Long flights are often synonymous with boredom, frustration, and a slight sense of claustrophobia. If you are dreading your next flight and don’t know how to make the hours fly past, take heed of the suggestions below. If these suggestions don’t feel like they will cut it, you can always engage the services of a travel company, who would surely have a wide range of suggestions for ways to make your flights more bearable.

1. Indulge in Your Programs

If you’re flying due to a work-related travel like offering event planning and entertainment services, this is the best time to review your business proposal or your scheduled programmed activities. Moreover, you can also relax, like if there is a certain television program that you’re partial to, take the flight as an opportunity to catch up on your show. Intentionally don’t watch the show for a few weeks so that you can binge-watch a few episodes in one sitting. Just be aware of the content of what you’re watching; nothing is private on a plane. The same concept works for movies that you’re keen to watch. Stockpile them on your favorite device and ensure your battery is fully charged and ready to go.

2. Start a New Hobby

Do you have a hobby that you’ve been waiting to start? If it’s the sort of hobby that can fit in a 1×1 meter space and can pass through airport security, now is the perfect time to start it. Sudoku is very popular and can easily kill some hours, depending on your skill level. Or perhaps you wanted to start writing and join the bandwagon of the influencer market. Choose something that fits within your known interests but will be challenging enough to keep you occupied for a while at the same time will give you revenue in the long run.  You don’t want to be bored of it in the first 30 minutes.

3. Strike Up a Conversation

Now this suggestion often strikes fear into the hearts of travelers. Many of us have been the victim of a ‘serial conversationalist’ who is incapable of reading body language and recounts the most boring stories you’ve ever had to sit through. This is not recommended. But if you judge your short-term neighbors to be interesting, friendly and open, by all means introduce yourself. You can bond over the universal hatred of long-haul flights. If you find yourself unsure, a great tip is to wait until the final leg of the journey to kick-start a conversation. That way, if you do find yourself in an uncomfortable situation, you don’t have to stick it out for too long.

4. Snooze

This may seem like a dull suggestion, but you’d be amazed how the time flies by following some shut-eye. Try to time it with the time zone you’re entering, so that it not only makes the flight go faster but also helps your body adapt to the destination. You’ll arrive feeling more rested and slightly more human. Just make sure that when you do fall asleep, you aren’t too hot and you’ve had some water. If you wake feeling hot or thirsty in combination with the altitude and stuffiness of the plane, it can really knock you around.

Do you have any suggestions you could add? Share your tips below and best of luck on your next long-haul flight!