Showing posts with label business travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business travel. Show all posts
When you aren't at home for a days or weeks at a time, the hotel room quickly stops become an escape from the ordinary and instead become a stuffy, uncomfortable room. The mattress, pillow, lights, and shower aren't on the settings you prefer. I travel over 50% of the time for my job and a hotel room can be tough to get used to and still feel refreshed in the morning. I've learned some tricks of the trade that hopefully you can use too!
  1. Charging your tech gadgets
    • One of the grossest things is looking behind furniture for an outlet. A tip is to look to the gadgets that are already in use in the room. In particular, the TV. These days most modern TVs have HDMI and USB ports on the back of them. Just swivel it to the side and plug in your phone. 
  2. Privacy from housekeeping
    • It makes me nervous having people clean my stuff for me. I've come back at the end of the day to my makeup meticulously organized on the bathroom counter. Did they use it before placing it like that? I'll never know. Instead of wondering if they do something strange out of curiosity or intentional, just hang the "Do not disturb" sign on the door knob when you leave for the day. It will keep housekeeping out and your stuff untouched. Just remember to hang up your towel and reuse it (you do that at home anyways!).
  3. Ask for the minifridge
    • I do not like hotel breakfasts. I'd rather eat granola bars in the morning, even at home. If I'm in a new place for a week though, I prefer to go to the neighborhood grocery store and grab breakfast (and/or lunch and/or dinner) for the week. Most hotel chains have a fridge (with microwave combos) that are on rolling carts. Sometimes there is a fee associated with it, but often there isn't. Then you can keep your juice cold until morning. :-)
Okay, I'm from a microbrew hub in Boulder and Denver Colorado area so when I travel and am seeking out a beer, I want something other than a Coors that I can get, well, anywhere.When in Iowa I enjoyed the beer below, and in Ohio I tried the holiday seasonal beers of Great Lakes and Southern Tier. It's a treat to try the new flavors, hang with friends, and enjoy a nice cold brew while on the road.

  • Chemically relax
    • Beer (and other alcoholic beverages) have alcohol that impair your senses by relaxing your nerves and slowing you down. When you're on the road traveling you have a lot of stress so looking to alcohol as an induced way to reduce stress isn't always a bad thing. Travel takes its toll on you so I think you can take all the help you can get to feel refreshed the next day. Of course, do use moderation, in travel and beer. :-) 
  • Socialize
    • If you are out on the town getting tipsy in a unknown area, make sure to bring a friend. Especially women, don't drink alone! For many reasons, but showing others your non-business side can sometimes ease the tension at work when you return. Makes you seem more human and you can connect on something other than the project you're working on.
  • Support local
    • As you might have read in my coffee post, I'm a big fan of small businesses. Drinking the microbrew at a pub near you instead of the conglomerate at a restaurant chain is supporting two startups at once. You get learn about the place you're visiting on a whole new level and that's not something you can get at home.
If you drink, make sure to be safe and don't drink and drive! There's a hotel bar, walking, or a fridge in your room. Be safe!
    Coffee is still one of the most common beverages in the US. And it makes a great gift that you can share with friends and family at home. It's a little piece of heaven in my opinion. It is warm, invigorating, and inviting. It wakes you up and tastes delicious. And whether you like it with sugar (would you like some coffee with your Starbucks Frappuccino?) or straight, coffee is awesome while you travel AND a great thing to savor afterwards.


    1. Easy to transport
      • It isn't breakable or a liquid so whether a checked bag or carry on, it can get crammed, bumped, and compacted without any damage to the product itself. With the internet and delivery businesses, if you find something you really like you can usually order it again online.
    2. It doesn't perish
      • I buy coffee beans that we grind at home and the nice thing about beans is that the shelf life is really long. It doesn't go bad like other foods like chocolate that might melt. So whether your family and friends enjoy it the next day or it stays in a cupboard until you visit again, it doesn't matter. Coffee can be used in all types of cooking so you don't have to even own a coffee pot (or French press or otherwise). Think chili, coffee-rubbed steak, or mocha chocolate cake. Some people just enjoy the smell and use it as decor!
    3. Support local businesses
      • If I travel to another city for business, I like to do more than just work. I don't always get the luxury of free time to explore (especially in the winter right now when it's dark before 5:00 pm) but I can still seek out some of the local flavors and people. There is almost always a locally owned coffee house that's not Starbucks and you can go in, see the architecture and decor styling, talk to the barista, and enjoy their specialty roasts. You get to support small businesses and entrepreneurs and you get to learn about the city and what makes it like no where else in the world.
    I travel for business. A lot. I go through the motions of checking in, driving to the airport, parking, going through security, finding my gate, and boarding the plane all the time. I would like to think I've got it down to a tried and true method these days that allow me to zoom from the parking lot to the gate at DIA in 15 minutes. Now if you aren't as experienced as me with as many miles, it may take you longer, but here are some tips to shave off a few minutes and a lot of extra hassle.
    1. Parking
      • Many times you are in such a hurried worry to make your plane that finding a parking space is just added stress. So once you find one, you take it and run off. It leaves a lot of regret for when you return and can't remember where you parked! My tip: take a picture of your car and/or the nearest location sign. Then you won't have to remember it, your camera remembers for you! This saved me more than once, especially when I came back from a sunny CA to a snowy zero degree CO.
    2. Security
      • The added security at airports these days is pretty time consuming. They check your bags, your electronics, your shoes, your pockets, your ticket, everything. One of the most frustrating things I run into is taking out my ID for security guards and airline attendants. Your hands are full I know, but I will roll my eyes at you if your ahead of me in line and struggling with your ID. My tip is to add a Post-it sticky note flag tab to your ID card. It makes pulling it out of the plastic sleeve super easy!
    3. Gate check
      • If you check a bag, you have to be there at least 45 minutes before boarding for the airline to guarantee your luggage will make it on the plane with you. If you don't (and you pack accordingly) then you can save a buck. But if you've got a transfer it is a pain to haul it around. It is a pain worrying about if there will be space in the overhead bins. Just gate check your bag! IMO at larger airports it take you that long to walk through the terminals anyways and it is in the same place as transportation so you don't lose much time.
    It is always about half way through the second week that the small talk turns a bit more personal. You've covered the weather, local restaurants, feelings about the project, etc. and you're out of polite conversation. It's not that you aren't friendly but you know that you won't ever see these people again after the project is over. So how much do you share about yourself? What types of questions can you ask to keep conversations at a safe distance?


