4 Rules to Navigate an Airport like a Boss

Airports. They're like armpits on the day you travel. Everyone's has to deal with them, no one really wants to see them, and if we can we'll cover them with something to make the unpleasant experience as bearable as possible. 

On the days you travel here are a few things to keep in mind as you go. 

1. Master Security. If dealing with airports is like armpits, I'm not sure what that makes security lines. Do the following and you'll get through them as quickly as possible, and you won't gunk up the line. 

• Before you get to security, take everything out of your pockets and put your items in your bag or in your jacket pockets. This saves time once you get to the scanner, and it keeps you from getting patted down because you were in a hurry and forgot the spare change in your front pocket. 
• Wear slip-on shoes on the day you fly, or when you take everything out of your pockets loosen your shoe laces so you can step into and out of them at the security area. Tighten them on the train or when you get to your gate, but nothing causes claustrophobia like the security area, so get in and get out. 
• No matter what they say DO NOT put down your boarding pass and ID. Just keep it in your hands as you go through the scanner. It won't set off any alarms, it is obviously not anything threatening, and you won't leave it in one of the bins because it gets put in a corner under your laptop and you miss it as you pick your stuff up. 

2. Put your important things in the same place, every time. Habit overcomes an absent-mind. There are anywhere from 2-4 pieces of paper that you get on a given day of travel depending on how many connections you are making, and if you put them in your pocket and then change them to your bag and then have to move them to get to your money then all of a sudden you get to the gate and you can't find them. I have a specific pocket in my briefcase where I put my boarding passes and luggage receipts, and they never move. Those pieces of paper can make or break your day. Don't neglect them! 

3. Be at your gate at least 30 minutes before departure. Departure for airlines is like the entrance signs at theme parks. You walk in expecting the ride to be just around the corner, and you find that there is waaaay more to getting there than expected. At a theme park it means you might have to wait a lot longer than expected. At an airport it might mean you miss your flight.  Airlines board anywhere from 10-30 minutes before departure, so as the Brits would way, "Mind the gap." 

4. USE YOUR PHONE TO KEEP TIME. A watch is great, but if you change timezones and forget to change the time on your watch, you'll either be an hour early or an hour late to your next gate. Phones change time automatically, so they're always reliable provided you remembered to charge yours the previous night. Put your watch in your bag for the day, and don't miss your flight.