12 Ways to Kill Time While Traveling
Traveling is a great time to get your life in order because nothing is going to suddenly pop up for you to deal with immediately. Your boss isn't going to call you (#AirplaneMode), you're not going to suddenly remember to unload the dishwasher, you have all the time in the world when you're sitting in one place in a moving vehicle. It gives you time to do all the things you wish you could do on the weekends, but can't due to other commitments or being too lazy. A downside, however, is that sometimes it's really boring to be sitting in one place for so long. Here are a few things you can look to in order to fill your time in a more productive way.
Coloring Books
I am so here for this trend. Not only is it a stress reliever, but it exercises your creative sections of your brain. The real pro to bringing your coloring book with you when you're traveling is having bargaining tools. You know there's a high chance of being within 5 feet of a child at all times while traveling, so now you can rip out a page, toss them a few markers, and get their frantic noises under control. I'm sure their parents will appreciate it, as well.
Write a Letter
Or email. Whatever. But I would really opt for the classic pen and paper method. I was always taught to write and send letters as a child to thank family members and my mom's friends for gifts they'd gotten me. As an adult, I thankfully still have this habit. I'll write my grandparents a note and stick it in the mail every once and a while just to catch up, even though they email my dad once a week and probably prefer email. Sorry, Grandma. Buy a cute stationary set, grab a pen, and make a list of people you'd like to surprise with a fun note. Guaranteed they'll love a nice surprise in the mail and you might even start a new tradition between your friends!
Organize Your Calendar
I am so bad about keeping my calendar updated and then I get mad at myself when I miss a hair appointment. I usually stick with my trusty iPhone calendar, but for real "to-do" items I use Wunderlist. It's a phenomenal little app that lets you organize and categorize until your heart's content.
Wunderlist
Fantastical 2
Calendate
Calendars 5
Clean Out Your Inbox
Honestly, it's like cleaning your room; you hate doing it but when you step back and take a look afterward your heart will be so refreshed. If you have 800 unread emails and your life hasn't fallen apart yet, you probably don't need those emails. Delete, delete, delete. Clean sweep. Start from scratch.
Eavesdrop
But be like, stealthy about it, you know?
Podcasts
I've recently gotten into a select few podcasts. I'm still not totally sold on them because I don't know what to do when I'm listening to them. Do I just stare straight ahead? Close my eyes? I don't know. If you're driving across the country, it's a good idea to pop in a podcast to keep focused on something and keep your mind awake, but if you're in the middle seat on a plane, you're going to have to combo this one.
Make a Bucket List For Your Next Year
There's no time like the present to set some goals out for next year. From silly tidbits to larger life goals, it's always nice to have something to push toward. You can even make this more focused and make a bucket list for your vacation you're traveling for.
Come Up With Instagram Captions
Okay, this one is a real pro-tip. My brother and I come up with our Insta captions beforehand. Like, we legit have running lists of possible captions in our phone notes. When we travel, I'll spend at least half an hour on the trip there coming up with caption options that might be relevant to any situation we're going to be in based on locations and things I know we're going to be doing. Let's face it, you can never think of really clever captions on the spot and it ends up being a group effort, asking the people you're with who are also trying to come up with their own captions and then it's just a mess. But you can never go wrong with a Parks and Rec quote.
Update Your Résumé
When else are you going to do it? A Saturday? Let's be real. There are tons of great resources on how to effectively update your professional résumé/CV. Check out TheMuse for tons of career development and inspirational resources to help you make the most out your résumé.
Learn a New Language
Bonjour! Hola! Aloha! That's all I've got. Learning more French was one of my New Year's resolutions (which I am totally failing at btw). There are loads of resources to help you learn a different language. I love Duolingo because it's free and there's a cute little owl that helps you. You can download the app on iPad and iPhone and learn over 30 different languages.
Catalog Your Travels
Whether or not you have a planned itinerary, writing down details about your trip on your way home is a great way to reflect on all your recent memories. It will also make it easier when people ask what you experienced or ask for recommendations when they take a similar vacation. Social medias like SnapChat and Instagram make it easy to photographically document your trip, but when it comes to feelings or where you ate a really good donut that one morning, sometimes it's nice to be able to look it up. An easy way to record your vacation is by using Bonjournal, a free app that allows you to create a journal-like document with or without internet connections. You can add photos, share with your followers, and create a PDF document to save forever.
Origami
When all else fails, you can watch a YouTube vid on how to fold a paper swan.