Leaving it to fate that you’ve booked a flight that has direct tv or working wi-fi on it can be a risky gamble. Plane rides with nothing to do but read over Sky Mall brochures and make mental purchases are agony! Whether or not your trip in the air is two hours or 20, when you check out my tips below, you’ll be covered!
Must Read: 5 Things We’ve Learned From Tia & Tamera
1. Pack well. If you’re on a flight that is 5+ hours the best thing you can do is be prepared. In my carry on, I’ll stash my fully charged iPad mini (already pre-loaded with movies, games, TV shows and books), a notebook and pen, two to three magazines and a paperback (usually one I want to highlight/ write in).
2. Curate your videos. I love watching television series on my iPad. There’s something about watching a full season back to back that helps time fly on long flights. Once on a trip from Hong Hong to L.A., I watched the entire first season of the now-canceled “Boss” and hardly realized 16 hours had passed. Flights are also a great time to study up on something you’ve been wanting to learn. Downloading a few documentaries is a great route to take to break up the monotony of TV.
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3. Organize. Saving things you have been putting off at home like organizing your computers files, iTunes and photos, weeding out apps on phones, going through contacts, mapping out your calendars, budgeting expenses, syncing your devices or even doing thank you notes or invite lists are just the most tedious and time-consuming things, but your mind will thank you for doing them on a flight.
4. Read. The ability to open a good book and relax is the perfect thing for short plane or train rides. There is so much literature that can be devoured from cover to cover in a two to five hour flight, and yes if your must, audiobooks do the trick too. This task will keep your mind engaged and if you’re like me when I read “The Alchemist” for the first time, you’ll be racing to finish before the plane lands.
5. Get Crafty. Now, crafts aren’t quite my thing but a women I sat across from on an 18 hour jaunt knitted the whole time and seemed very content. Knitting, braiding, drawing and hand-sewn projects are nifty ways to stay active and are also items that are easy to tuck away in a bag or suitcase when it’s time to land.
