So you’re sitting there looking at Hopper, Expedia, etc looking for the best flight to your next destination. The excitement builds, and you visualize being there already, perhaps even feeling the warmth or cold (if that’s your thing) of the climate. You are indeed a modern man that believes in traveling as one of the best investments you can make. However, traveling often meets stress and chaos. The more often you travel the better and more efficient you get at it. You can travel smarter.
But heck, what does that even mean to travel smarter and kill time at the airport?
Don’t you just choose, book, and go? Well not quite. Being able to travel smarter allows you to fully emerge in the experience and therefore get the most out of it. After all, we have repeatedly discussed this in our previous travel articles. To read them simply navigate to our Travel section.
But First, Mistakes To Avoid When Travelling
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when traveling is not to do so when you can. Travel makes you grow in ways you would have never imagined. It does so by allowing you to see and experience humanity in all shapes. Also, by simply expanding your mindset on the world we live in and pushing you out of your comfort zone (or what we call “reality bubble’)
Now, having made that statement let’s list a few mistakes you want to avoid when traveling:
1) Overthinking: Next, not traveling, is by far of the major travel mistakes. Overplanning, doubting your instinct, and not allowing yourself to emerge in the experience will diminish the experience. One of the best skills to have when traveling is being fully present by trusting yourself and what the moment has in store for you. Do so by allowing your senses to have a better grasp of what your body can sense at the moment. The warm breeze on your face, the vineyard smells galloping through your nose. Whatever it is, fully emerge in it and notice how it makes you feel right then and there.
2) Overpacking: Unless you are going on a year-long exploring expedition. Traveling light means flexibility. Flexibility means mobility. Mobility means more time to experience things. More experiences mean making the most of the time you took off work and your family (if you are traveling solo).
3) Negative Travel Buddy: If you are traveling with someone, make sure that person has the same vibe, values, interests, and vision as you. There is nothing worse than traveling with someone that will only complain and limit the experiences. We are beings of emotion but make sure that person is emotionally mature to endure the different realities of humanity beyond our own.
5 Tips To Save And Kill Time At The Airport
Goes without saying but your travel starts when you arrive at the airport. It is the last time in 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks you will be standing in familiar territory. From there it is either only a few minutes away to the boarding gate or a few hours depending on how smart you travel.
Let’s discuss 5 tips to put you in the minutes’ group vs the hours’ group:
1) Avoid the counter: This means a few things, travel light, have your documents ready, and know what you’re doing. The lines at the counter can be longer than the line at the DMV. Airlines these days recommend and make it easier to give you access to the proper information you need to walk straight to TSA or whatever security system your country has in place for boarding flights. Check your airline.
2) Prohibited items: Nowadays airport security is at its highest. Checking with your airline on what items are prohibited and best practices for security checks will help you jog through the check rather than do 100 pull-ups for them. Nobody wants to be interrogated and searched, we know you’re innocent (are you?) but you still feel nervous. That’s not the ideal state of mind you want your trip to start with.
3) Wear minimal comfortable clothes: Most likely you will have to take off your shoes, belt, nipple piercing (kidding those aren’t detected), etc. Make sure you are like the Harlem Globetrotters, rip those pants off and you are game. Don’t confuse this with us saying travel in your PJs and slip-on, hmm nope! You can still look good and be simple. Check out our article on how to travel with style and still be light.
4) Carrying Electronics: Make sure your electronic devices such as your laptop, charger, etc are either accessible or have their bag. They always need to be scanned separately. Don’t be that guy undoing their entire luggage to take out the electronic device. Shame, shame. For awesome content on great bags for men, check out our recent article here.
5) Save time by helping others: I know what you’re thinking, but this will take my time. How is this going to save me time at the airport? Well, simple. If you see someone struggling with the above and you stand around and all you do is roll your eyes and give them the stink eye, what do you think is going to happen? The other person will not only become nervous or pissy depending on their mood and effectively delay you. After all, you are standing behind them, so you aren’t going anywhere. Helping goes a long way, it helps you and everybody else move along. Not to mention you will be doing the right thing. Good Karma to you, my friend.
5 Tips to Kill Time At The Airport
Early is better than late. And that especially applies when you fly. However, being early will provide you with extra time to do as you please while you wait to board your flight. Fortunately for you, that extra time can be extremely productive or just time.
Here are some tips to pass time at the airport:
1) Read a book: Reading is one of those daily habits that can transform your life. I, personally, was never a huge reader and often got distracted. There are a few reasons why including but not limited to: ADD, reading wrong content, and poor reading skills. Bring a book that sparks an interest in you, ideally a book that can positively contribute to your life. But if Harry Potter is your thing then there’s nothing wrong with that too. May we suggest The Code Of The Extraordinary Mind Or How To Win Friends And Influence People?
2) Catch up on work: You probably won’t want to think about work. Heck, it’s probably the major cause of your stress and the reason you want to get the hell away for a bit. But the reality is, that work whether a personal project or your Full-Time work will wait for you when you come back. If you can get ahead so that work is minimal when you are back then I say give this a try!
3) Network: The power of association is real and transformative. Having the ability to connect to other people will positively contribute to your life. You simply never know what stories or opportunities might lay ahead. To read more about networking and get some tips, read our previous article by clicking here.
4) Catch up on some Zzz’s: Health starts with proper rest. On average people sleep less than the optimal 8hrs. Proper rest helps our body not only recharge but also heal. Sleep is the state where our bodies regenerate and recuperate from the hazardous environments we expose our bodies to 12+ hours per day. Just make sure you set an alarm, you don’t want to miss a flight when you are next to the gate. So if you want to kill time at the airport, look out for your health, and think ahead of your trip look for a sleeping capsule at the airport.
5) Watch videos on tips about your destination: This is probably the most productive thing you can do to kill time at the airport. Not only does it get you pumped for your trip but it either guides you or refreshes your memory (if you’ve done your homework) on what to do and not to do at your destination.
We have come to find that men are becoming more “worldly” nowadays. A major reason is travel. They have visited places and experienced other cultures. They understand the world, humanity, and what it means to be a man better. More importantly, men have realized that growth does not occur from comfort but from challenge and resistance.
You can read all the articles you want about this topic but in the end, this is something you need to experience yourself. Which means you will make many, many mistakes. And it is okay to make those mistakes as long as you don’t repeat them. Stupid is described as the action of doing something the wrong way over and over again.
Now you get to travel smarter than the rest of the people. You get to fully submerge yourself in the experience.
Where To Next?
Tell us what travel articles you would like to read next. Do you want tips and stories about traveling to and about Japan? Or perhaps Italy, Spain, or Thailand?
Let us know in the comments section below.
For a cool platform to book your next flight, we recommend Hopper.
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