Hitting the road for a work trip can be a much-needed change of pace from the monotony of the office grind, but traveling for work also brings the challenge of balancing your regular responsibilities with your traveling agenda. Check out our list of five ways to stay productive while traveling for work below, from HotelsByDay!
1. Utilize Hotel Day Stays
Depending on how long you’ll be traveling, and how often you’ll change areas in the city or cities you’re in, having a day stay hotel booked ahead of time could come in handy when you’re exhausted in the middle of the day with a large gap of time to yourself. By booking a daytime room at a luxury hotel, you’ll get all the amenities like a comfortable bed, quiet room with Wi-Fi, and shower for a fraction of what an overnight stay would cost.
2. Optimize Your Travel Plans
A well-optimized travel plan is the foundation to a hassle-free, enjoyable work trip. Spend some time putting together your calendar with all your commitments, from sales meetings and presentations, to your dinners, flights, and anything else you’ll be doing. Just remember to factor in some cushion time so you’re not rushing or cutting meetings short.
3. A Clean Body is a Clean Mind
This probably goes without saying, but keeping your hygiene at manageable levels on travel days will do wonders for your mindset. Brush your teeth after that black coffee, or check into a hotel for the day to take a relaxing shower and get ready. Feeling fresh can help you stay sharper and more confident in your meetings, particularly when you’re heading to one after another.
4. Wireless Internet, Uninterrupted
You’re only as good as your Internet connection when traveling. You can of course get a MiFi or other personal Internet solution to take along, but you’ll still need a distraction-free work environment to be productive. Certain cafes can inspire creativity, but you might also get stuck people watching, resulting in a drastic reduction of productivity. Working from a quiet, peaceful hotel room with a spacious desk and office chair is the best for focused work when you’re traveling.
5. Work in Sprints
The tricky part about traveling for work is balancing regular work responsibilities with the reason you’re traveling in the first place. It’s easy to get caught up in the conference you’re attending or the meetings you have lined up. The easiest way to make sure you still get your normal workload done without getting burnt out from travel commotion is to work in short and focused sprints. Have 30 minutes in the airport terminal before boarding? Compose some emails you’ve been putting off. And remember to save your files to your local device ahead of time so you can keep working in the event that you don’t have wireless access.
Have any travel productivity hacks you’d like to share? Post them in the comments below!