Transit time adds up: a 20 minute cab ride, a 1 hour airport check-in, a 15 minute security line. The trick for a digital nomad is to find time-hacks that work for you: productive ways to use 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there.
Timesuck 1: Cab ride
(20-30 mins)
Time Hack: Email on Laptop
Typically my journeys begin with a cab ride to the airport. With airports typically located 20-30 minutes outside major cities, it’s a frustrating time period to be wi-fi free. I find it’s a good time for a phone call, provided I’m flying at a reasonable hour and there’s great network coverage along the route.
But it’s an even better time to empty your inbox: 30 uninterrupted minutes is more than enough time to open up your laptop and pen thoughtful responses to a handful of mails. Wireless cards aren’t particularly effective in a moving vehicle, I find: typically I’ll answer mail offline, then connect to the airport’s wifi or use my wireless card once I’m in the airport.
Timesuck 2: Airport Security
(10 mins)
Time Hack: Twitter
Airports are full of timesucks, in fact. 15 mins in line for check-in, 10 mins or more in line for security, 15 mins walking between terminals in increasingly sprawling international airports.
The problem with these time periods is two fold: you never know how long they might last, and you’re on your feet the entire time. In short, your only productivity tool available is your phone. Phone call? You could, but you can guarantee you’ll reach the front of the line just when the call gets interesting: better to save those for beyond security. Text messages? Great! Another idea: Twitter.
Twitter as a productivity tool sounds, frankly, a little ridiculous. And yet, the micromessaging service offers so much to the business traveller with a 5 minute window:
–News Reading: Did you know you can subscribe to CNN’s Breaking News, BBC News headlines and more via Twitter? I use it to track tech news sites whenever loading an RSS reader or a full website is too time consuming.
–Brand monitoring: Want a quick taste of what people are saying about your product today? I’m addicted to Twitter Search, filling those 10 minutes taking the web community’s temperature on our current stories.
–Local networking: You’d be surprised how often the Twitter message “flying to Austin” will result in responses from the locals. You probably already have Twitter friends in many major cities who could help you find your way around. The first time I landed in Austin airport, in fact, I was unexpectedly offered a ride to my hotel by someone who recognized me from my Twitter account.
Timesuck 3: Airport Lounge
(50 mins)
Time Hack: Laptop on the Web
Waiting at your gate is often the least frustrating part of the trip: you’ll often have access to wifi (although you might have to pay if you don’t already have a plan), and there’s a good chance your 3G wireless card will work.
If you’re lucky, there’s power, too. In fact, there’s an Airport Power Outlet Wiki to help you find the power outlets in major airports and ensure you get the maximum battery life out of your laptop once you get on board. It’s a good time, too, to charge your phone.
While I have a connection, I typically perform two tasks: make sure my mail client has grabbed all my most recent mail for offline checking on the plane, and make sure I have an RSS feed reader ready to go into offline mode. (The Google Gears extension allows you to use Google Reader offline in Firefox, although it lacks images in offline mode. If that’s an issue, you might want to use a desktop RSS reader.)
Timesuck 4: Plane boarding
(10 mins)
Time Hack: Text Messaging or Call
Never do you sit in a plane seat, they close the door and you head skyward. No, you’ll typically be sitting in a motionless cabin for 10 to 15 minutes during the pre-flight preparations. No time to get out your laptop: it’ll have to be turned off as soon as they start the safety announcement - your phone is your only option.
It’s a good time to make a call. Or send a text. Or get back to that other Swiss army knife of mobile communication: Twitter.
Timesuck 5: On a Plane
(1-20+ hours)
Time Hack: Offline with Laptop
Everyone uses a laptop on the plane these days: some airlines are even trying out wifi. Regardless of whether you’ve been given that luxury, the biggest productivity killer in the skies is a dead battery. Get an airline with power outlets if it’s a long trip. I’ve never had trouble taking spare batteries onto a plane either. Have you?
Meanwhile, despite its light weight and airplane-friendly size, I don’t rate Apple’s MacBook Air as a great travel companion: not only does it have mediocre battery life, but the battery cannot be changed. Unless it’s a short flight, I take a MacBook Pro.
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Time hacks, of course, are very personal: Blackberry users can spend 5 minute periods responding to email, while iPhone users might be more likely to use one of the scores of productivity apps available in the App Store. Whatever your strategy, finding ways to fill those tiny pockets of time can stave off travel boredom and ensure a fruitful journey.
(Image Credit: “Pokemon Jet” by Haseo)
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Comments (9)
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[...] Je remercie Mr Pete Cashmore qui illustre mon propos quasiment en temps réel et en anglais ici. Il prend l’excuse du travail pour être connecté. Je reconnais que si on ne travaille pas [...]
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[...] 5 Time Hacks for Productive Travel If you travel a lot you may want to read this (tags: productivity time saving) [...]
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[...] 5 time hacks for productive travel [...]
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Nomad Contributors
by Bryan Person / November 27, 2008
Nice post here, Pete. My job at LiveWorld usually has me on the road several days a month, and I’m already employing many similar tactics: Answering e-mails/using Google Gears offline on my laptop during my flight (doesn’t work so well on my laptop in a moving cab!), sending a text or tweet while waiting in line, and announcing where I’m traveling to or from.
For the latter, I use Brightkite.com and “check in,” and this also auto-posts a message to Twitter. While that hasn’t led to a ride from the airport for me just yet, it often does lead to several interesting replies and discussion.
Travel on!
Bryan Person | @BryanPerson
by Christian Dreßler / November 27, 2008
One question to all these hacks,
can you use all of them and still enjoy your environment.
I mean is men build to work or to live.
hope i wont be there in some years time
by Frederick Townes / November 27, 2008
This is great, it’s exactly the type of planning I do the night before I have to head off somewhere. Excellent points. It’s really a shame that some planes don’t have the power ports in all rows, it’s bad enough they often only have 1 per side per row when they do.
by May Hibri / November 27, 2008
I like this plan/ sharing/diary tool kit guide to time management on the go ! Original thinking at play …
by Sharon Feder / November 27, 2008
Great tips! I think connecting with locals via Twitter is especially useful.
by Daniel W. Crompton / November 28, 2008
Thanks, I really liked the Airport power outlet wiki.