Especially in the smartphone era, I actively enjoy having a couple hours to kill in an airport. I make sure that I have a range of activities to do depending on

Especially in the smartphone era, I actively enjoy having a couple hours to kill in an airport. I make sure that I have a range of activities to do depending on energy level (writing about my research / hacking on something / reading nonfiction / reading a "brainless" book / surfing through HN or reddit), have pre-meditated that it's okay to pay airport prices on a fancy coffee drink or a beer or whatever, have pre-meditated that I should have no expectations about productivity, and then just hunker down in a chair with my computer/phone/book and a drink and chill out. It feels very removed from the pressures of everyday life, which I like—I wouldn't be able to chill half as well if I were at home and felt like I was supposed to be doing something more important. On an airplane you lose the internet, but the same general strategy works for me. Re. sleeping, it works for me to sleep when I'm able to and say "well if you can't sleep right now, read your book. Oh, you're too tired to read your book? Maybe it's time to sleep"