How to Improve Your Preparation by Thinking Like a Pilot

Source: Imagen / Google AI Generated

We all want better judgment. We want to prepare well to perform well. We want our plans to run smoothly and to avoid unnecessary stress. However, we don't always take steps that will objectively help us self-improve in these areas.

Why? It might not seem urgent enough. Or, we might worry it'll turn into a minefield of perfectionism, exhaustion, and self-criticism.

Concrete tools can help overcome these barriers and do so efficiently.

One place we can find these tools is in aviation. Pilots learn many procedures to improve their judgment, planning, and how they manage changing conditions. The concepts behind these are surprisingly applicable to everyday life.

In this post, we'll look at four procedures used by pilots that map directly to everyday scenarios. For each example, I'll present the pilot version and the translation to ordinary life.

1. Personal Minimums and Maximums

Pilot examples:

Your personal limits are stricter than legal or equipment limits.

• If your plane can handle a 17-knot crosswind, but you've only ever landed in 10, your personal maximum will probably be lower than the plane's.
• As a private pilot, you can legally fly many types of aircraft, but before flying an unfamiliar plane alone, you always fly in it with an instructor first.

Personal versions:

We can borrow this logic and create personal policies for what's wise in many areas of life.

• You won't drive more than four hours without a break.
• You're a licensed health care provider. You're legally allowed to treat kids, but you haven't in years, so you don't.
• If you need to feed four people, you'll look for a recipe that says it serves six.

Importantly, personal minimums aren't intended to stay static. As a pilot gets more experienced in different conditions, they'll likely change some of theirs. This is similar to how a teen driver might expand to driving with friends, longer, faster, or in unfamiliar areas, only as they become more experienced with driving overall.

Also, central to the concept is that you'll be tempted to find justifications for breaking your personal minimums. Develop an accountability process to ensure you don't, such as writing them down and planning to update them only at set intervals.

2. Information That Must Be Gathered Before a Flight

Pilot example:

Pilots have an acronym, NW KRAFT, to summarize the information they're legally required to gather before a flight. It includes NOTAMs (important temporary notices), Weather, Known delays, Runway lengths, Alternate airports, Fuel requirements, and Takeoff/landing distances.

Personal version:

Designate a standard set of information you'll gather before making certain types of decisions.

Example 1: Before committing to an international vacation, you always find out:

• expected weather
• local holidays
• closures of important attractions
• visa requirements
• availability of medical care

This way, you avoid arriving during monsoon season, finding everything closed for a national holiday, or breaking your arm on an island without a hospital.

Example 2: For major purchases, you always review:

• the warranty
• the returns policy
• the price history
• the planned service life (how long you expect to use it)
• the alternatives (like open-box, refurbished, or another brand)
• common consumer-related biases (like being drawn into considering features you don't actually need)

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Check off each area so you don't overlook anything major. The key point is standardization and having efficient ways to collect the pertinent information.

3. The ATIS Ensures Everyone Has the Most Recent Information

Pilot example:

When asking for a takeoff or landing clearance from air traffic control, pilots must confirm they have the current ATIS, which is a recorded briefing that's updated hourly. Each ATIS has a specific letter associated with it. For example, the pilot needs to state they have "Information Mike" (which stands for M in the aviation alphabet), if that's the most recent version.

There's no ambiguity about whether they have the most current info.

Personal version:

When is it important to gather updated information "en route" while you still have time to divert from a plan?

Maybe you called a foreign rental car provider weeks ago to confirm they'd have an automatic for you because you can't drive a stick. They said they'd note your booking. You call again closer to the trip to reconfirm.

Think about information that might become outdated without you realizing it.

• You think your kid is doing well in math because they got an "A" last year, but now they're struggling with a new concept.
• You think you know the dietary needs of your dinner guests, but Uncle Ern was diagnosed with gout since you saw him last year.
• You think a student you're supervising at work is swimming along nicely, but you haven't checked in recently.

What type of standardized process would help you overcome the very human tendency to rely on outdated information when you get busy?

4. PIREPs (Pilot Reports) Warn Others About Unexpected Conditions

If a pilot encounters an unexpected environmental condition, like weather or bird activity, they can file a PIREP, which other pilots see in the electronic tools used for flight planning.

The concept of these reports can inspire processes for information sharing:

• Parents, grandparents, and babysitters have a process for conveying key info during kid handovers.
• You create a framework to help your kids know which observations they should tell you about, like items in the fridge not being as cold as usual, a flickering light, or concern about a friend's mental health.
• Partners agree to mention when they've left the car low on gas.

Systems Beat Worry

The concept of thinking like a pilot can make preparation and maintaining awareness of changing conditions both more fun and more manageable.

Having set procedures allows you to be thorough but also efficient. Rather than experiencing vague worry about what you haven't thought of, you can use systems to maintain better situational awareness, just like pilots do.