Practical tips for working during a flight

There are two kinds of travellers in the world – those capable of focusing on work above the clouds, and everyone else.

Some people find it’s even more productive than being on the ground, because you can focus for hours on end with few interruptions.

Personally, I look forward to tackling some solid work during a flight.

I’ve been doing it for decades now, ranging from pulling together complicated articles or interviews which demand 100% of my headspace, to publishing a breaking news story from 30,000 feet.

Here are some simple strategies I’ve developed to stay productive when duty calls.

Be realistic

Rarely will an eight- or ten-hour flight mean a solid eight or ten hours of work. It might not even mean five hours of work.

It’s too easy – too tempting – on the rushed day before you travel to promise yourself that you’ll catch up during the flight. You’ll bash out that report or presentation uninterrupted.

But you never feel as sharp during a flight as you do on the ground.

There’s less oxygen circulating in the cabin. Cabin pressure and humidity levels contribute to you feeling a bit tired and not nearly as productive. Subtle pre-flight stresses can add to mental fatigue.

A glass of wine can be the end of your productivity, so it's worth getting essential work done beforehand.

And this is before that glass or two of wine. (As a personal rule, I never drink when I’m working, but “different strokes for different folks” and all that...).

So set realistic expectations of how much work you’ll actually get done on the flight.

Otherwise you’re just setting yourself up for failure, and more stress when you land.

Top up your devices in the lounge

While the latest laptops claim to deliver all-day battery life, we know those lofty promises rarely hold true in the real world.

Instead, get into the habit of plugging the laptop in at the airport – even if there’s plenty of juice still left in the battery, because you can’t always rely on an inflight recharge.

Plug in at the lounge, and step on board with a full battery.

Sometimes the power socket at your seat won’t work, and on a full flight you won’t be able to move to another seat.

Some older aircraft and seats even have a restricted AC power flow that's insufficient to charge a larger-screen laptop.

While we’re talking power, make sure there’s a multi-plug AC adaptor in your carry-on kit. During a transit stopover you might find the airport lounge has only the local type of AC outlet.

And if your laptop uses an Apple-style power brick, on planes with a universal AC socket, I find the UK plug will generally make a more stable connection compared to US or EU plugs.

Download essential documents before takeoff

Not every airline or even every type of aircraft offers inflight Wi-Fi – and even when they do, you can’t always guarantee it will work.

Take the precaution of downloading essential documents in the lounge.

If you use Google Docs, there’s a handy option to access and edit documents offline using the free Google Docs Offline Chrome extension.

Drown out the noise

Noise-cancelling headphones are a must-have for your travel kit.

Even if you’re not listening to music, slip them on and you can push down chatter in the cabin and that constant mind-numbing drone of aircraft engines.

Noise-cancelling headphones help you focus on the work at hand.

Music may also help you settle into a comfortable work mode.

I’m a fan of online station Radio Paradise and its relaxing Mellow Mix channel; the Radio Paradise app lets me download up to 24 hours (!) of music to listen offline, which proves a gentle soundtrack to work to.

Plan your work, then work to your plan

Most flights tend to serve a meal within two hours of take-off, which can be the same time you’re still fresh and firing on all cylinders with that report or presentation.

But after dinner and a glass of wine, you’re well into the flight and tiredness starts to settle in.

One way to handle this is to attack the largest and most urgent slabs of work as your priority.

Use some time in the airport lounge to start getting them into shape; maybe keep working on them for the 20 minutes between boarding and when you're ready for take-off, then pick things up again once you’re flying.

Plan where meals fit into your inflight work schedule.

By the time your meal arrives, you’ll probably be ready for a break. If not, opt for the ‘express meal’ to save time, or ask that your meal be held back and served last, or when you’re ready – especially if you’ve chosen to take your main meal in the lounge, and can then have a lighter spread of starters and salads.

Post-dinner can be optional time for attacking small tasks such as emails, invoices and shorter documents – basically nibbling away at the workload for another hour or two – but at pretty much any time you can switch off to catch a movie or some sleep, still having tackled the bulk of your work.

Don’t forget to sleep!

During a daytime flight there might be no issue with working from wheels-up to landing. You arrive with a smug sense of satisfaction and can look forward to a relaxing evening.

But on flights with an overnight component – such as from Australia to the USA, where you might leave at 9am and arrive at 6am local time – you have to switch off.

In fact, allowing for six hours of sleep plus waking two hours before landing, plus an hour for lunch/dinner, you might have barely five hours available for working.

So pace yourself, and plan what part of the flight you’ll work through and when you’ll grab some shut-eye.

Also read: Expert tips for travelling light