How to Make Business Travel More Meaningful and Productive?

Occasionally we all must travel for business because there are some issues that can only be discussed in person. Things like completing deals, speaking at conferences, attending meetings, or participating in events are all things that can help our business meet its goals. Sometimes this becomes taxing on us as employees though. Fortunately, there are some things we can do to make the most out of business travel.

Make a Plan and Move Ahead

Travelettes says you should always have a travel plan before leaving home. You never know when something could go wrong so you should always be well prepared for such inconveniences. As part of your plan, make sure that everyone you work with knows where you’ll be and when you’re available to talk to them. This way they’re also prepared to handle anything that comes up while you’re away. Even better yet, assign important tasks to certain people so they know their responsibilities before you leave. You’ll also want to make sure you sync all your gadgets, reminders, and calendars to the local time zone you’ll be in so you won’t miss any important deadlines. No matter how much you try to prepare, something is still bound to go wrong. Remain calm and accept this fact – maybe you’ll learn something positive through it.

Put the Adventure Back into Your Travel

Don’t think of this trip as a vacation. While you’ll want to have some fun, make sure you don’t over-do it just because your boss isn’t around. This is a time to bolster your reputation as a dependable, hardworking employee so don’t do anything that you wouldn’t do on a normal working day.

Make Business Travel Profitable

Never settle for anything less than meeting your goals while on this trip. The Boss Magazine says if this goal was to have a face-to-face conversation with someone, make sure you settle for nothing less than having a clear conversation with your client so both of you know what to expect and what’s required of your business partnership. Additionally, this is a great time for referrals so make sure you always ask for them at the end of each of your sales and marketing meetings. It’s harder for someone to tell you “no” in person.

Stay Connected with Your Loved Ones

Make sure you check in with your loved ones while you’re away. This will provide you with a sense of emotional well-being. Even if you only have a few minutes to spare, this is something you’ll want to make sure you include in your schedule.

Use Cloud Technology

When you’re traveling you’ll want to make use of a lot of the great gadgets that exist today, including:

* Stay connected with a business phone system for an easy communication with your clients, employees and other businesses.

* Wear a pair of noise-cancelling headphones so you can concentrate better – they also cancel out the airplane’s ambient noise so your flight is smoother and less exhausting

* Carry a portable external monitor with you to connect to your laptop through your USB port so you’ll have a dual monitor setup when you need to look at two documents or applications at once

* Use a portable wireless mouse instead of your laptop’s trackpad to keep your hand from cramping

* Have a battery pack for your cell phone so you know you can make calls or use apps when you need to do so

Take a portable power strip with you so you have enough outlets for all your gadgets

Eat Healthy and Take Care of Yourself

Although it’s tempting to stay in your comfortable hotel room after a long day at work, you should use mealtime as a chance to explore. While you want to stay within your budget, this is your opportunity to learn more about what the place has to offer by exploring various food joints and wineries. It’s also a great time to squeeze in some exercise. While you probably don’t have time to go to the gym you’re your busy schedule, you still need to exercise so you can curb jetlag and revitalize your body so go spend some time in the hotel gym or swimming pool or go take a walk and learn more about the area.

Travel Time, Productive Time

Downtime is known to be frustrating, but you can use it for relaxing – enjoy reading a good book, doing puzzles, or making a pros and cons list to help you through something that’s weighing heavily on your mind. It’s also a good idea to learn how to work anytime and anywhere you have time available. Of course, this means you’ll need to carry your work gear with you everywhere, so you can make use of any spare time that arises.

Nourish Your Body, Mind & Spirit

Don’t return to work after a business trip feeling like you desperately need a vacation now. You don’t want your body to be so tired you can’t move while your belly has some extra rolls that require movement. Take some time to nourish your body, mind, and spirit while traveling for business. This can be as easy as practicing meditation in your hotel room, doing some yoga by the pool, or taking a stroll through the town at sunset. These activities won’t only feed your body, but they’ll also feed your soul so you’ll return home feeling refreshed and revived - a better version of yourself.

Learn Something New

Bucket List Journey says travel is one of the best educations you can have. It will teach you things that no textbook can teach you. It’s easy to learn something new from it since you’ll find yourself in many situations where you’ll need to figure new things out. You’ll be surprised what new things you can learn about a culture, a city’s history, and the people who live in the area you’re visiting. You may even learn something new about yourself. Just keep your eyes open for these learning opportunities and don’t be afraid to take some time away from work to take a cooking class, go on a historical tour, or learn something new about your location.

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stash member John Reiley