone else will see that I get what I want just to get me off their back.

So what is your favorite, most effective way of waiting?