Blogging from 30,000 Feet… Not sure if I like it…
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So I’m on a Delta flight to MSY this morning, a departure (no pun intended) from my usual Continental allegiance. Was the only flight I could get.
I’m trying their WiFi in the Sky service, $9.95 per shot, or a pre-purchased pass. Service quality so far is excellent, no complaints. Thanks to GoGoInFlight.com – Great service, hideously chosen name.
Anyhow… I’m not sure if I like it. Here’s why.
My normal routine on a plane: Blow through 400 emails, make a dent in my inbox. Watch a movie or catch up on a TV show thanks to TiVo to Go. Delete files. Clean out my Mac. Read various magazines I’ve brought on board. It’s a good routine for me. It works for me. Why?
Without Internet, I’m forced to do specific tasks, and complete them. For me, “no connection” is my Adderal. It forces me to do exactly what I say I’m going to do, and not take 30 seconds to check out the new Tweet that just came in, or the new email that just dinged, or “hey, I wonder what the LOLcats are doing.” I have to work. I have no choice. Distractions are minimized to micro-levels.
For those who don’t know, I wrote my book on a non-stop flight to Tokyo and back. Chapters 1-9 out, 10-19 back. It worked for me. Did exactly what I needed it to do.
Surprisingly, most highly-functioning ADHD people like myself (or ADOS, as it were) are quite into specific routine, in some specific instances, almost to a Sheldon Cooper-like way. I know exactly how many emails I can ignore in the morning, because I have an afternoon flight and will get them done. I know that I can miss three episodes of 24, because I have six hours in the air to catch up on them. It simply WORKS.
Knowing that WiFi exists in my mid-air cocoon changes all of that. The simple fact that I CAN connect, whether I want to, or whether I will or not, well, that changes things. Now, I have a choice. Choice, while fundamentally good for a society, can be bad in these kind of situations.
For people like me, it’s either all or nothing – I had nothing on the plane – therefore, I had to work. Now? I dunno… My “work” might be interrupted by… “Hey, let’s see what various people are tweeting. It’s not as cut and dry.
Perhaps, no matter how ADHD we all are, we all crave some form of normalcy, even if for me, it’s just those few hours in a thin metal tube, hurtling through the air at 500 miles per hour, with no connectivity.
Thoughts? Like the in-air WiFi? Leave a comment.
May 14th, 2009 at 6:47 am
Good point Peter! being forced to focus is sometimes a a great tool. As a fellow ADHDer I guess we choose and desire that which is comfortable for us, rather than that which would cause us to combat our natural tendencies… The only real way to deal with ADHD is to work with it… as you have while flying… or smoke a big fattie… either way…:-)
May 14th, 2009 at 7:18 am
When I’m on a plane I fall into a similar pattern. Before a flight a make a to-do list of all the things I can get done on the plane. The fact that a plane has wifi will make me feel guilty for not using it if I’m doing something like reading a novel instead when there may be some urgent email waiting for me.
May 14th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Flights are a sort of work dread for me, since I don’t have an Internet connection.
I’m a little obsessive about keeping my inbox as low as possible, and I light up my Blackberry the first second I can upon landing.
It would be relaxing to me to keep up on the constant flow of mail and projects.
Then again, a couple weeks ago I flew on a Continental flight with DirectTV for the first time, and I ended up watching movies and shows.
In that case, I was glad to set my newspapers, books on my Kindle and podcasts I’d planned to hear on the flights aside.
May 14th, 2009 at 7:58 am
Most of my business trips are in the car and I have an aircard..so the laptop is usually on anyway. Planes are usually vacations..so sleep is usually priority #1. But having the connectivity to reach clients in a pinch is nice.
Tho’ I do agree with you on the ADD and focusing thing.
May 14th, 2009 at 8:39 am
When I get on a plane, I take it as my honored time to sleep or chill out watching movies or reading trashy magazines. No working for me. Period.
May 14th, 2009 at 9:09 am
This is one of those things I start out saying I would never do because flying gives me a chance to read, relax, slow down, blah-dee-blah, but it won’t last. Before long (or maybe my next flight!), I’ll be rationalizing that it’s ten bucks well spent and good for business…just like a glass of Sauvignon Blanc is!
May 14th, 2009 at 9:12 am
I agree – cutting yourself off from distractions is essential to productivity, whether it be the phone or the internet. But you bring up an interesting point about choice. In 2005, Barry Schwartz gave a talk at TED about the paradox of choice. He says that basically too much choice is bad because it basically shifts the blame for dissatisfaction from the manufacturer to the individual. While I mostly agree with this, I think that this is mostly a symptom of a world of mass customization as opposed to a world centered around true customization. Here’s the link to the talk:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/t.....hoice.html
May 14th, 2009 at 10:15 am
I Luv you!… no not in a weird way lol but that you embrace the ADHD for all its worth and make it work for you. Unlike some, will hide the fact they have it and be embarrassed, therefore hindering their what could be, more successful self.
So ya, I luv You!
have a great weekend! Its a long weekend here (victoria day)
xxx
May 14th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
I just saw the announcement today that AirTran was starting the same program. Soon they’ll all have it.
I think my problem is the same as yours. I either have to stay disciplined on planes and do the stuff that never gets done unless I’m on a plane, or change my routine and do it some other time (God knows when or where that will be).
I’m sure I’ll grow to love it…but right now I’m a bit sad. I’ll hold off as long as I can.
btw, your travel post was outstanding.
