Things to Do on the Plane After a Business Trip
I’ve been traveling a bunch more with the new job, and I’ve realized that a plane ride is quite a chunk of time where you can’t conduct NEW business. Instead, you get an opportunity to catch up on things that need doing. Here are a few things I did and felt could get done on a plane:
- Enter in business cards to my contact manager- I like doing it by hand for tactile memory, and so I can enter notes. (Besides, podcasters use really colorful cards).
- Fill out expense reports- You’ve got all the receipts (by the way, I throw them in a one-quart zip bag). Why not throw them into a spreadsheet and get the expense report information ready ahead of time?
- Compose some emails- Depending on your client (remember, I use Gmail), it’s a great time to write out some check-in emails, and get back to people with thoughtful stuff you’ve been meaning to send, but haven’t had the chance.
- Write some blog posts- You’ve got stuff on your mind. Write some of it down now that you’ve a chance to think it through.
- Watch some stored video- Hey, we can relax a little, right? Check out Network2 and find some video shows to download to your laptop while at the airport wifi or your hotel room. That way, you’re not relegated to what’s on the plane.
- Read Books- You don’t get time to read, right? Here’s your time.
What else? What do you get done on planes? I could use your tips, too.
–Chris Brogan is a community developer for new media for Video On the Net. He still hacks life, even when he can’t write about it as often.
Tags: 
Loading ...
Comments
Reg Adkins says on October 10th, 2006 at 9:45 am
Are regulations allowing lap tops to be “carry-on” again?
twistedchick says on October 10th, 2006 at 10:44 am
It’s kind of hard to do these things with nothing but a handful of small toiletries in a plastic bag.
Andrew Flusche says on October 10th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Perhaps I missed something here, but you can carry-on your laptop, no problem. Most airlines (and TSA) allow you to have one carry-on bag and one personal item (purse, briefcase, etc). For LIQUIDS, you can only have a quart-sized plastic bag (+ medicine, baby stuff, etc).
As for what I do on planes… I listen to podcasts or music with my iPod (laptop battery sucks). Reading is always a favorite as well.
Selina says on October 10th, 2006 at 5:05 pm
-Organize your Outlook/email Inbox offline. You can create new folders or a new system to track your messages, based on one of the posts on this site.
-Create your next To-Do list so no time is wasted due to traveling.
-Write thank you cards for those you have met, received a gift from, interviewed with, etc.
Glenn says on October 10th, 2006 at 5:22 pm
Well, okay, you asked:
1.I once deleted 986 e-mails on a flight from Salt Lake to San Antonio.(Made my laptop a lot lighter.-)
2. Carry thank you note cards and stamps. Write them in the airport BEFORE you leave town and mail them there. Sometimes they arrive the next day making one heckuv an impression
3. Carry some of those industry magazines you have a suscription to with you. Throw them away after you read them.
4. No matter what line of work you’re in, take a pen and a cocktail napkin and think of new ways to wow your customers/clients/patients/constituents (Internal and external).
5 Listen to podcasts
6. Take a pen and a cocktail napkin and think of creative ways to surprise your spouse/partner/kids/parents.
7. Strike up a conversation with the person next to you with the intent to learn something, not sell something.
Andrew Swihart says on October 10th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
1. Drive yourself crazy thinking about what you should be doing to be productive
2. Go to the bathroom and vomit
3. Piss your pants
4. Drink more coffee
5. Search your laptop’s registry for tweaks to improve performance in all applications you have ever used
6. Install 10 demo applications to your laptop and learn all of them before you land
Jeremy L. Gaddis says on October 10th, 2006 at 10:12 pm
For me, it’s always e-mail.
I’m a network administrator for the second largest College in Indiana and, like most of the people who read your site, I get a heckuva lot of e-mail.
As projects come and go, my “available” time fluctuates as well. I’ve (somewhat) adopted some suggestions I found on the web (wish I could remember where, I’d like to give credit) having to do with “e-mail management”. Basically, if I’m in the middle of a large project, deadlines are looming, or I’m otherwise in a hurry, I ignore e-mails for the most part. I still read the ones from my boss and co-workers right after they come in, but if it’s from someone who usually makes the same ol’ routine requests and it’s not urgent, I just ignore them for the time being.
When I’m on a plane, I have a few hours to catch up with those (Outlook 2003 running in Cached Mode, so I have a local copy). This gives me time to catch up with all of those e-mails. I basically respond to each of those e-mails and, at the same time, add another entry to my Tasks list. Then, I delete the e-mails. This helps to keep my Inbox “trimmed” but I still have a list of everything I need to do.
(By the way, when replying to those, I always mention that I’m on a plane. For some reason, it gives the user the feeling that they — and their request(s) — are important to me. That’s a great side-benefit, from the “customer service” aspect. I’m not in customer service, per se, but every one of our faculty, staff, and students is a “customer” to me.)
SteveM says on October 11th, 2006 at 8:23 am
* Casually introduce yourself to your seatmate, especially if you are sitting in first class. Don’t force a conversation on an unwilling traveller, but some great contacts can evolve. If nothing else, it makes the trip a bit more bearable.
* Early morning or late night flight? Don’t nap, do some TM (the ancient lost art of transcendental meditation). You’ll be more refreshed and less groggy than if you sleep on the plane.
* Indulge in off topic reading (not the foldout stuff) to give yourself new knowledge, new ammunition for brainstorming, and who knows, maybe develop a new interest. Woodworking, hunting, history, archeology, psychology, professional journals, political science, etc. will help to get your mind out of your rut.
Glenn says on October 11th, 2006 at 10:31 pm
Jeremy,
I love ya man, but if you ignore my requests (and they’ll be necessary) I’m gonna wait 3 days and then call your boss. So that I know you actually understood my email, all I ask is that you acknowledge my request. “Got your e-mail. Will have the answer in X days or weeks.” That’s all I need. Take a lesson from Star Trek’s Scotty and tell people you’ll need twice the amount of time you think it will.
I’m a Lotus Notes user, we can set up stationery which are basically form letters. If Outlook does that, consider using it to speed up your ability to acknowledge the e-mail.
We, your internal or external customers, consider failure to reply within a reasonable length of time, nothing less than rudeness.
Al says on October 12th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
How can you use gmail on a plane when you don’t have an internet connection?
Cesar says on December 19th, 2006 at 2:46 pm
u suk