Productive Travel: Tips for Business Travelers
Too often, business travelers use
their trips as opportunities to rest
up for the next bit of work.
However, it pays to shift your
mindset. The savvy worker never
wastes travel or hotel time. You
should always be willing to make
good, productive use of those
periods that most travelers would
consider "lost hours," because doing
so offers a unique opportunity to
get work done with few distractions
or interruptions.
In this article, I'll outline a few
simple things that you can do to
maximize your business productivity
while you're on the road.
Plan Efficiently
Spontaneity can be fun, but save it
for vacation time. Before you ever
set foot outside your home, it's
best to make certain that every step
of your trip is mapped out (doubly
important for international travel).
Start well in advance of your travel
date by making a list of all the
things you think you'll need (or use
a standardized checklist), taking
into account the limitations of your
baggage allowance. Then put some
thought into contingency planning.
If a storm strands you in an airport
concourse for 24 hours, what will
you do? What if your luggage is lost
or someone steals the bag containing
your medications? Make provisions
for everything you can think of. If
you're a frequent traveler, over
time you'll build up a comfortable
backlog of contingency plans that'll
help you overcome any problems you
may face.
As your travel arrangements firm up,
be sure to track everything in your
personal filing system and keep
multiple copies of itinerary
information (on your phone and in
paper). Meanwhile, unless you're
thoroughly familiar with your
destination, some Internet research
is in order. At the very least, you
should find a few dinner options
near your hotel. Reach out to
friends and clients in the area you
don’t often get to connect with.
Know when your downtime is likely to
occur (the hours you spend in the
airport or on the plane and during
those evenings in the hotel room)
and decide precisely what you want
to accomplish for each period.
Ignore distractions and dive right
into your work whenever you can.
I recommend that you wear
comfortable clothing during the
actual travel phases of your trip,
so you have plenty of room to move
and you're spared the distraction of
discomfort. Business casual is a
good compromise between dressy and
sloppy. I'm partial to the Travelers
line by Chicos, because they're easy
to maintain, don't wrinkle, and can
double as presentation clothing if
my luggage goes awry. Avoid belts
and wear slip-on shoes, because
you'll just have to take them off at
the security line in the airport.
For similar reasons, it's good to
minimize your jewelry and pocket
contents. And by the way: make sure
your shoes are comfortable, because
you may have to walk long distances
between gates.
One more thing: before you leave,
prepare a portfolio or folder where
you can easily keep track of all
your receipts, meeting notes,
conference papers, proposals, and
the like while you're away from
home. Keep it handy in your
briefcase, and make a point of
filing away your papers every
evening. This is especially
necessary for longer trips; when I
attend conferences over several
days, for example, I bring along a
seven-pocket Pendaflex folder, and
prepare separate expense envelopes
for every client meeting.
Pack Efficiently
To avoid wasting time, start packing
well before your trip. Just put your
bag somewhere out of the way, and
drop things into it as they occur to
you; that way, when it's time to get
serious about packing, you'll
practically be done. Between trips,
it's a good idea to put together
favorite outfits and keep them
together in your closet, so that you
can pack them quickly; accessories
like ties, belts, and jewelry should
be kept easily available as well.
I recommend clothes that are easy to
maintain and don't wrinkle or
require ironing, especially if you
plan to be away from home for more
than a few days. For added
protection against wrinkling, wrap
them in the plastic bags from the
dry cleaner. And speaking of plastic
bags, a quart-sized zip-lock baggie
is ideal for toiletries, because
it's easy to pack, keeps everything
together, and airport security can
inspect it with ease. In addition to
all this, a sewing kit, grooming
items, a clothes brush, extra
reading, medications and first aid
items (including the headache pills
of your choice) should be included
in your luggage.
Try not to check bags at all costs.
If you're just heading out for a
couple of days, you can make do with
a carry-on bag packed with the
basics; some people can manage an
international trip without checking
bags. If you must check, it’s
critical to pack a backup outfit in
your carry-on, just in case that
checked bag is lost. Always keep
your essential business items with
you, especially important papers,
electronic backups of presentations,
and copies of your ID. Never, ever
check your briefcase; it should
always be with you, even if you have
to pay extra for the privilege.
A laptop computer should also be a
part of your carry-on ensemble, even
if you don't intend to work on it
during the flight (though you
probably will). I also recommend
that you pack away, elsewhere, a
wires pouch that contains duplicates
of all the chargers and cords that
you need to make all your
electronics work—just in case.
Create More Value by Spending a
Little Money
In some situations, trying to be
economical can shoot a hole in your
productivity. For example: why waste
time driving to the airport and back
when you can pay someone else to
drive you, while you work on the
way? Once you factor in the
aggravation of finding a parking
spot and getting to the terminal,
not to mention toll charges and
parking fees, it's usually more
profitable and productive to hire a
sedan service or shuttle to take you
from door to door. It's delegation
in action: you pay someone else to
do the lower value work while you
take care of the high value things
you do best.
This concept translates to other
travel options that some may
consider lavish, like joining
airline clubs or paying for VIP
privileges, which are good ideas if
you travel a lot and often fly the
same carrier. As a 1K on United
(100,000+ miles flown per year), not
only do I get to board earlier than
everyone else and grab that overhead
space, I get free upgrades to first
class on almost every flight, plus
separate check-in, security, and
boarding lines. In many cases, you
also have access to quiet airport
lounges where you can get work done
in comfort—not to mention the fact
that you can accrue frequent flier
miles for later use.
