Your plane hasn’t even left its gate, and you already feel defeated by another harried day of travel. You hit every red traffic light on the way to the airport; you waited, frustrated, in a slow-moving check-in line; and you went through the usual hassle (and occasional humiliation) required to pass security.

To make matters worse, you just heard that your flight is being delayed for at least another hour—time you’ll spend worrying that you won’t make your meeting and feeling totally powerless because that mountain of work on your plate isn’t getting done.

If you travel regularly for business, this scenario is all too familiar. Airports, delays, and forced downtime are the bane of the road warrior’s existence because it usually means you’re getting further behind on your constantly expanding to-do list. If you travel smart, though, you can continue to make huge strides in whatever you want to accomplish (even when you’re stuck at an airport gate)—you just have to implement the right tactics.

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