Airport Routines

Do you have routines?

In general, I’m not a super “routine” person. I never wake up or go to sleep or eat meals at the same time every day, I definitely don’t work out regularly, nor do I wash my face every night. I just am so bad at creating a regimen or routine, I stopped trying.

But there is one thing I approach the same each and every time. And that’s the airport and airplanes. I am definitely routine at the airport and in an airplane nearly each and every time.

Here’s my usual:

Attire -

I wear almost the same outfit each and every time I have to fly. Pro tip: Zippered pockets are key. This could be a whole other blog post (maybe it should be?), but here are the basics.

Compression socks (if flight is 4+ hours) or wool socks (for comfort / cold)
Slip on Birkenstock Arizona Essentials (the foam ones) – lightweight, comfortable, easy to slip off (if for some reason PreCheck is down and I have to go through the regular security line), and doubles as a camp shoe if it’s a camping trip.
Women’s boyshort or boxer-brief style underwear (my favorites are the Duluth Trading Co. Armachillos)
Black joggers with zippered pockets (mine are Arc’teryx brand, but a discontinued line)
Loose fitted top (preferably v-neck as I try to avoid t-shirts because they touch my neck too much when under a sweatshirt)
Loose sweatshirt with zippered pockets
Hat (baseball or knit depending on what the weather will be like where we’re headed)

Arriving -

Arrive at the airport approximately 45 minutes before boarding (only recommended if you have TSA PreCheck because #stress). If you don’t have TSA PreCheck and even only fly once per year, it’s so nice to have, you should totally get it. That $99 spread across five years is completely worth not having to deal with regular security lines and regular security processes (I mean, who wants to take their liquids our or put their socks or – God forbid – bare feet on those floors?!)!
Find the departure gate. Always, always, always ensure you know where it is. Or that it exists. Or that it isn’t behind a second (and surprise!) passport control area that you weren’t previously aware of (trust me on this one).
Get a donut at Dunkin’ (if there is one, like at my home airport, MSP). It doesn’t matter if I just ate or not, I always buy a Dunkin’ donut! If not for waiting, then for on the plane itself.
Fill my water bottle. And/or buy a bottle of water with a pH balance of 9.5+.
Do a few laps around the airport if possible to get some sort of exercise and circulation before the flight.
Always quadruple check the screens when walking by them to ensure my gate hasn’t changed.

At the Gate -

If my phone battery is under 75%, I always plug it in at the gate if possible. I keep my boarding pass on my phone so I get nervous about my phone dying and then not having the boarding pass easily and readily available!
Break out the laptop or iPad and research ideas for where we’re going (even if I already have, it’s nice to keep researching) or take care of work stuff! Depending on wifi accessibility, I typically work while traveling so that I can 1) Stay on top of things to not come back to an overwhelming inbox, and 2) To use less PTO time. But only do this if it’s convenient – I find airports and airplanes to be a super convenient place to get work and blog things done.
Rearrange my items and take snacks from carry on and put in personal item so that they can be easily grabbed. I don’t like opening the overhead bin during flight if I don’t have to.
Screenshot my boarding pass in case the app doesn’t work at the gate for some odd reason.

On the Airplane -

Use a sanitizing wipe to wipe off the tray table. They are so gross and never get cleaned.
Whip out the neck pillow as soon as possible. Not necessarily to sleep, but also just to sit comfortably. I often use my neck pillow as a behind the back pillow.
Take out my water bottle so it’s easily accessible.
Situate my snacks so they are also easily accessible.
Set up phone, iPad/laptop, accessories so I’m comfy (read: nest).
Have a comfy and cozy flight!

Happy flying!