Heading for a long journey and worried about how you’ll pass your time? Long flights, drives, or train journeys can be more exhausting than you think. One hour can feel like a day. Sitting in one place for hours or even days can be tedious.
But there are fun and easy ways to distract yourself from the monotony. Many people choose the traditional way of passing their time on such long expeditions. These include reading a book or listening to music.
Also Read: 10 Underrated Benefits of Traveling
However, even they get boring after a specific time. How about going the modern way and killing time with these unconventional ways?
Here are 10 hand-picked ways to fritter away time when on a long journey:
Channel the Inner Travel Influencer in You
We are living in a digital age of Instagram reels and Facebook pictures. So, why not make the best out of it? Even if you are not a social media buff, there is no harm in trying! Click pictures, make videos, and create an interesting travel reel for your Instagram profile.
If you don’t have an internet connection, you can save the pictures/videos for later and complete the reel once you have access to the Internet. This may be your first step to becoming a travel influencer!
Also Read: Has the Purpose of Traveling Become Limited to Posting Instagram Stories and Reels?
Make New Friends On the Go
If you are traveling on a flight, train, or bus, this is amongst the best ways to pastime. You can interact with new people (only if they are interested) and make new friends? Never underestimate the power of good conversations.
They can make time pass like flowing water. And who knows, you might find a travel buddy for life! If you are an extrovert, it will not take much time to strike an exciting conversation and connect with your fellow passengers.
You will be surprised to know how many people who once met on a train/flight journey are now best of friends.
Also Read: How to Travel Solo in Himachal Pradesh? A Complete Guide
Complete Your Unfinished Tasks
How about being productive on your long journey? Utilize the time to complete your unfinished tasks. It can be your college assignment, your work presentation, or a call with your client.
Long journeys can be worthwhile and fruitful when you use them to finish your pending work. So make that phone call to your client, start that conversation with your customer, or conduct that research on your upcoming project.
You will not only feel relieved from the stress but also pass your time in a jiffy.
Also Read: 10 Budget-Friendly Travel Destinations in India
Make an Itinerary
Traveling to a new destination? How about using the time to make an itinerary for the destination you are headed to? All you need is a pen and paper or your smartphone.
Make a list of all the places you want to visit and activities you want to do, and combine it with a proper day-wise plan. This will help you kill time and make your trip more comfortable and exciting.
Include even small details and information in your itinerary. This way, you can visit all the destinations without wasting any time or resources.
Also Read: Top 10 Destinations in India for Women Travelers
Introspect
A long journey can be a good time to introspect and think about what you truly want from life. You can self-talk about your dreams and desires, make important decisions, reflect on your feelings and change your thought process.
In our otherwise busy lives, we are hardly free to spend quality time with ourselves, and a long journey can give us just that. You can also list all the things you want to do in life, everything you want to achieve, and habits you want to change. Because why not?
Learn a new skill
Thanks to the power of the Internet, you can learn plenty of skills from anywhere in the world. So why waste your precious time, and why not learn new skills during a long journey? If you’re traveling via train, bus, or car and have internet access, spend your time learning a novel skill.
It can be cooking, coding, or even learning a new language. Sounds interesting, right? There are a plethora of applications and YouTube tutorials that will help you learn something new and enhance your skill set.
Also Read: 5 Places in India to Travel If You are a True Food Lover
Netflix all the way
Talking about modern-day techniques to kill time during a journey, what about a movie marathon on Netflix? While on the trip, you can binge-watch your favorite films or TV shows on Netflix and other OTT platforms.
It will keep you entertained and busy throughout, and you won’t get to know when the destination arrives. If you are taking a long flight, you can download the films/episodes on your smartphone or laptop before boarding your plane and watch them offline.
Listen to podcasts
Podcasts are a great source of infotainment. You can get plenty of information about anything and everything, and they also keep you entertained.
You must download a few podcast episodes for your journey or listen to them live on Spotify or Apple podcasts if you have internet access. Just put on your headphones and listen to exciting podcasts that will change your mood and help you gain knowledge.
Also Read: Traveling to Leh Ladakh? Here Are the Dos and Don’ts
Write Something
It does not matter if you are a writer or not. Writing itself is very therapeutic and meditative. Those who cannot express their feelings or emotions take the help of words. And believe me, it works. You can write about your life, past experiences, goals, and journey.
Writing does not require any qualification. You can perhaps start the journey of becoming a blogger. There are numerous reasons to start writing, and a long trip is one of them.
Observe everything around you and write about what you feel at that moment. It can be about you or the people around you.
Also Read: How Traveling Can Lead to Self-Discovery?
Final Takeaway
People often pass the time during their long journeys by reading books, eating, or sleeping. But I think long trips can open several doors and allow you to start something new.
It helps you discover yourself and build new skills. So the next time you have a long train or flight journey, keep these points in mind, and the outcomes will surprise you.
Time is precious. Use it carefully. Bon Voyage!