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Tips From Road Warriors for Road Warriors

Can you pick your fellow road warrior out of a crowded security line?  He or she is probably the one rolling their eyes at the person in front of them who is frantically emptying their pockets and having to be reminded to take out their laptop.  You share a momentary, consolatory glance as you stand ready and waiting-- lap top unpacked, shoes off, all systems go.

In the same way our commuter culture triggered the onset of road rage, airlines are now reporting incidences of air rage where frequent travelers actually lose not unlike scenes from the movies Meet the Parents and Anger Management.

After scanning the major blogs and publications, we found that the best tips on surviving travel and maintaining relationships when you are traveling came from the road warriors themselves—particularly people who work in the consulting profession.  Each has designed a unique system for maintaining sanity during regular business travel.  We have compiled these tips into a quick tips cheat that you can use to hone your personal system.

The Nature of Travel:  Stress Management
Travel by its very nature is stressful and getting more so.  No matter how calm you are, the actual act of traveling raises the body’s stress levels.  Being prepared and getting to the airport early clearly helps reduce the impact of this stress but there are a few other tips that help as well:

• Consider using travel time not as an extension of your work day but for personal relaxation whether it be meditation, movie watching, hobby reading, or music marathon
• Have a pre-set disconnect time each night. When we are away from our friends and family, it is easy to work into the wee-hours without a break causing there to be not enough of us left over when we get home.
• When you get to your hotel room don’t immediately turn on the laptop and CNN.  Take a bath, shower, or exercise break.
• If you watch TV, stretch while you watch

Making Yourself At Home

• Bring a candle or scent that makes you feel more at home in the hotel
• Bring a pillow case or a significant other’s shirt to sleep with

Quick Tips

• Pack your clothes in the bags from the dry cleaners still on the hangers as they can be hung up quickly in the hotel and wrinkle less.
• Keep 2 sets of toiletries—one at home and one in your carry on
• Consider getting a personal id card in addition to your license or an extra copy of your license for use at the airport.

Staying Connected

• Bring a favorite book of a loved one at home and read it to them over the phone
• Record a tape of you playing your favorite instrument or of meaningful songs and leave it when you go
• Send a note on the hotel post cards and have the front desk mail it for you
• Leave a surprise behind or bring one home
• Make a call in the evenings to someone you have been meaning to connect with
• Appreciate the person at home.  Understand that while travel is stressful our significant others are balancing the home demands on their own and may need to feel appreciated and cared about.
• “Throw soft balls”.  When you get home from a trip, it may be difficult to transition from the “away” to “home” mode so agree with your significant other to only throw verbal softballs until you are both rested and caught up.
• Negotiate and communicate.  One way to help keep relationships on track during extended periods of travel is to pre-negotiate how you will manage the impacts of travel and to communicate often to ensure that it is working.
• Know when its time to disengage.  It is hard to disengage from the rush of the airport to dinner at home.  Do activities on the plane that help you come home ready and present.
• If you have kids, your significant other may not have had any “off duty” time while you were gone and they may be expecting a break.  Plan ahead for how you can meet this need.