Balancing On the Go

Photo by voxefx

I am sitting in the airport, gladly anticipating a flight home. Don’t get me wrong, I love traveling for PLEASURE. It is a different feeling when it is for WORK. I have been away from home for four days, and although I am very excited to be returning home, the days on my trip were quite manageable this time. When I first started traveling for work, I was extremely excited. Then, there was a period of growing fatigue and imbalance associated with food on-the-go, hotel rooms, taxis, rental cars, and airports. After some practice, I now consider myself an experienced traveler and I have learned a few tricks that make me feel less restless when on the go. I hope some of them can be useful to you on your adventures:

• Planned packing. Think through your business meetings. You don’t have to wear a different suit every day. A change of shirt and jewelry (tie for guys) can be sufficient. Definitely bring something to change into for the evening, so you get some rest.
• Don’t check your luggage (if you can help it). The last thing you want to do is drive around in search of a suit to wear for the morning meeting because your luggage got lost. Also, when you have your bag with you, it shortens your trip on the way back home.
• Food has a major influence on making us feel good or bad, balanced or imbalanced.
• Yes, airport food is far from being satisfying. So, plan accordingly: eat before traveling to the airport or bring your favorite snacks with you. Also, pay attention to or take notes about the airports. If you travel a lot, you will remember details about the airport and where you may be able to find satisfying food.
• The easiest thing to do is to eat at the hotel restaurant. How boring is this? Unless you are really tired and want to be bored, I would suggest trying something local and unique. Of course, you want to make sure that you are in good shape for your work meetings, so the best way to find out what’s good is to ask. I find that asking your contacts (whoever you are visiting) is better than asking the concierge at the hotel. Although the concierge is great for giving you directions, they often just go off the same list of restaurants and don’t share anything unique. So, ask locals for some unique and delicious places.
• Exercise can reduce the stress of the day and make you feel much more balanced and on schedule. Check the hotel before you travel to find out if they have a gym or pool. If that sounds like too much after your busy day, ask for some areas where you can safely walk around (malls work, especially if the weather is bad) after your dinner.
• Tired of working at the hotel? My favorite is to find a bookstore. Local and chain bookstores typically have a nice area for sitting down (with outlets) and a coffee/tea shop.\
• Take time to explore (if there is something to explore). Even if it is driving/walking around and looking at the differences in nature and landscape, or observing people. Discoveries like these can make the trip very enjoyable (even if it means that you are on a rented bike in San Francisco, still wearing your suit pans and heels because you didn’t have enough time to go and change!).
• Little things matter. I do not like hotels because they do not feel like home. So, I noticed that simple things like bringing your pair of slippers (I have travel slippers that are always in my bag), some comfortable clothes (e.g., PJs), and your favorite incense (e.g., sandalwood) will make you feel much more relaxed. Of course, you may have your own list, just think about it ahead of time.
• Here is the list of cities with suggestions of places to visit from experienced business travelers

These are the tricks that help me feel more balanced. I am always looking for more tips, though. What works for you while traveling?