Jason Womack travels a lot (a lot, a lot), and he’s summarized his tips for making the most of travel delays in an article for USA Today:

“Womack, who flew on 140 flights last year and trains for triathlons and long-distance races while traveling, is well-practiced at knowing how to eliminate wasted time during trips — so much so that he almost welcomes flight delays and the time spent waiting around.
“The real trick is to turn these pockets of time into opportunities to get real work done,” says Womack of Ojai, Calif. “Not only does it alleviate the stress of the delays, but it allows you to remain productive. I call it doing what I have to do so that I can do what I want to do later.”
Becoming a preferred airline, hotel and car rental customer is the first step toward saving and maximizing time, he says. Such status may provide priority boarding for a flight, expedited check-in at the hotel and rental car counter, and quicker service to resolve a problem if something goes wrong.“

Specific tips include:
– become a packing minimalist
– own duplicate items
– always be ready to use 15-minute pockets of time
– learn something new
– … and more

Read more: How to avoid – or make the most of – travel delays