Ever since our popular ProductiveMuslim Commuting article few years back, we haven’t visited the topic of “productive commuting” again. Here’s a different take to the topic with a focus on how to survive a 12+ hour flight. 
Flying time, especially if it’s more than a few hours, can be extremely boring since you’re disconnected from the world and you can’t really go anywhere. However, if you think about it, this ‘idle’ time is actually what you’ve ALWAYS wished you had whenever you get busy in your real life. How many times have we caught ourselves saying, “If only I had a bit of free time, I’d do X”?
Shaytaan is very good at trying to make us waste the treasure of free time on a flight; but with some preparation and pre-planning, we can convert it to the most productive time ever!
Below are 10 ProductiveMuslim tips to make the most of your flights:
1. Try to have your wudhu before boarding the flight. This will help you avoid performing gymnastics in the tight airplane toilets!
2. Upon boarding the flight, take out from your bag the following:
- Quran,
- Tasbeeh,
- Reading Book/Kindle,
- Pen & Pocket Notebook/Journal,
- Laptop/iPad
Everything else should be kept in the overhead compartment.
3. Before take-off read the dua for traveling + write down your intentions for this journey in your pocket journal, as well as a rough plan of what you want to do when you arrive (this could be for your entire journey if you’re on vacation, or if you’re returning home, these could be things you need to get done in the 1st three days from arrival).
4. When the plane has lifted and the seat belt signs are turned off, if there’s a row of empty seats nearby, move to them: OR if it’s a packed flight, see if there are any empty seats near the emergency exits which offer more legroom. (Of course, you need to be courteous and allow the elderly or those with children to have priority on such seats).
5. Start your productive flight with a bit of Spiritual Productivity and the longest, most enjoyable set of dhikr you could ask for. Here’s an example:
SubhanaAllah x 100
Alhamdulillah x 100
Allahu Akbar x 100
la hawla wa la quota illa billa x 100
La ilaha illa Allah x 100
la ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lah, lahulmulk wa lahulhamd wa huwa ala kulli shay’qadeer x 100
SubhanaAllah wa bihamdih SubhanaAllah Al-Atheem x 100
Astaghfurullah wa atoub ilayh x 100
Astaghfurullah lilmo’mineen wal mo’minaat x 100
Allahumma Salli wa Sallim Ala Sayyidina Muhammad
The above should take you roughly 1 hour.
6. Read Surat Al-Baqarah + Aal-Imran. This should take you 3 hours. You don’t have to do this in one sitting – you can spread them over 3 sittings, 1 hour each.
7. Perform loads of Duas, for at least 30 minutes. Remember the significance of making dua while travelling!
8. If you’ve got a nice spot to sleep, aim for 3 sleep cycles (90 minutes/sleep cycle) = 4hrs + 30minutes.
9. Of course, do not forget Salah (even Witr if you want to). On some flights, you can ask to pray in a spot in the back close to the kitchen area, which has enough room to stand and pray normally – but do ask permission from flight attendants first.
10. If you do the above, you’ll probably knock out 8-10 hours. So you’re now left with a few hours which you can spend reading/writing/eating and watching the sunset/sunrise!
BONUS TIP:
Download all your e-mails to your desktop e-mail software before flying out, and spend 1 hour composing replies ready to send them out once you’re back on the ground.
With the above, your long-haul flights will not feel so boring and you’ll actually feel very productive once you land, inshaAllah!
What other productive tips do you have when you travel? Share below!
