There’s the things you pack and things you do before you head out on a trip. The two trips I took in January and February 2023 (to New York City and Hawaii, respectively) brought up three lessons on the latter.

1. Refresh or re-download all of the movies or TV shows you intend to watch during your flight.
2. Know what you need from your downtime on a trip.
3. Know when to abandon an itinerary or plan.

Refresh or re-download all of the movies or TV shows you intend to watch during your flight.

In the modern era, you bring your own device and your own content. You might be able to access the airline’s content through the onboard network but I tend to not rely on what’s provided and instead bring content that I know will either entertain or keep me occupied. I keep three entertainment devices handy when I have the space; my iPhone, my iPad, and the Nintendo Switch I spoiled myself with for Christmas.

I always keep a couple movies downloaded on my iPhone’s Apple TV app (and thankfully the Gerard Butler action flick Hunter Killer is what is keeping me entertained today). But all of the downloaded series I wanted to watch on the HBO App are unavailable (the app has been notoriously unreliable for downloaded content away from active Wi-Fi connections). All of the Netflix series I downloaded for our Thanksgiving trip to San Francisco had expired (and were in need of renewing). What was reliable though was my Amazon Prime content, the majority of which had not expired.

Know what you need from your downtime on a trip.

I love my wife and two kids and I greatly appreciate my travel time away from them for what it represents: time to read and time to watch dumb but satisfying movies. For some reason, Gerard Butler is the action star I most enjoy watching these days, which means Greenland, Olympus Has Fallen, and Hunter Killer are the movies I am thinking about right now. I do love the fact that he plays a convincing American when he is so very clearly a Scotsman (see Tomorrow Never Dies if you want to hear him speak in his native accent, where he plays a Scottish helmsman early in the film).

Pre-Covid, people who traveled would always tell me about how they stayed productive on flights. And I agree with them – I just put that productive time toward things that matter to me, not just work. On this flight, I am reading American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Scott Woodward, and learning about the complex nature of the 11 nations that actually constitute the United States and parts of southern Canada and northern Mexico. I try and vary up my reading because a lot of it is around diversity and inclusion (my day job), organizational behavior (my passion and interest), and travel – and more recently I have been trying to add more books around the world and societies in which we live.

The other thing I have started doing is playing old school video games – and this both taps into my nostalgia as well as some mindlessness (after all, we’re not talking a complex, massively multiplayer world with many interactive components – it’s a 2D screen with plumbers and Bowser).

Know when to abandon an itinerary or plan.

As the son and grandson of travel agents, I know the value of a good plan. Solid arrangements for hotels, transportation, and activities that require a lot of planning and lead time (limited reservations or numbers of tickets). But when does abandoning a plan make sense?

In some places, just being there is the plan. Doing things by the seat of your pants or by asking what someone else recommends is incredibly freeing. Why? Because making decisions takes a lot of mental energy. And this doesn’t have to mean you cede all power, authority, or autonomy in choosing what you want. Set some parameters (i.e. don’t give me any food I am allergic to) and then go.

On my January 2023 trip to New York City, I made a few plans – but I also had moments when I turned to colleagues or friends and said, can you please recommend a place I can go for birria or halal food? Knowing who to ask or take care of you is a more difficult question, but once you find them, trust that they won’t lead you astray.

Conclusion

Travel has within it the potential to be the best thing you ever experience. I have learned about friction points in trips, before trips, and after trips. This first lesson above is just a simple tactic to rest or relax, should you enjoy movies or TV shows on the road. Because I have two kids under 4 years old, I don’t watch as much TV as I used to because I just don’t have the time – so when I fly or ride a train, I like to catch up on good storytelling through films and TV.

The other two lessons are so critical to enjoying your time away from home. The stress that parents faced during the pandemic was not lost upon my wife Caitlin or myself. Accordingly, before we plan our trips these days, we ask one another what we need from it. Is it time with family, time away from our routines, sunshine, or perhaps something else?

Asking these questions in advance ensures that you’re going for the right reasons – not just a cheap ticket…although that certainly is a good enough reason for me! 😊