During the next five weeks, I’ll fly on about 15 different airplanes, sleep in about a half dozen hotels and spend time in six different cities. A stretch of travel like this can be disruptive to even a seasoned traveler. Routines go out the window, delays happen, flights and meetings get canceled, etc. It can be tricky to have a plan for keeping it together on the go.
Plan to not have a plan
Sure, you need to know which cities to be in on which days, but do you need to have your schedule managed down to the hour? I say no. In cities where you have more than one meeting planned, make sure you have prioritized the ones that matter most to your goals. When disruptions happen, make sure the key meetings happen, but also make sure to reach out and apologize to those you won’t have time to see. It’s funny how often those folks will offer to meet you for breakfast of a cup of coffee once you explain the situation. You don’t always have to go to them. You’ve already traveled a long way.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with leaving some slack in your schedule. An unexpected down day due to schedule changes can be just what the doctor ordered. Catch up on email while treating yourself to room service. Read that novel or business book that’s been in your briefcase for two months while sitting by the pool. Take advantage of the downtime when it happens because it could be days or even weeks before you get another break like this. Enjoy it.
Take care of business at home
Over the last couple years, I have automated a great deal of the finances for our business. A majority of our customers pay us electronically. As a result, there’s no need to worry about checks sitting in the PO box while the bank account sits empty. We can also pay most of our vendors electronically as well.
My business lives in the cloud. The customer relationship management (CRM) system I rely upon is accessible anywhere I have an internet connection. There is also an iPhone app that gives me limited access even when I can’t connect to the cloud, allowing me to find names even while I work on an email offline on an airplane. The project management tools we have chosen are also cloud-based so I can collaborate with the teams from anywhere at anytime.
Travel light
Long ago, my wife teased me about trying to pack in a Sucrets box. Funny thing is I am always trying to travel with less and not more. It’s part of why I don’t yet own an iPad. I’m pretty sure, for a while at least, I will need my MacBook almost everywhere I travel. My goal is that when I add something to my briefcase, something else comes out. Yesterday morning while getting ready to travel, I almost put my old moleskine notebook in along with the new one. The old one is full and would have been nothing more than a security blanket. Instead I photocopied the last two pages and brought those along. That’s all I should really need. Why carry more?
Bring fewer clothes, not more. You can alway do laundry or send things out for dry cleaning. Everything you bring with you has to be repeatedly carried from place to place. Everything has to be unpacked and re-packed as you go. The less you have along, the less you have to worry about losing.
Buy good luggage. I love my Jack Spade messenger bag (Amazon affiliate link) and even made a video about how I pack it. I also love my Briggs and Riley luggage (Amazon affilate link). I’m about to buy a new piece to replace one I’ve been carrying for about a dozen years.
Have some fun out there
Business travel only has to be all about business if you want it to or let it be. My wife is joining me on one of the six trips coming up. It just so happens that, it will be in a warm climate and we’ll spend the weekend together on a warm tropical beach. Then a couple weeks later, I’m joining her on one of her trips in one of our favorite big cities. While I love my work and I love to work, I also love taking breaks to enjoy life with those I care most about.