You’re allowed to just sit on the plane
Redefining what used to be in-flight sacred time
I’m on a flight to San Francisco, and for the first time in a long time, I’m not working.
No offline Google Docs. No queued-up emails. No slide deck edits.
Just an aisle seat and a mind that hasn’t quite made peace with being still.
For years, plane time meant productivity. It was sacred. Nobody could message me. There were no meetings to attend. Just focused, uninterrupted work. And I loved that feeling—because when you’re used to being stretched thin, those pockets of time felt like a gift you had to earn.
So now, sitting here, doing nothing, feels… wrong.
There’s a part of me that keeps whispering:
“You’re wasting time.”
“You have so much to do.”
“This is focus time. Why aren’t you using it?”
That voice used to drive everything. It pushed me through burnout, even when my body was screaming for rest. It rewarded me for being “disciplined,” for being the person who could always squeeze in one more task, one more hour.
But here’s the truth I’ve been learning the hard way:
You don’t have to fill every empty space with productivity.
The plane doesn’t have to be a second office.
The quiet doesn’t have to be a guilt trip.
Rest doesn’t always look like a nap or a day off—sometimes, it’s a flight where you just don’t open your work laptop.
(To be honest, I’m typing this out on my personal laptop so I do have my laptop out. But so far I have written this post and spent $85 on Delta swag I most definitely didn’t need.)
And yes, it’s uncomfortable. Especially when you’ve tied your identity to being the one who always gets things done. But sitting with that discomfort is part of healing, too.
So I’m letting this moment be what it is. A plane ride. Not a sprint. Not a catch-up session. Not a performance review.
Just time. Unstructured. Unearned. Still valuable.
If you need it: You’re allowed to just sit on the plane.
Yes to this. These pockets of time are perfection.