I have always loved to travel and I have spent many hours flying around the world. I recently studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark and during my four months abroad I traveled to 13 countries in Europe. With the stress of packing, making your flights, planning your trip, and everything else that comes along with travel, many people forget to plan what they are going to do once they reach 30,000 feet. Below are some of my tried-and-true suggestions for making the most out of your flying time.
- Clean Out Your Phone! 📱
- This is my favorite way to be productive in the air because it requires no wifi, is satisfying, and makes the time fly by! As someone who LOVES to take pictures of everything, I always start by cleaning out my camera roll. If you are on your way back from your trip, start by going through all of the pictures you took during your travels and getting rid of duplicates, blurry photos, or anything you don’t need anymore. If you are on your way to your trip or you didn’t take many photos, I recommend starting by going to the search bar and typing in today’s date. This will pull up all of the photos you have taken on this date in years past, which is a fun way to see what you were doing a year ago today.
- Tip: Check how many photos you have before and after you clear through your photos to see how big of a difference you made!
- Once you are done clearing through your camera roll, let’s work through your apps. Start by going through them and deleting any that you don’t need. If you haven’t used it in the past year, you probably won’t need it in the future. Next, organize them into categorized folders and make sure they are named appropriately!
- Tip: alphabetize the folders on your screen to make them easier to find.
- Other apps to organize:
- Voice Memos delete any recordings you don’t need
- Voicemails: delete any voicemails you don’t need
- Weather App: remove any locations you don’t need anymore
- Notes: delete any you don’t need
- Clock: remove any alarms you don’t use
- Once you’re done, change your wallpapers if you want to switch it up! I always like a wallpaper refresh because it feels like a new phone.
- Organize Your Laptop 💻
- Now let’s organize your computer! I always like to start with my desktop because it can get cluttered with schoolwork, photos, and random downloads that I needed for random projects. Having too much on your desktop slows down your computer! Delete everything you don’t need, and organize everything that is left into folders. Name your folders accordingly.
- If you want, change your desktop picture to a photo you love! The easiest way to do that is to drag the photo you want onto your desktop -> left click -> set as desktop picture.
- Tip: If you are like me and love a to-do list, open up the stickies app on your computer and create a sticky note to sit on your desktop. Write down everything you need to do so that it is easy to see every time you open your computer.
- Edit Photos From Your Trip! 📷
- If you are on your way back from an amazing vacation that you can’t wait to share on your Instagram, take this time to edit your favorite photos! Since you just cleared through your camera roll, they should be easy to find! My favorite editing apps are VSCO and Photoshop Fix. Take the time to edit them now so you are ready to post as soon as you land!
- Reflect or Journal ✍🏼
- You are on your way to or from an adventure, no matter where you are headed. Now is the perfect time to reflect on what you learned, the places you explored, who you met, and where you want to go next. Put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and write about it! Trust me, you won’t always remember the little details down the line and you will be glad you wrote it down!
- Tip: I always like to end with what I am grateful for! Even if I had a negative experience during your travels, writing down what I am grateful for helps to clear my mind of negativity and ground myself in the moment.
- Meditate 🧘🏼
- If you have anxiety about flying, have been stressed recently, or could just use a little more zen in your life, try a seated meditation! You can do this yorself by focusing on your breathing and reflecting on your own thoughts, or you can use a guided meditation from an app. Some apps I recommend are Headspace and Calm.
- Read! 📚
- This one is a bit obvious, but reading a book is an excellent use of time in the air. Putting down your electronics and connecting with a book can help you relax and let the time pass. Maybe there’s a book you’ve been meaning to read, or a book recommended to you by a friend. Here are some recommendations if you need a starting place:
- People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
- This one got me back into reading after a long hiatus! This is the perfect novel for a flight to a nice vacation because it sets the mood beautifully. Emily Henry’s writing makes for a great page-turner.
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- One of my all-time favorite books! Absolutely nothing could have led me to predict the ending and the story development is beautifully done. A five-star read for-sure.
- Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
- Let me just say, your jaw will be on the floor at the ending of this novel. I finished it and immediately flipped back to the first page wanting to read it over again. A muder-mystery that takes place all in one night, Daisy Darker will keep you entertained the entire flight.
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Maybe you are in the mood for a self-improvement book for this flight. I am currently reading Atomic Habits after hearing many rave reviews. This book will reshape the way you approach goal setting and creating lasting habits for a more productive version of yourself.
- Color in a coloring book! 🌈
- No, they aren’t just for kids! Coloring actually has many benefits for adults, such as lowering stress and anxiety, increasing creativity, practicing mindfulness, improving hand-eye coordination, and improving sleep! You might feel a little silly whipping out a coloring book but they actually make amazing ones for adults! Here are some of my favorites from Amazon:
- Animals, Mandalas, Zentangle Nature Art
- Live, Laugh, F*ck Off Adult Swear Words Coloring Book
- 101 Calmness
- Organize Your Music 🎧
- Maybe you love Spotify or maybe you are an Apple Music fan. Regardless, flying is a great time to listen to all of your saved songs and review your playlists. What songs do you skip on every time? What new songs do you love and want to hear more? Organize your music to make listening a more enjoyable experience. Maybe even make a new playlist for flying!
That’s it! Those are my eight recommendations for making the most of your time while flying. I hope you try some of these and find your flights more productive and enjoyable!
