Productivity Tip: Jam your knees into the upright and locked seatback position
I rock and roll with a 15″ MacBook Pro, which means a couple of things. It means I have a full-size keyboard wherever I go. It means I have a nice giant screen, and a big, powerful CPU for on-the-fly video editing or whatever else I need.
It also means that I have trouble opening my laptop all the way on plane flights when people lean their chairs back.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who opts to travel with a full-size laptop, and we all know that in a lot of airplanes, that click-shooop of the seatback in front of you sliding backwards is the kiss of doom for your in-flight laptop time.
Apparently this is called Airline Laptop Syndrome by some (ganked my hilarious image from this link).
Suddenly, you’ve got less than half the space you had before, and if you want any chance of seeing your screen at all, you’ll have to balance your computer in an odd upright-V position and hope you don’t fly through any turbulence.
So if I’m getting settled in on a flight where I plan to need my laptop, I’ll sometimes jam my knees into the bottom of the seatback in front of me just after takeoff.
Most people never ask the person behind them if it’s OK to lean backwards (which I find interesting) — they just go ahead and do it. But if you’ve got your knees nestled firmly up against the chair, that seatback is not going to flop backwards like they expect it to.
Usually they’ll try once or twice, and then give up. Voilá! Productivity space.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
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You might want to make sure you can “take” the man/woman in front of you if it comes to blows.
if you really do this, you suck. This isnt your space to monopolize, someone else should be uncomfortable to suit your whims? The seats are designed to recline, if you want to recline you have the same right to do so. I hope you never try this with me sitting in front of you….
I too am a frequent traveler. And I sympathize with your plight. However, I am also a believer that when I buy a ticket from the airline, every inch of space associated with that seat is mine and I have every right to use it as I see fit, just like the guy in front or behind me does. That is the primary reason I always opt for the Exit row, even if it means a center seat.
SOME PEOPLE ARE ONLY ABLE TO COPE W/ THEIR ANXIETIES BY SLEEPING ON A LONG FLIGHT. YOU ARE TRYING TO TAKE AWAY WHAT PLANNED AND EXECUTED TO GIVE PASSENGERS COMFORT, INA DYNAIC WAY, NOT ONLY ARE PEOPLE ABLE TO ALLEVIATE SPINAL PRESSURE BY RELAXING THE SPINE, THAT RECLINING FEATURE HELPS OTHERS SLEEP AND COPE W/ THEIR ANXIETY.
MAYBE A BUSY BUISNESS PERSON NEEDS TO TRAVEL 1ST CLASS FOR THAT ADDED ROOM.
I tend to get a little wacky in my head when the person in front of me reclines their seat all the way back, then leans forward to read. What’s the point in leaning the seat back?
Two points of clarification:
1. I have never, nor will I ever, refuse to let someone lean the seat back if they ask me. Turn around, take two seconds, and ask: “do you mind if I lean my seat back?”
Common courtesy. I can live with that. Oddly enough, the only people who do ask are people in the US Army.
2. It goes both ways. I haven’t leaned my seat back in years, mostly because I know it sucks for the guy behind me. My ticket probably paid for the space in front of me, too.
Yep, this is a rude tactic. Not recommended for people who care about the comfort of the person in front of you. Use at your own risk.
I wouldn’t try to block the person in front of me from leaning back, because I would find that being more rude than the person not looking before leaning back.
I intentionally carry a subnotebook as my primary portable because it is possible to use it in a coach seat. I also generally attempt for a bulkead rown because I know there will be space to open the screen and use it without bing hit by a seatback.
I’m 6 foot 2 inches tall to begin with and find that the seats don’t hit me in the right place, and reclining them actually makes it worse, so I rarely recline a coach seat. The main time I do is when the person in front of me has reclined, leaving the back of their head less than 6 inches from my nose.
Wim.
My knees aren’t in any shape to do that. I’m 6′1″ and my knees are already naturally right up against the seat in front of me. Applying pressure would do more damage to me than deter them. Sometimes, if its gets to painful, I ask the person in front of me to push forward. Usually, the menacing look of a 220lb angry Black Man, does the trick. This is why, whenever possible, I sit in the exit row.
Peace
If it gets really annoying you can also just ask the flight attendant. If that’s too wussy for you, I’ve gently hit the back of the chair too.
An airplane is not your living room, so don’t sleep in my lap.
At 6′3″ it is virtually impossible to sit in coach on domestic carriers, but I travel only for vacations, so I pay my own way. When will the domestic carriers wise up and give us a resonable premium economy product so those of us paying our own way can sit comfortably. With no frequent flyer status, I have not gotten an exit row in years.
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