Finland to South Africa is a long journey. You spend 14–15 hours in the air, but once you add travel to and from the airport, check-in, passport control, layovers and everything else, the total travel time creeps closer to 24 hours. A full day.

Even though I’ve done the trip many times, I always overestimate how productive I will be in these lomg flights. In reality, I get nothing done. I might manage to watch a movie from start to finish, but that’s where my efficiency ends. And that was true even before I had the kids. Now, at best, I serve as a pillow.