Airplane Mode: My Secret Weapon for Getting it Done

We should consider airplane mode for a lot more than just flights.

Which is ironic given how few of us have ever actually flipped out phones to airplane mode on a plane - or is that just me?

Seriously... the aviation industry is relying on 500 citizens (aka phone-addicts) per flight to 'do the right thing' and switch their phones off because there's a material risk the plane will crash otherwise?

No way that's a thing.

But as a tool for life, for focus, airplane mode is a thing.
I know because I'm using it right now - and this is all flowing out smoothly

Airplane mode: underrated

Airplane mode was my go-to for naps for a long time, in conjunction with a timer of course (22min is the sweet spot).
And now, so much more than 22min of my day is invested in airplane mode.

For focus.
For calm.
For getting work that matters done.

There’s a weird dual relief in this setting: the peace of being unreachable, and the confidence of knowing I’ll wake up, or come up for air, on time if not eventually.

So,

Airplane mode on.
Timer switched on.
Brain off for a nap.
or
Brain on for a task.
Noise gone either way.

And I swear my heart rate drops the second I flip that switch.
Maybe that’s placebo effect, maybe not.
Doesn’t matter.
I feel calmer.
And that's all that matters in that moment.

Because calm is the key to clarity.
And clarity is how things get done.
When I need to dig in for the deep work, the real work, the focused work - I now go full 1982.

Except it's better than 1982, because I don’t even have a landline... and also I'm not 11 anymore.

There's just the work.
Silence.
Space.
Intent.

Now, someone always asks, “But what if someone needs to reach you?”

Let me be blunt: I’m not a trauma surgeon. I’m not on a SWAT team. I don’t have the nuclear codes.
So, they can probably figure it out without me.
Or wait.

And let’s be honest, most of the time, it’s just delivery of news, or gossip.
News about something that already happened.
Something I’ll have to process, maybe try to fix.

Those things can wait until this thing is done.

This nap.
This post.
This chapter.
This conversation.

It can wait 22 minutes.
Or 45 minutes.
Or 2 hours.

Most of the time, the fire isn't mine to put out anyway.
It's just a discussion about someone else's fire.

Airplane mode is more than just a setting on your phone, it’s a setting for your mind.
It’s you saying:

“This matters more"
"In this moment, I matter more.”

You want real results?
To build something that lasts?
To hit deadlines?

Start treating your focus like the sacred resource it is.

Control your inputs.
Kill the noise.
Block the nonsense.

And maybe, just maybe, you’ll be shocked by how much you get done when the world can’t reach you.

Over and out
DW