Similarly, cheap hotel
accommodations can cost you in the
end, because you can't count on them
providing the type of setting or
amenities that you need to get your
work done. It's worth paying a
little extra for quality and comfort
in both instances if you know you
can knock out enough work to more
than pay for the extra expense.
Make Smart, Efficient Use of Your
Technology
Modern electronics have made it so
much easier to be productive while
traveling that it's hard to imagine
how we managed without them. Even a
simple smartphone can let you check
and respond to email, keep in touch
with your contacts during downtime,
and touch base with the office.
You should always consider your
airplane your mobile office. If your
laptop is too bulky, consider
purchasing an iPad or a tiny laptop
just for travel: a machine that's
not just smaller and lighter than
most, but that contains only the
programs you need to do your work.
You can sync the files you’ll need
on the road with dropbox.com. Don't
include space-hogging software like
MP3s and image-editing programs
unless you absolutely need them. If
you'd like to listen to music as you
work, carry an iPod or smart-phone
with you. Listening on a separate
device will also help conserve your
laptop's battery charge. Stashing an
extra laptop battery in your
carry-on can also help; that way you
can just change it out as necessary
rather than trying to conserve power
on long flights.
A flash or "thumb" drive containing
your essential computer files is a
must, especially if you're planning
a presentation using PowerPoint.
These tiny gadgets are inexpensive,
and can mean the difference between
success and disaster if something
happens to your computer or your
data somehow gets corrupted. Just
snap the loaded thumb drive onto
your keychain or a necklace, or
slide it into a pocket of your
briefcase, and you're good to go.
These days, all laptops come with
built-in Wi-Fi access, so make the
most of that wherever it's
available—at the airport, your
hotel, or the Starbuck's down the
street. You should be willing to pay
for access when you need it; it's
inexpensive when it's not free, and
again, this is a case of the expense
being outweighed by your resulting
productivity. If you'd prefer not to
have to worry about whether Wi-Fi is
available wherever you end up,
consider investing in personal
broadband or EVDO, which piggyback
on existing wireless telephone
networks. That way, you'll always
have Internet access as long as
there's a cell tower nearby. Many
phone providers, such as Sprint and
Verizon, offer the option to use
your phone as a wireless hotspot.
Eight people can connect their
computers to my phone in their
wireless settings when the hotspot
is enabled.
I also recommend that you take a GPS
unit with you, especially if you're
unfamiliar with your destination.
This will help you avoid stress when
driving. You can get a very good
unit for less than $200; I use the
Garman nuvi.
Finally, you may want to consider
investing in a nice pair of
noise-canceling earphones. This is
the politest way of dealing with
ambient noise and screaming babies.
Finish One Trip before Starting
the Next
In the whirl of business travel,
it's easy to let one trip blur into
another, especially if they're
scheduled back-to-back. But you
can't let that happen, or you're
going to end up making more work for
yourself. No matter how exhausted
you are, don't just dump your stuff
in a pile and forget about it while
you try to catch up after being
away. If you're not careful, you'll
never get back to it—until it's
suddenly time to prepare for the
next trip, and you have to deal with
the jumbled mess leftover from last
time.
Immediately after returning home,
empty out your luggage, get those
travel clothes to the laundry and
dry cleaner, and prepare for the
next trip. Refill toiletries and
replace anything you've used up.
Clean out and reorganize your
briefcase and laptop bag, making
sure that all your travel
electronics and their various cords
are there and where they're supposed
to be.
Next, process and organize all your
information, getting it to the
correct locations. Don't skimp on
the filing, or you'll regret it
later! Immediately take care of your
receipts and expense reports while
everything's still clear in your
mind, so you can get every cent owed
to you.
A World of Change
Just a few decades ago, getting from
here to there was an exercise in
frustration for the business
traveler. Not only was the travel
itself often boring and unpleasant,
it was difficult to get anything
productive done when in transit or
parked in a hotel room. That all
changed with the advent of compact
electronics: nowadays, it's almost a
sin not to get work done while
traveling, because smartphones, PDAs,
iPads, and laptops make productivity
simpler, no matter where you are.
Put them together with efficient,
smart use of resources, as well as
logical planning and preparation,
and there's no reason you can't get
nearly as much done on the road as
you can from your office.
I hope the strategies I've outlined
in this article help you with your
productive travel, and spark new
ideas of your own. I'd love to hear
what you come up with!
Make it a productive day! (TM)
(C) Copyright 2011 Laura Stack. All rights reserved.
© 2011 Laura Stack. Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker whose mission is to build high-performance productivity cultures in organizations by creating Maximum Results in Minimum Time®. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training firm specializing in productivity improvement in high-stress organizations and the 2011-2012 President of the National Speakers Association. Since 1992, Laura has presented keynotes and seminars on improving output, lowering stress, and saving time in today’s workplaces. She is the bestselling author of four books: SUPERCOMPETENT; The Exhaustion Cure; Find More Time; and Leave the Office Earlier. Laura has been a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, Xerox, and Office Depot. She is the creator of The Productivity Pro® planner by Day-Timer and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Starbucks, Cisco Systems, Wal-Mart, and Bank of America. To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401 or visit www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.