There is hardly a more varied crowd then that found in the cabin of an airplane. Whether you are a businessman or freelancer or student or homemaker, you have two things in common with your fellow flyers: your destination and the need to pass the time until you get there. What are some ways to spend the long hours?
PRODUCTIVE TIME
If you must be productive every waking moment, then the obvious choice is to spend your time getting caught up on work (or homework) on your laptop. With nothing to look at but clouds, the barf bag tucked in the seat pocket in front of you, or the side of your seat mate's wagging head as they try to nap, you are afforded a fairly distraction free environment. Bring along earplugs in case a loud talker or crying child makes it not so distraction free.
If you are travelling with your spouse, think twice about absorbing yourself in work for the whole flight. There is something about being suspended in the air that leads to introspective contemplation and your partner might want to share a thought or two with you.
If your work is such that you can't take it with you, or don't need to, consider yourself lucky. There are other productive things you can do on a long flight, with or without a laptop. If you have a website, be it work-related or not, you can write content for it, or for your blog, and post it when you get back. If you have a Facebook account, there is a page called "25 random things about yourself." You are supposed to list them, then invite your friends to list theirs too. For most people it's not easy to think up 25 things that are both random and interesting about themselves. A long flight is the perfect time to come up with them.
A long flight is a list maker's delight. A to-do list is deliciously methodical and can make idle time feel industrious. Make a list of spring cleaning tasks, songs to download, people to send Christmas cards to, blog topics, questions to research, goals to achieve, tasks for your spouse, things to teach your kids before they reach 18, well, you get the idea.
Bring a book on a topic that you've been meaning to learn more about. It's hard when we are home and surrounded by reminders of our daily tasks, to take the time to learn something new. Check out a book from the library on photography, or gardening, or Spanish, or Yoga, and use the long flight to enlighten yourself.
Take a nap. Yes, a nap is productive. You will feel more refreshed when you land and experience less jet-lag if you are rested. If you have a hard time sleeping on airplanes, take a Dramamine or something to help you relax and sleep.
ENTERTAINING TIME
Bring your ipod. How often do we have the chance to just sit and listen to our favorite songs? Feel free to lip sync along, but resist the impulse to belt out the tune. Chances are, you aren't as good a singer as you think you are. Plan ahead and download books on tape to your ipod, or your favorite television shows. Make sure your battery is fully charged and be prepared with some other entertainment choices when the battery runs out.
Watch a movie. If the airline offers the portable movie players, get one. If you have a portable DVD player, bring it. A couple of 2 hour movies will make the time pass much quicker. Buy the little earphone things that most airlines offer for $5. You can listen to the flight movie or music.
Play games. Borrow your kid's gameboy or other game device or download some games onto your cell phone ahead of time. A rousing game of Bejeweled, or Island Sims is just the thing to offset boredom.
Read a novel.
This is the age-old, time tested way to pass the time on an airplane. If it's a good book, the hours will pass quickly. If you are a fast reader, you might want to bring two books. Bring a magazine too, in case you want to rest your mind and just peruse. Better yet, bring a couple magazines on different topics. You might get tired of reading about make-up tips and want to brush up on decorating techniques. For the guys, that translates to upper body workouts and fly-fishing techniques. The goal is to alleviate boredom.
If your trip is for pleasure, you can plan some sight-seeing excursions as you sit on your flight. Bring printed information about tours and landmarks you want to see, maps, and a tourist guide and plan your adventure. If you are traveling with someone, Mad-libs is a great way to pass some time. Remember those? You ask a person for a noun, or adjective, or adverb, without telling them the context and then you read the story, filling in the word they provided? If you are traveling alone, maybe you will be lucky and your seat mate will play along.
Last, but not least, you can always converse. Just remember that converse means listen, as much as it does talk. If you do all the talking, you will wind up the star character in a bad flight story told later by your seat mate.
KIDS
If you are flying with kids, you pretty much have your time already spoken for - you will spend most of it entertaining them. Nonetheless, you can alleviate their boredom by bringing a movie player for them, books, a gameboy, sticker books, color books, markers, crayons, drawing paper, and puzzle books. Avoid toys with many small pieces. Bring snacks like fruit chews, crackers, granola bars, and string cheese to keep their little mouths happy. Above all, bring an inflatable pillow and their favorite blanket.
No matter if your trip is for business or pleasure, if you embark on your flight with an open mind and a few toteable diversions, the time will pass remarkably quick. Remember that the journey can be as much an adventure as the destination.