Sometimes, perhaps a few times a year, I take long-haul trips for work and having just completed one of these it seemed good time to share a few tips. These are things I have observed or discovered for myself.

Onboard Luggage. Traveling economy means every last inch is valuable. As such having your full laptop bag with you in your seat is pretty impossible. You also don’t want to be getting up-and-down for things stored in the overhead lockers either. As such I have a slim bag of essentials inside my laptop bag which I whip-out as I board the plane. I then place my laptop bag overhead and slip my essentials bag either in the seat pocket or under the seat in front. Bonus tip is to use a slim bag with a shoulder strap. This works because it’s hard to bend over and grad a bag on the floor in front of you when sitting. Hooking the long strap with your foot is easy.

Inside my essentials bag is commonly:

• Pen, pencil and blank exercise book.
• Headphones.
• Snacks.
• Kindle or paper book.
• iPad or perhaps laptop.
• Sweater as can be fresh.

Window Seat. Personally I find it beneficial to have this seat over the others. Just a millimetre of extra space, no person on one side, and being tucked away from elbows, carts and traffic. You need to have good bladder control of course, and always take advantage of when others move about.

Sweater. Planes seem to go from sauna to refrigerator at various times. A thin comfortable sweater is great as the extra layer is nice plus is easy to store.

Timetable. Sounds over the top, but plan your journey. Some movies, some project work, some eating and perhaps some music and naps. It makes the time go quick and you feel better at the other end when you did what you planned.

Any more tips … leave a comment.