I certainly didn’t think I’d be writing seven ways I used organisation to manage a flight delay this week for the blog but yet here we are! This week one of my biggest fears came true. We got stuck on a plane for hours. The French air traffic controllers decided that our departure day was the perfect day to stage a strike. Wonderful.
With my increasing anxiety, we debated back and forth the night before as flights started to get cancelled what to do. Then the morning itself it seemed like everything that could go wrong was going wrong. From late UBER’s to traffic jams on the motorway and we even came across a poor guy having a seizure at the airport which Davy (he’s a nurse) had to go help!
So our lovely holiday already a distant memory and we hadn’t left the ground yet! 😂
However, as we knew that the strike was inevitable, we decided to get organised and be as prepared as possible to try and make it as comfortable as we could. All we needed was a plan, a system and a new mindset. The first two I could do, the last one I wasn’t sure 😂 Ah in the end, my mindset was that I imagined I was on a flight to New York, so I just figured I’m sitting here for seven hours just like going to the US – and it worked. As did the organisation. As you know, it’s what I love to do, teach and help others with.
So here are seven ways we used organisation to manage the flight delay and make this situation more manageable. These tips can make any plane travel more comfortable, but particularly if you think you might be delayed.
1. SEAT CHOICE
A few flights ago we swore that if we were ever flying Ryanair again, we were booking emergency row seats. And it has been a game changer. So now that we’re stuck, at least we have space!
2. UBER
We may be precious – and this is definitely a “throw money at the problem” but as there is a heatwave in France, we decided we weren’t going by bus or train which would involve a long walk (to the bus anyway) in stifling heat, with our big luggage and ending up roasting, tired and stressed before we even got to the airport. So an UBER was booked with air con (crazy driver though!)
3. SECURITY LANE
Again another bit of money – €20 – we paid to go through the Fast Track security lane so that once we dropped the bag we just knew we had no further stress getting to the other side.
4. FOOD & DRINKS
We made sandwiches before we left, bought croissants and in the airport bought chocolate, crisps, water and sodas. If we were going to be stuck for a few hours, we knew we didn’t have to worry about food and drink especially if the plane started to run out.
5. ENTERTAINMENT
Before we left, we downloaded movies and shows onto both the phones and the laptop so that we had something to distract us.
6. DEVICES
Finally, we made sure all devices were fully charged – phones, laptop, headphones. And if you haven’t bought yourself a pair of noise cancelling headphones, do so immediately. An absolute essential while flying. It completely calms down my nervous system anyway and drowns out other people who may potentially be panicking around you which is contagious!
7. CALMING ESSENTIALS
If you are anxious at all, put LOFI music on which also helps calm your nervous system and slow down your brain and breathing! And I always have Rescue Remedy drops or spray with me as well as Doterra AIR essential oils which is…essential. The AIR oil is fantastic at relaxing you and takes the edge of negative feelings.
This is the beauty of organisation. It allows you to “control the controllables”. There is absolutely nothing we could do about the plane situation but we can be organised and make everything else around this event as comfortable as we can. After that it’s a mental game. All these things one hundred percent allowed me to be calm on the plane. Well calmer 😂
I hope you are never in this situation but if you are, I hope these tips help anyway. There can be a system for anything – and everything with a system runs better. We can help you with yours!
Happy Organising!
Sarah
Ready to get started?
Get in touch!