May 14th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
I agree with Debbie – I catch up on sleep, chick flicks and click lit aboard planes – it’s like a mini-vacation for me.
May 14th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
I am with you Peter, we don’t need to be CONNECTED all the time. Some times we just need to be disconnected to be able to do the things that we need to do to be connected. (who is on first)
Meg Anderson
America’s Fun Budget Coach
May 15th, 2009 at 12:25 am
Peter -
I hear ya man. I just had my first WiFi on a flight a few weeks ago.
While cool technology, I too couldn’t help but feel like I was losing something in the deal. One of my few chances to have the perfect excuse to chill – gone.
At least you can’t use your laptop and drive…yet.
May 15th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I am so totally with you on this one. I don’t want to be connected on the plane – it’s a couple hours of quiet time, magazine reading, resting my eyes, relaxation or getting mentally prepared for the meeting I’m headed to.
May 15th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
The bottom line is that I’d rather you be blogging from an airplane than the copilot or pilot from the cockpit. Usually I’m reading (and listening to music).
May 15th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
YES, YES, YES!!! I agree.
I have A.D.O.S. and a slight case of “Social O.C.D.”
I go to check my e-mail really quick to see if my clients need anything, then I get sucked in….moving from Twitter, to Ustream to facebook…and so on; When I should be finishing my “To Do” list (which comes in several forms- on napkins, tickets to the game, self-texts, sheets of paper, and post-it notes.
At some point we have to say NO and get back to the basics. Without a solid foundation we get lost in this crazy new world.
PS: I’m reading the book you wrote in Mid-Air… impressed.
May 15th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
I’m glad the airport “home away from home” once WAS!! I hate those early morning departures..up at 4 airport at 6am.. I rather sleep or just relax then turn on my computer, there would be plenty of time later! My base is LAX, SNA & LGB. The problem with travel for work is once you have a vacation, you’d want to stay home! I still have 10 RT tickets.
May 17th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
I agree with you: Having the choice changes everything. It used to be a low-stress thing, ’cause the option didn’t exist. For anybody. Now, it does, and if you don’t connect, you risk being the yahoo who ignored the technology.
Healthcare is kind of the same way. I blogged this week about a boy who’s been court-ordered to undergo chemo. Years ago, we didn’t have those kinds of choices. If you had cancer, you died. If you had kidney failure, you died. Now we have all these treatments and are faced with decisions the previously didn’t exist. And really, it’s the same question: When can I turn it off?
May 18th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I totally hear you on this! During my last flight, I drafted a entire powerpoint presentation and wrote content for a website. Tasks that certainly would have fallen by the wayside if I could blog. Or tweet. Or iGoogle.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Peter,
I feel your pain. I travel frequently from various cities in the US to London, and I have the same system. I blow through emails in macmail, and you are right….helps not having any distractions………I actually LOVE seeing how many emails are to be sent when I land and hit my first wifi spot.
I get it. It is nice to have available, but I’m not sure it would work for me either.
I’m not suggesting that I’m “highly functioning”……but more…….have the concentration of a gnat.
Kevin
@kevinmontgomery
May 20th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Is resistence futile? I don’t want to be assimilated into the Crackberry Collective. As for me, I don’t mind having the power of choice. My berry, my laptop both have a power button and I’m not afraid to use it.
May 21st, 2009 at 6:10 am
Peter,
My heart broke when I saw the announcement of wi-Fi being the choice over Foosball. I think AirTran should have chose Foosball and let those of us that want to disconnect and get something or nothing done, that opportunity.
I will just say no to Wifi in the sky and continue to clean out my inbox and write my book.
BTW-this is my first visit to your blog and i think we may be long lost brother and sister-we think alike-good stuff.
May 23rd, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I always have such a “marvelous” plan for what I am going to do while I am on a flight and in the airport. Of course, my plans never work out. I end up coming back home with the same briefcase full of great ideas that I was going to tackle on my flight.
I am new to your site, and was STRONGLY suggested to read your blog through Jessica at http://www.jessicaknows.com. I am also following you on Twitter as @arewethere. I look forward to soaking up tons of great info from you!
~Eve@arewethere
May 25th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I competely agree with you Peter. I recently flew to Australia from the UK for 6 days (mad I know!) and when people exclaimed about all that flying I replied that I was looking forward to reading, sleeping, watching films and working without any interruptions – something that doesn’t happen very often!
Having said that, all the html emails and links nowadays can be frustrating when offline, so I do create ‘to read’ and ‘to watch/listen’ folders so I can move stuff out of my inbox that I can’t deal with until I’m back online (I like a nice empty inbox!).
May 27th, 2009 at 11:56 am
People need to learn to take advantage of technology and connectivity everywhere and not let it take advantage of them.
This is just another OPTION, not a requirement.
June 8th, 2009 at 6:05 am
For me it depends on the length of the flight. Anything longer than 5 hours and I find myself turning on my laptop and working for an hour or two.
June 8th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Hey Peter, thanks for the interesting blog. This is the first of yours I have read and I like the way your “voice” shows up. Thanks for your inner insights combined with social commentary. I look forward to reading more and joining HARO.
One question — what kind of battery lasts long enough to right 9 chapters?
Also, thanks for speaking “fluent” english so I can easily understand as opposed to the bip bap bo language that flies under my radar and into the trash.
leslie knowlton
http://www.developcoach.com