To me, an airplane cabin is an almost ideal place to read, write, study, focus, etc. I tend to get distracted and procrastinate a lot, but flights have been a pretty good environment for deep thought.

  • Minimal distraction: there technically is internet access on many flights, but it costs money, so access is disincentivized. The only available media are the built-in entertainment options or whatever you bring along. There’s minimal range of movement so you can’t even go for a walk or have a look around.
  • Hard to sleep: you can’t simply snooze because it’s quite uncomfortable and you’re forced to be sitting
  • Can’t leave
  • Predetermined duration: you know approx how long you’ll be sitting there, making it possible to plan focus blocks

Maybe one day there will be a flight passenger simulator where you can go get strapped in for 7 hours, offering the deep focus afforded by a flight without the dry air, pressure changes, cost, etc.