Business Travel

Making Business Travel Fun

Adding Adventure to Your Travel!
Almost everyone who travels for business seems to complain about it, which is really too bad because business travel can be fun!

Last year I went on an intensive thirty-city book tour, packed with media interviews and seminars often starting at five in the morning and ending at nine at night-but I had a great time!

In every city I tried to do something interesting and different even on busy days. Otherwise I find that if you sit in your hotel room at the end of the day you feel tired, bored, and anxious to get home. But if you go to the theater, a horse show, a jazz club, a museum, a unique store-suddenly your whole trip seems more like an adventure and less like another long business meeting.

Feeling At Home on The Road
Another thing that works for me in making business travel fun is trying to catch up with old business acquaintances or friends along the way.

Suppose you don't have friends in cities you're going to? Then bring your own!

Last year, particularly when I was going to be away for weeks at a time, I had my wife and kids meet me a couple of times in distant cities. Not only did we all have a lot of fun--but the kids saw a lot of historical sites as well. In fact, they keep asking when they can go on a trip again. To be sure, I probably wouldn't again take my three- and five-year-old to appointments in the Congressional Office Building, which they confused with an indoor playground, but overall the trips they joined me on were a big success.

Perhaps the most important aspect of having your family join you even on an occasional business trip is that you are more likely to defray the tension or resentment that often builds when one parent or spouse is frequently away on business travel.

Staying Healthy Away From Home
Part of the problem with business travel is that you often end up feeling tired, feeling run-down, or actually getting sick. This isn't any fun at all! But usually it is avoidable!

It is particularly important when traveling to exercise, eat, and sleep as regularly as you can. Air or car travel, long meetings, time-zone changes, and heavy food all work against you--so you need to go out of your way to stay healthy!

Exercise is particularly important because when traveling you tend to spend lots of time sitting-on planes, in cars, in waiting rooms, and at meetings. Try to find hotels with pools or exercise rooms, or just exercise in your room. Twenty minutes of exercise at least three hours before bedtime is going to help you sleep better and feel more full of energy.

Don't overeat! Today it's more socially acceptable to order light meals even at business meetings and to order decaffeinated coffee instead of an extra after-dinner drink.

Success Strategies for Air Travel
For travel by plane, I think the most important rule is to have low expectations. Don't expect to arrive on time . . . and don't count on your plane leaving on time. Otherwise you'll be a constantly disappointed traveler.

And never, ever, check your bags! Pack your bags as lightly as you possibly can or get bags with wheels if you can't easily lift them.

Avoid the big airports. Fly out of Newark instead of Kennedy, Providence instead of Logan, Baltimore instead of National. Big airports mean traffic on the ground and traffic in the sky--increasing your chances of being locked in holding patterns.

Don't drink alcoholic beverages in flight--they'll tire you right out--but drink some water, soda, or juice throughout each flight, especially long flights.

Finally, when the plane arrives, don't jump up and stand in the aisle for five or six minutes. Instead, relax in your seat with a magazine and stroll off the plane with a smile on your face after the crowd has dispersed.

Take the Train for a Change!
For travel between major northeastern U.S. cities and especially in Europe, I highly recommend train travel.

On a few routes, like Boston to New York, or New York to Washington, travel time on a train city-center-to-city-center is comparable to flying because of the time spent going back and forth to airports.

But even when the travel time may be a little longer, I still prefer the train. I arrive relaxed, and I get more work done on the train than I do when working in my office.

Even the coach seats on the train are as big as first-class seats on a plane. Club service on many routes provides a half-decent meal.

Like planes, trains do often run late, but there are side benefits. If, like me, you have a model railroad in your basement, you can get new ideas of what to model--or if you don't, you can just enjoy the scenery.