Some tips on work travel
I’m currently traveling interstate about once a month, for a mix of
meetings, conferences and speaking engagements. Not heaps compared to
some people’s jobs, for which I am thankful. But it’s a enough to need
a strategy. Traveling for work is pretty fun until it becomes grotty
and exhausting. So here’s some of things I’ve learned about how to
survive, like George Clooney:
- When you’ve got a young family, better to fly up early on the day of your event and fly home late as soon as it finishes, rather than being away for additional days
- Piggy back on an existing trip, by contacting other people to tell them you’ll be in town, or crash on someone’s couch. Consider staying for an additional day and squeeze it all in.
- If you are allowed to do it, always fly the same airline, even if sometimes their tickets are more expensive. That means you can pump up your frequent flier points and you win in the long-term.
- Personally, I can’t be bothered wasting time hunting for awesome flight deals
- Get a kindle and a music player
- Bring stacks of stuff to read/proof-read/write and knock it over on the plane and in the airport.
- The front third of the plane is best:
- You get on and off quicker
- Families tend to get put towards the back
- The plane engines are not as noisy up the front
- Other business-travelers tend to fill out the front seats so it’s quiet
- If you have flight fright, the plane doesn’t seem to tilt up so much during take off and it doesn’t bump so much
Aisle seats are best, because you have addition elbow and leg room
out into the aisle and it’s easy to access under the seat. Window seats
are next best. Middle seats are the worst.Get one of those proper carry on suitcases. They are so easy to
pack and carry. I didn’t want to get one because it was
too grownup. But they are wonderful. Forget about dumb backpacks and
sports bags.Don’t check in luggage. I basically toured the US over 10 days
with no checked luggage. You can fly interstate for three days without
it. Takes so much time…- Junk food and hotel buffets are awesome but will destroy you in the end.
Hotels should have less stupid bike/walking/rowing machines and
more proper weight machinesBear in mind that you will probably end up working 14 hour days of
talking non-stop. So factor in rest time before, during and after
traveling.Print out every scrap of information relevant to your trip -
flight itinerary, ticket, emails from organisers, timetables, ‘how to
get there’ info. You never know what you will need and you never know
when your electronic device will run out of batteries.- It’s worth paying to get your own room at NTE.
Find people who will take you on adventures as a part of the trip
- people who hunt out interesting restaurants, cafes and bars.The Berts (as opposed to the Ernies) are right: it’s way better to
get the airport with heaps of time to spare, than to be so laid back
that you are always stressing about whether you will make it there on
timeTrain yourself to work on the plan rather than reading the in
flight magazine or a Wilbur Smith novel.Plan ahead some basic chit chat questions you will ask to people
whom you sit next to. It’s way easier to have the motivation to chat
if you have a game plan.Swap cards with people you meet at things and send them brief,
polite follow up emails afterwardsDon’t forget your basic GTD habits - make ‘processing’ your trip when you get home
as easy as possiblePlan ahead whom you want to meet, what questions you want to ask,
what things you want to learn about so that you don’t waste the
opportunity
24. Pack your bag assuming that they might want to open it in security. Put your aerosols on top for easy removal, and your knickers down the bottom.
25. (Especially for bigger people or Canberra-Sydney flyers) Check what type of plane you'll be flying on. I know Virgin planes tend to be about 1/2 inch wider and that makes all the difference for me between feeling squished and comfortable. And the Qantas Canberra-Sydney route alternates between massive planes and small propeller flights. It's worth looking it up to get on a plane that is faster and more comfortable.
I've never tried 26. But I'm gonna. Totally gonna.
Totally buy your kids daddy's-been-away gifts. But only for 3 nights+ or else it gets expensive. For shorter trips, hotel and aeroplane tschotckes are received quite well.
I actually want to be a movie-blogger not a god-blogger. Christian Reflections is just my foot in the door. Once the blog goes monetized it's totally changing direction: "Christian Projections"
10. you smelt
13. Mr Smith Goes to Washington
17. Dulles airport fail. I am Ernie.