Long-haul flights could be less draining with this travel hack.
Travelling by plane is always a tiring experience, no matter how long your flight is. You often have to get up incredibly early to be at the airport several hours before your flight leaves, not to mention battling through security and finding your gate.
If you then have to spend several hours in the air after that ordeal, it can leave you feeling exhausted. But one frequent flier and travel expert has said there’s something you can do to help manage your time on a long-haul flight so that you don’t feel as drained when you finally land.
KJ, who regularly posts travel advice on her TikTok account, recommended a technique called “time blocking”, in which you give yourself a certain amount of time for each portion of your flight so that it’s broken down into more manageable chunks.
She said: “Time blocking your flights is the only way to survive long-haul flights.”
KJ started by explaining that the actual breakdown of your flight will vary depending on how long your flight is, but she used an overnight flight from “east coast North America to somewhere in Europe”, which is typically between eight to 10 hours, as her example for the video.
She began by saying that the first 90 minutes of your flight should be “strictly vibes”. This means not starting a film as soon as you sit down, but instead taking time to make sure you’re comfortable, and perhaps listening to a podcast or some music.
She said: “This 90 minutes is strictly for that album you’ve been wanting to listen to. It’s strictly for thinking about whether you want chicken or pasta [for your in-flight meal]. It’s literally just for vibes. Don’t overwhelm yourself on long-haul flights.”
KJ allocated 90 minutes for this block, but it should last until the first meal is served. At this point, you should move onto your next time block, which KJ also gave 90 minutes for. She said this should be your “meal and movie” time, where you eat your dinner and watch “one movie”.
She insisted you should eat your meal slowly to fully enjoy it and digest it properly and suggested having a cup of tea afterwards. Once you’ve finished your film, you should then allocate time for sleep or “active resting”. KJ allocated a three hour block for this, but it could be longer depending on the length of your flight.
The expert shared: “If you can’t sleep on planes, then you’ll be actively resting. This is the time for our noise cancelling headphones to go on, we are putting on that white noise, we are closing our eyes, we are putting on that eye mask, and we are actively resting.
“If you are having a moment where you’re not really sleeping, do not look at your phone. Do not lift up that eye mask. Count backwards from 100; I don’t care what you have to do; just find your zen. White noise will help.”
Once she’s had at least three hours of rest, KJ likes to move onto a segment she calls the “show binge”. This is where she uses her laptop or tablet to watch a series she’s downloaded that she’s “really excited about”. She does this for around 90 minutes before moving on to her final 90-minute block – the pre-landing reset.
This final block could involve getting breakfast, depending on how long your flight was, but it’s also important to drink water during this time. KJ also uses this time to nip to the bathroom with a bottle of water to brush her teeth and freshen up, before finally going back to what she did at the start of her flight with music or a podcast.
She said: “That is how you survive.”