Things to do in the middle seat

I just sat in the middle seat on a flight from Washington, DC to Salt Lake City. I wasn't on my regular airline (an irregular one you might say), missed my connection, and am spending the night in Salt Lake City. By the way - the airline's people in the SLC airport are much more helpful and friendly than they were in Reagan National.

Anyway, I was sequestered in seat 44E (check it out on Seatguru - it's not the best seat in the house...but it's better than row 45, at least). With the guy in front of me leaning back and non-optional physical contact with the folks on either side of me it wasn't looking like a productive flight. I couldn't use my laptop, was getting a stiff neck from trying to read, and the movie is that awful Steve Martin version of the Pink Panther (I've seen it once, and that was once too many).

So, I busted out my "middle seat" collection:

• I have lots of audio books from Audible.com on my iPod
  • Oh - and here is a tip for getting even more out of your audiobooks on your iPod (all of the models since the Mini, except the Shuffle):
    • You can change the speed of playback to "Faster" for audiobooks, and it will cut about 1/3 off the time that it takes to listen to the book. The iPod will adjust the pitch to make it sound mostly normal, too.
    • You can do this by clicking the center button a few times while the audiobook is playing and you'll see an option to set the playback to Slow, Normal, or Faster.
• I always stash some Zone Bars for healthy snacks
• I have a Nintendo DS Lite and some good games (my current favorites are Brain Age, Mario Kart DS, and Age of Empires)
• I have earplugs in case I want to meditate or take a nap
• I usually have a book and a magazine or two, so I can do something when all my electronics must be turned off

These all help pass the time on any flight, but are indispensible when you get middleated on a long flight.

What about you - any tips for passing the time in these situations?

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Related:

• LifeHack: Knowing whether you've got good airline seats (9/6/2005)
• Technorati: tips, Travel, productivity
• Del.icio.us: tips, Travel, productivity

Comments

[ethan zlomke]

Middle seat hell - aaaaaah.

Earplugs are a must, as is a bottle of water/gatorade/rehydrator-of-choice. I wear sandals (Chacos) that I can loosten the straps on so that if I have to get up there's no elbowing all those around. For those times when I have to look my best I found some classy-looking Italian shoes that I can slip on with almost no hand contact.

Books are great time passers. I always try to bring at least two - at least one fiction, and one non. If it's a long flight (or several long flights) I bring one I've read before and throughly enjoyed (Cryptonomican). I also find paper puzzles to pass a lot of time - a slim book of crosswords, Sudoku. They engage the brain and I feel no remorse if I fail to finish one - just move on.

A friend brings flashcards for one of the two languages she is learning and bones up on harder to remember words.

Hope you never need these for the middle seat again!

[Andrew Garrett]

I upgraded my iPod headphones to a pair from Shure - that nicely fill the roll of earplugs as well as much improved earphones.

I carry a stack of index cards in a holder - I need something to make notes on if I'm listening to something thought provoking, and these fit in a pocket, and the holder is hard enough to use to write on, yet small enough to fit into my hand.

I have a small bag inside my main carry on bag - that contains a decent book, iPod (and headphones), cards, pens, notebook.. that sort of thing. Makes it more accessible than being in the big bag, and can tuck down beside me in my seat.

Books, I prefer something that makes me stop and think (and take notes) like a good business book to something like a novel that I just read and absorb. I prefer to be actively involved with what I'm reading when flying, it helps the time go faster.

[Jen McCabe Gorman]

When pulling out my embarrasingly large widescreen Vaio is a no-no, I revert to an old school activity that is both productive and calming - I write thank you cards.

I keep a small set of boxed notecards in my laptop bag at all times, and during middleseat hell, traffic accident Hades, or other horrid combinations of fate and cosmic fury, jot out notes.

I send messages of gratitude to those who've recently hired my firm, networking colleagues who've given me a new contact, family/friends/coworkers who hosted a visit or event, etc.

I've found it takes less than 3 minutes a card (unless you use a felt tip pen and then beware the dastardly smudge factor), and it's time well spent.

[sippananda]

Good tips. I am a frequent traveller, fortunately I seems lucky for not getting a middle seat for most of my trips. Or if I got a middle seat, the flight weren't full that I can easily switch to comfortable seat.
Anyway, good tips :)