Paperwork while flying at cruise
 

Are you allowed to complete company related paperwork in-flight during cruise?

For example, my company has a needlessly long logbook form that is required to be completed for each leg. It takes about 3-5 minutes to fill out depending on maintenance requirements, although it's not any sort of intense calculus that requires 100% mental attention, just block times, block fuel, etc.

So in a transport category jet, stable cruise flight, would you be allowed to complete this paperwork or would you be required to transfer all pilot flying and pilot monitoring duty to the other pilot in order to do so?

Let's assume maximum formality, with an agent of your government's regulatory agency on the jumpseat observing. I realize that on a normal flight no one would care.

Of course we are.

Yes, completely standard : The completion of company (and personal) paperwork in the cruise, and the need to eat and drink are why we have autopilots !

If a major catastrophe occurs, resulting in the AP dropping out* (has happened to me once), the paperwork is put down and one manually Aviates, Navigates and Communicates etc.

*the aircraft will be in a trimmed state, so there usually would be no big diversion from cruising flightpath.

Once above FL100 yes. Paperwork requiring a bit more effort, in the cruise is fine.

Common sense has to prevail. So as others have said, above 10,000’ with a healthy aircraft and no undue demand it’s not reasonable to do the paperwork. But the moment anything untoward crops up, that has to be the focus of your attention. I threw some Flight Ops. Inspectors off in Brussels some time ago. They were adamant that a fuel and time check had to be performed at every waypoint (with only a few minutes in the cruise at FL140) and other paperwork. I considered that one only was required for a 15-20 minute flight. It was clear they were idiots. Never heard a peep as a result. Don’t let inspectors put you off your stride.