9 Tips for Making the Most of Layovers

After three trips in a row with layovers, I made one of the best travel decisions I have made in a long time: I invested in a card with lounge access. That one decision shifted everything. Instead of seeing layovers as dead space, I started seeing them as found space.

The difference a lounge makes is hard to overstate. Most airports are loud, crowded, and honestly exhausting. A lounge gives you something different: a clean environment, dependable internet, comfortable seating, and enough quiet to either get real work done or genuinely unwind. I have used lounges to knock out focused work I had been putting off for days. I have also used them to do absolutely nothing productive, and that was exactly what I needed. The environment makes both possible.

But access alone is not what changed my travel experience. What changed it was adding intention to it.

Now I go into every layover with a two-part plan. Before I board my first flight, I identify one thing I want to work on for fun, something I am curious about or building for myself, and one thing from my work list that I want to finish. That simple structure gives the layover shape. It is not a rigid schedule. It is just a direction.

I am also deliberate about which tasks I choose. They need to be things I can realistically finish in that window, or at least bring to a natural stopping point. This matters more than it sounds. Starting something you cannot complete while traveling is a good way to carry mental clutter through the rest of the trip. Unfinished tasks that demand resolution have a way of sitting quietly in the background and draining your energy. I choose tasks I can either close out or cleanly set down.

The result is that layovers feel different now, less like something happening to me and more like something I am using.

My tip is simple: do not just wait through a delay. Pre-decide how you want to use it. A layover can become a rare pocket of focus, recovery, or even enjoyment if you walk into it with even a loose plan.

I have started to think of layovers as found time. Used well, they teach something worth remembering: when you cannot control the delay, you can still control what you do with it.

My favorite way to make the most of a layover is to base myself at a top-tier hotel 10 to 15 minutes from the center and treat it as a hub for a short local outing. That gives me a quiet place to rest and a convenient starting point to walk into the city or meet a guide. I recommend contacting the hotel in advance to arrange a brief, guided itinerary and to use their transport partners when you need to reach specific sites quickly. Make sure the hotel and any local guide coordinate timing and pickup so you maximize your available hours without stress. A brief, well-planned outing can turn an unexpected delay into a genuine taste of the destination.

Airports are one of the last places where you’re forced to do just one thing. You can’t speed it up. You can’t jump ahead in line. You’re stuck.

I used to treat layovers like wasted time — laptop open, half-working, half-distracted, watching the clock. It was the worst of both worlds. Not productive. Not restful.

Now I do something counterintuitive. I turn layovers into what I call “strategic drift.”

Instead of trying to grind through email, I pick one narrow question that’s been sitting in the back of my mind — something bigger than a task. A hiring decision I’m unsure about. A product direction that feels slightly off. Then I walk. No headphones. No notifications. Just slow laps around the terminal.

Airports are oddly perfect for thinking. You’re anonymous. No one needs you for 90 minutes. Your brain relaxes because there’s literally nowhere else to be.

Some of our best product decisions came from those airport walks. Not because I was working harder — but because I finally had uninterrupted cognitive space. The kind that never exists in a normal day.

If the delay’s long enough, I’ll do a second ritual: I rewrite one email I’ve been avoiding. Just one. Not to send immediately — but to make it clearer and more honest. Airports have a way of stripping away ego. You write more directly when you’re slightly untethered.

Most people try to escape a layover. I try to lean into it. It’s one of the few socially acceptable pauses left in modern life.

And if nothing else, you board calmer than everyone else — which is a competitive advantage all by itself.

My personal favorite is to use a layover as a mini-reset rather than a waste of time. If possible, I try to get out of the airport for a walk or a decent meal rather than just eating overpriced food in the airport. Getting 30 to 40 minutes away from all the noise can really help to reset your energy and your mind for your next flight.

Air travel is designed to get people from one place to another efficiently, but it can also really suck the energy out of you. According to Reuters, tens of thousands of flights are delayed in America each month, so it’s useful knowledge for frequent travelers to know how to use your time wisely (source: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-may-cut-air-traffic-10-by-friday-without-shutdown-deal-sources-say-2025-11-05/).

One trick I use for a layover is to try to schedule a mini-productivity block or a mini-recharge block. This could mean answering a few important emails or taking a walk to get your blood flowing. Try to use your layover as a scheduled break rather than a waste of time. When you get on your next flight, you’ll feel much more refreshed and much less exhausted than you would if you spent your entire layover staring at a departures board.

My favorite way to make the most of a layover is to change into a multipurpose outfit so I can step out of the airport and use the time without needing a full wardrobe change. I favor high-quality, breathable pieces that can be dressed up or down, so a wrinkle-free unstructured blazer with clean white sneakers or a sculpted travel dress works well. Packing lightweight, stretch fabrics with UPF protection lets you stay comfortable whether you walk to a nearby cafe or take a short sightseeing stroll. Keep those key pieces in an easy-to-reach carry-on or leather weekender so you can freshen up quickly and turn a delay into an opportunity to enjoy the location.

My favorite way to make the most of a layover is to treat it as an energy reset, like I did during a recent long connection through LAX on my way to Australia, where I gave myself time to move my body and circulate my energy while visiting the local boardwalk for a few hours instead of staying stuck in one place. One great tip to turn a delay into an opportunity is to step outside the airport if time allows, explore a nearby popular spot, or connect with other travelers inside the airport pub. You never know what conversations, synchronicities, or opportunities may open up.

I use layovers to do the work that benefits most from disconnection — strategic thinking without the temptation to execute. Running WhatAreTheBest.com solo means I’m always building, fixing, or vetting something. A layover is one of the few environments where I physically can’t deploy code or approve a backlink purchase, so I use that constraint productively. I’ll outline the next category page rebuild, sketch the scoring criteria for a new L1 page template, or write vendor outreach drafts that I’ll refine later.

The tip: treat forced downtime as a thinking appointment, not dead time. Some of my best strategic decisions — including the five-month growth plan that restructured my entire link-building pipeline — started as layover notes written without access to any dashboard.

Stop wandering the concourse looking for a $19 beer. It is a massive waste of time. I actually pray for long layovers. An airport terminal is the absolute best forced-focus environment on earth. You are trapped. Nobody can schedule a random Zoom meeting with you. I use every single flight delay to mercilessly audit my competitors’ quote funnels. I will sit at a tiny gate desk in Atlanta and run dozens of dummy auto insurance quotes through Geico, Progressive, and State Farm.

I take screenshots of every single step. I look at exactly where they add friction. I watch how they try to bundle renters insurance. By the time they finally call my boarding group, I have a massive, actionable list of UX changes to hand right to my dev team at Insurance Panda. It completely changes your mindset. You stop being a frustrated passenger. You become a highly paid spy. Use the delay.

My favorite way to make the most of a layover is to treat it like a short, scheduled check-in instead of dead time. I use the delay to do a quick review of my digital “front door,” the same way I advise business owners to check their website weekly: look for anything small that could cause a big problem later. That means scanning key messages, confirming forms or key links are working, and noting any updates that can wait until I am back online. Even 20 to 30 minutes of this kind of maintenance can turn a delay into progress and prevent minor issues from lingering.