Besides free upgrades to business or first class. My other flying time wish is to be able to sleep for the duration of a flight (or eighty percent of flight time). I am always envious of those people who are lights out within moments of takeoff and only wake up at meal time or to prep for landing. Sadly I am not one of those people and if like me you cannot sleep on flights (especially coast to coast or long haul international flights), then this post is for you. My top ten things to keep yourself busy and productive on a long haul flight. The longest flight I have been on was a fifteen-hour flight from Dallas to Dubai with an hour and a half layover in Dubai and then an eight-hour flight to Lagos.
1. Catch up on your sleep. If you have not problem falling asleep on a flight; I recommend packing something comfortable to change into for the flight; noise-canceling headphones; maybe even a sleep mask.
2. Catch up on your reading list. What better time to put a dent in your reading list, Make sure you pack books or magazines you need in your carry-on or have it downloaded to your favorite reading app before take-off. Don't panic if you forget, some airlines' entertainment package come with e-readers.
3. Get a facial. Yes ! a facial. The altitude dries out my skin and it gets itchy and red. No a pretty sight. So, when I find myself on a flight for more than four hours, I am doing an in-flight facial either with an overnight mask or sheet mask.
4. Respond to emails and clear your inbox. You are not going anywhere, might as well tackle your inbox. A lot of flights are equipped with wifi. If you don't want to splurge - draft the emails and send when you land. You can also clear out the electronic clutter by cleaning out your junk mail.
5. Plan trip itinerary. You are heading off to vacation, great! Flight time is the perfect time to plan out your itinerary for the trip.
6. Clean up and organize your digital files. At one point, I had more than15,000 pictures from blogging and travel. A lot of my flight times are spent cleaning out duplicates, blurry pictures and moving edited photos to an external drive. Don't forget to pack your eternal drive.
7. Get work done. I get a lot of work done in-flight. I like to have a clean slated when headed to vacation. If I don't have day job-related work to tackle; I plan out and write blog posts or edit pictures for the blog and shop.
8. Watch a movie (or three). These days airlines have the latest movies on offer for free and you can usually peek at the movie schedule before you get on board the flight and can plan out your entertainment ahead of time.
9. Start a short movie. I really want to start vlogging my travels and sharing short 7 to 10 movies of the trips with you all, so I began playing around with iMovie and other movie making programs. Fingers crossed you might see the first blog before the year is over
10. Plan your next trip. Sure you are heading off one vacation (or returning from one). If you are like me and always feel deflated when you return from a vacation; why not plan your next trip so that you have something to look forward to when your current vacation is over.
Now over to you, how do you make the most of your time on a long haul flight ?