| Tips for better business travel |
From what to pack to when to visit the loo...
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- Never put your laptop in your hold luggage, even if you're not using it during your flight.
- Get a big wallet that takes passport, tickets and receipts all together in one place.
- Buy a light travel bag that holds a change of clothes, laptop, charger, phone, pen, paper and has a handle, shoulder and backpack straps.
- Carry a couple of USB memory sticks because half the time you won't be able to connect your laptop to whatever projection system you're using and the only way to show off that vital presentation will be to stick the USB stick into the system's USB port.
- Stay healthy. On a plane, you need to keep hydrated to avoid getting tired. Take water and perhaps some fruit - and avoid coffee and alcohol. Take your own bottle of water on the plane. Even in business class they never come round with the drinks enough and it's too easy to get dehydrat
- If you travel a lot on the same route, you begin to realize the food rotates around a limited menu. Pretending to be a vegan or having other dietary requirements from time to time gives you a bit of variety.
- Move to the destination time zone as soon as you take off. Once there, live to that time zone immediately - even if this means going to sleep three hours sooner or later than you want to.
- Try to avoid working when you are travelling - the whole experience is bad enough without adding to the stress by having to complete your presentation before you land. Use the time to catch up on leisure reading and movies.
- In strange cities, if you can find out how best to get from the airport to your destination before you leave and the rough cost and time, everything will run a lot more smoothly.
- When returning from a transatlantic journey, have a short sleep on the flight but stay awake until your usual bedtime. I find this helps reduce jet lag.
- Bring your own music, especially if you want to work or sleep as you can use the headphones and mood music to work, sleep over other sounds, or silence talkative seat-mates when you want to work, sleep or relax.
- Always bring something you really look forward to reading. Thus, when the inevitable delays hit, you have a pleasurable way to distract yourself from the frustrations.
- Pack light, take only what you need. Don’t give yourself options. Make a decision on what you are going to wear – and just wear that.
- Don’t book the last flight. Things happen. Whenever you can, give yourself a back-up option.
- Get to the airport with time to spare. Given today’s security precautions, last minute arrivals can be a disaster.
- Eat before you get on the plane. You don’t have to eat it. While some components of air travel have gotten worse, others have improved. The quality of food and quantity of options at major airports is exponentially better today than it was thirty years ago. If you don’t have a chance to eat before you leave for the airport, you can still eat before you get on the plane.
- Don’t drink alcohol on the plane. If you are not going to sleep immediately, drinking does more harm than good.
- To help conquer jet lag, forget about where you have been – and be where you are. As soon as you board the plane, set you watch to the time zone where you are headed.
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