5 Tips to Stay Sane During a Long Flight

If you are ever planning to take a flight out of the good ole USA, then you may be in for at least a nine- or 10-hour flight … and if you’re headed somewhere like say, Australia – that’s more than 20 hours in flight. Don’t know about you, but 20 hours cooped up in a cramped seat with nothing planned to do is not even an option for me.

There are many things to do on flights and conveniences that make long hauls totally bearable. This is from my (Kim’s) personal experience. Take a look at our list below and let us know in the comments how you survive your long haul flights without going insane!

• Tip 1 Netflix and Inflight Movies are your best friends. I love that Netflix has movies and television shows that are available for download. The only catch: make sure your device has enough storage space to download those movies and Seasons 1, 2 and 3 of your favorite comedy! Inflight television on long hauls is actually pretty decent, but you should still be prepared with your own movies just in case something happens to the inflight movie screening. You never know, so just plan! Planning is our friend!
• Tip 2 Read a book. You can go old-school on ’em and pull out a paperback/hardback copy. Or you can download a few books from iTunes or Kindle Cloud Reader. You can even do audiobooks. I’m a fan of those. Every now and then I like to hear a different voice telling me the story. While I like mysteries or thrillers, I’m also a sucker for a great biography or New York Times bestseller. What better time to catch up on the latest greatest business book? You’ll look great at the company happy hour talking about leading industry news.
• Tip 3 Revive a lost art form. Write thank you cards and thinking of you letters to long distance friends and family members. They’ll truly feel loved and missed when they get this piece of snail mail in their box. You’ve gone the extra mile and took time to say hello in actual print rather than a text or email.
• Tip 4 Go to sleep! It may not be the best sleep, but don’t knock it. Remember to bring earphones, an eye mask if you’re sensitive to light and a travel blanket. You’re all set to zone out and land feeling refreshed. Also bring mouthwash and toothpaste to freshen up your breath after that snooze fest!
• Tip 5 You could actually do some work. I don’t know about you, but I’m usually staying late at the office the days before a big trip to make sure everything will run smoothly while I’m away, but if you have some work that you can do while you’re inflight, bring it. You’re not going anywhere … and I’m not saying do it 15 hours straight, but if you put your headphones on, hit your iTunes and put on your go-to Beyoncé album, I bet you could knock out a couple of nagging reports or small projects and have one less headache to worry about when you get back.