I get so much accomplished when I’m high. It’s pretty crazy when I take the time to think about it. I wrote some of my best work when I was high. It kinda helps the creative juices flow, and time almost stops when you’re higher than a kite. Last year, I only got high four times; but in previous years, it’s been more like eight or even twelve. I wish I could get high more often. I get so much done with my writing. It’s amazing how much more focused I get when I’m high. I’d get high all the time if I could, but it’s pretty expensive. I mean, who can afford to take a plane trip every day to get work done?
This morning as I was sifting through my morgue (a binder where my good ideas go to die), I came across some thoughts that I had written down on a flight I took a few years ago. I remember this, I thought to myself. I was really focused that day. On the last several trips I had the whole row to myself, and was able to sit and think about future stories and blog posts to save for later.
But I’m not the only one. Many people experience this phenominon when flying. There are several possible reasons why we are more productive on an airplane than we are anywhere else.
People can’t call you
One of the best reasons why I get more done on an airplane is because I can’t get interrupted by texts, messages, or phone calls. Once the cabin doors close, and people are getting seated, they make the announcement to turn off all electronics or place them in “airplane mode” which disables all communication to and from your phone.
For the most part when someone calls, I drop everything. Why? Because people matter and I can put off something that I am doing at the moment to sometime later. But, as I sifted through my 2025 ADHD Planner, that’s not the case. Much of the time I find myself deleting what I was doing when the person called me. People are important, but so is what I need to get done. I have exchanged something that could potentially help thousands of people for one person that honestly could wait till later in the day. It would be beneficial for me to manualy put my phone in airplane mode or “do not disturb” mode, and check it when I get my important work done.
No errands to do, no meetings to catch
With that, much of the time someone calls me because they need something from me. To go run and errand, fix something, ask my opinion or help with something. This takes even more time away from what I need to do. Sometimes, people really need you with genuine emergencies.
But when you are on an airplane, you are at the mercy of the pilot. There’s nowhere for you to go, to be, and no one to see. No one can possibly call you up with an emergency that they need. You are 30,000 feet up in the air; it’s not like you can say, ‘Ok, I’ll be right down, just give me a minute.’ You have nothing to do but sit there and get something creative off your plate.
But, like I said, we can’t all take a flight whenever we want. So how can we harness this energy for when we are home and siting at our desks and staring at the screen and listening to the hum of the computer fan? It’s that wonderful airplane mode button. If someone really needs you, they can leave a message.
Weak and expensive internet connection
The internet connection on a plane is like bear bones minimum if you could afford to use it. You can almost hear those “dial up” tones again. Remember those days? My favorite game of all time was the World War II submarine game, “Silent Service II,” where you commanded an elite attack sub. The problem with this game was that it was on an IBM 8088 computer, which tested your patience like none other. When you wanted to play this game, you had to make the time. It took 40 minuites to load the software each time I wanted to play. Playing this game was an all afternoon event. I could would turn the computer on and it took at least 10 minutes to boot up. As the program was loading, my 16 year-old self could take a shower, get dressed, poop, and make a bowl of cereal before it was done loading.
With a plane internet connection you can’t play “Call of Duty” with your friends. It’s just made for typing documents and getting on Google Sheets. This is to get productive stuff done, not kill zombies. I’m thankful for that every time I’m on a plane because I don’t even have to think of it. It narrows what I can get done with limited resources.
Limited resources, books, and space
When you’re flying, there’s not much room. There’s only so much you can fit under the seat in front of you. You can take only one book with you, unless you carry everything on a tablet or phone. But even then, you can’t have a thousand apps or books up at one time.
When I fly, I like taking my Samsung Galaxy tablet along with a fold up blutetooth keyboard. This IClever keyboard is very lightweight, and can actually fit on an airplane meal tray along with my tablet. Even though I don’t have internet, I can still use Google Docs or Sheets if I wanted to. With the white noise from the engine, I can concentrate on one thing at a time. It’s the perfect time to get ideas on paper or typed out so that I can encorporate them in another project.
Having limited resources and space allows you to concentrate on one thing at a time. Read one book; write one document; use the time to brainstorm on paper or electronically. Multitasking actually makes people less productive.
No one knows you, and they don’t like talking
Now, I try to share the gospel when I can on an airplane. But there are times when people just come right out and tell me they just want to sleep, read, work, or just don’t want to be bothered. That’s cool. Just don’t come back to me on the other side of eternity and tell me that I didn’t try.
People for the most part don’t want to talk on an airplane. It was a chore to get into that seat. They worked all day or spent the holiday with chatty relatives that they just want to relax. When that happens I use the time to be productive, especially read my Bible. Sometimes taking my Bible out and reading it will spark someone next to me to ask a question about it, even after they told me they didn’t want to talk. You’d be suprised how much of the New Testament you could read on a two-hour flight.
Limited amount of time
Basically it’s a race to see how much you can get done before you land. When you shrink things down to one or two-hour blocks, it narrows what can get accomplished significantly. You can’t read a whole Steven King novel, but you can catch up on some magazine articles you’ve been putting off.
Eliminating what you can’t do in that amount of time will actually make you more productive for the things you can do. But even when you are at home, see how much time you have available and focus on those things that can be accomplished. This will harness your attention to what is important and save the others for later.
Minimal distractions
When you are on an airplane with just what you litterally have in front of you, there’s not much to look at. If you’re in a window seat, you get to look at clouds. Yawn. If you’re isle, you’re people watching only one to two rows. Boring as well. Sometimes you get to watch a movie caddy-corner away on someone’s laptop, but good luck listening to it. Most of the time those movies on the seatback of the person in front of you don’t work anyway, so why bother.
It’s a battle every time I go to do work in my study. I have so many distractions. Things on the desk I reach over to fidgit with, papers that need to be adjusted, things to be thrown out. Even the smallest sliver of paper from the shreader on the floor will turn my attention from the things that matter at the moment. Not to mention that hangnail got really irritating when I saw my clippers to the right of me. Squirrel!
But, if I cleaned my area up with the least amount of distractions in front of me, I won’t have all these things to fidgit with. I need to make it as plain as I can. Remove everything off the desk but what is needed at the moment. Put the desk facing towards a plain white wall and stare at nothing but what is on your laptop. But, I would be a total hypocrite if I were to expound more on this section. My room is a mess, and its time to declutter.
So, as we start this new year and a time of reflection and looking forward to 2025, what are some things you might incorporate from this article for your New Year’s Resolutions? Let’s all get high together and be a little more productive in 2025. Try out some of these ideas for yourself. Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below.
Pens & Wrenches 
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