How to Optimize Travel Days

When I was a kid, I read A Wrinkle in Time. The idea that time could stretch or shrink left me disturbed. This was outside my frame of understanding. Now, I get it completely.

Now, I see it every day.

As a CEO, most of my week disappears into micro-conversations — helping my team, answering clients, putting out fires. My own list gets pushed to “later.”

That’s why I’ve grown to love travel days.
I used to see them as wasted time and would book flights on weekends to “save” my workdays. But somewhere along the way, I realized they’re a gift — built-in focus sprints.

Here’s how I make them productive:

1️⃣ Noise-canceling headphones – Your “do not disturb” sign in public.
2️⃣ Offline task list – I plan projects that don’t require WiFi so delays don’t derail me.
3️⃣ Batch work – Emails, strategy outlines, content drafts… anything that benefits from a single uninterrupted block.
4️⃣ Intentional breaks – these are sort of built in. Coffee stops, security checks, sit for a salad, then on to passport control. All while moving and working in little micro sprints.
5️⃣ Mindset shift – See travel time as yours. The world thinks you’re “busy traveling,” which means you can finally be unavailable.

This trip didn’t go perfectly — my planned 8-hour layover turned into 4 hours stuck on the tarmac, “about to take off” every 10 minutes. Still, I managed to get more done than in most normal workdays.

Time isn’t the enemy. It’s how you use it.