    1. Local Weekend Vacation Spots
      • Telling a good story can easily go on for many minutes and if you are visiting a client long term, then asking about what to do for fun on the weekends can be two sided. Do you go to the local state park, the near-by waterway, downtown bars, or the museum? Close or far? It is a friendly topic that you can learn about someone else on a personal level, what they like and don't like, without getting awkward.
    2. Movies
      • There is always something new coming to the local theater near you (like Jurassic World or Inside Out this week!). Whether you like romance or action, silly or serious, there is probably something you can share about a favorite actor/actress or director. A lot of movies these days are remakes or sequels or TV shows are still safe topics. This is great too because you can search or watch something new in your hotel at night to to brush up on their favorites if you need to take that extra step to make friends.
    3. Sports
      • This does have the stipulation of actually knowing about sports, but if you hit a nerve you can have a great thing in common that will forever be a go-to conversation starter. I love football (as you know from reading my blog), but if you talk about college basketball, you've lost me. Even if it's not your thing though, it may be theirs and they will be happy to talk about their trips to the stadium, trading players, and whatever other gossip is in the news.
    I just got invited to become one with Denver's Yelp Elite Squad! Check out my reviews if you're interested. I travel a lot for work and I rely on Yelp to find the good food spots and am glad to share my finds for future out-of-towners. Finding the non-chain places adds an hour of adventure to my necessary on-the-road work. Joining this trend-setter group and following the popular crowd is not something I usually do but there are some pluses to being the leader in social circles.
    1. Forces You to Explore
      • I love trying new things. I've eaten raw quail egg, cooked donkey, fried chicken feet, and duck liver (froi gras). When you are the leader, if you say eww then those behind you will likely follow suit and stay away. If you try it, then you give the option to those behind you to make their own choice. It is encouraging to watch someone else try the unknown first and give other confidence to follow suit!
    2. Describe in Detail
      • You better quickly tell me why this is a 5-star place, especially if my first impressions walking in are not that great. Ambiance, quality, flavor, anything can make remove/add a star. Like if they deliver and it is soggy when you get to your room. Or the knowledge of the server on wine pairings. Maybe what you like isn't the same as others so you need to be specific about what drew you in or drove you away.
    3. One time wonder or becoming a regular
      • There are some coffee shops that are fun and then there are those that you return to again and again. If I travel and visit a place more than once, it is definitely a keeper. If you start being recognized and there is consistency in temperature and taste from visit to visit, they may earn a picture. :-) There is something really special about these places and my goal is to find them everywhere!
    Thanks for visiting!

    I've started traveling to client sites on a regular basis which means simultaneous more face time and less face time, one with clients and the other with family. It is an interesting give and take which makes the "work-life balance" definition even more skewed. I love the traveling honestly and can easily switch between "work hard hotel mode" and "lazy at home mode". Others may have more difficulty so here are some of my mental tricks that might help you if you too travel frequently for business.
    1. Make home, home only
      • I know the first thing you want to do when you get home is relax, but before you do anything else, you should unpack and put away the suitcase. If you leave out the packed clothes and the suitcase, you and your family will see it and be reminded of how often you are gone. You don't want to have one foot out the door when you are home.
    2. You are on their time
      • In the airport and on the plane, you do not have control over late passengers, the weather, or mechanically delayed flights. The moment I begin the traveling, I go into a zen state in which I practice believing that no matter what happens I don't care and will wait until the traveling is done when I can control my own time again. Remember it is always better to have arrived late than not at all.
    3. Savor the alone time
      • Hotel rooms can be awkward and quiet, and planes can be stuffy and cramped, but the uncomfortable time you spend in these places is time you are not somewhere else (like with your family). Splurg on the glass of wine, watch that chick flick, take a nap. Do the "me things" in the small spaces you can so when you are home you can dedicate yourself 100% to the people that miss you.



    This blog post? Written on my flight home on Southwest. Sharing my thoughts on this blog with you is how I enjoy spending my personal time. I hope it helps give you some insight into how you can mentally relax a bit more when those business trips call you away.

    About Me



    So if you want to be happy at work like I am, then thanks for being a reader! I am a consultant that travels constantly and is always working with new people. I love what I do! I'm formally trained with an MBA and BS Engineering. At home and in my free time, I like to drink beer, travel, garden, read, hike with my dog, and play board games.

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