We’ve all been there: trapped in an airport while travelling solo and ready to get to where we are going. Maybe you accidentally missed your second flight and now have some extra unforeseen time on your hands. Or, maybe this layover was all a part of your master plan. Either way, here are our top five tips for embracing that hiatus where time seems to stop and it feels like you’re in no man’s land.
1. Snacks!
Especially new, never-tasted-before snacks. Are those ham and cheese sandwiches neatly packaged in the refrigerators at Heathrow as good as they look? Now is your chance to find out.
2. Play Podcast Roulette
Scroll through the “top charts” in the “browse” section on your podcast app, close your eyes, scroll and then press play. You will undoubtedly learn something new.
3. Binge Away Boredom
Catch up on that Netflix show you have been pretending to watch all season long or bring yourself up to date with what’s going on on all those social media platforms you have been ignoring over the past two months (it’s always LinkedIn isn’t it).
4. Airport Scavenger Hunt
You may need to find an outlet plug to charge your phone or computer at this point. Scout out the best outlet locations for free plugs and make it a game. What are the pros and cons of each valuable spot? This may lead you on an airport terminal adventure.
5. Catch Up On Some Z’s
Take a nap but don’t forget to set an alarm. Legend has it that ten-minute naps are all we need to recharge. Also, don’t travelers’ creativity truly shine in the sport of airport napping? Here’s a question to contemplate: do you prefer the “fetal position across two chairs” technique or the “just give me a rectangle of clean carpet on the floor” approach?
Extra credit: Escape the airport! Buy flight insurance and take a risk. So many airports have adventures within a short drive. Unsettled co-founder Jon Kalan one time took a surf session during a 7-hour layover in Senegal. And his partner in crime, Michael Youngblood, has escaped airports on 24-hour no-sleep-no-way-layovers in at least 6 places full of street food and long nights out (Japan, South Korea, Dubai, London, Singapore, and Delhi).
No matter what, your journey has already begun. Hang in there, fellow voyager. It can only go up (literally and figuratively) from here.
Unsettled is a global community for those who live and work differently.
Growth | Meaning | Adventure
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