How do you manage your own workload and well-being when your boss is traveling?

In my opinion, planning ahead is the key aspect for a smooth trip for your exec. I like to make there calendar the one source of truth, so they only have to check in one place to find everything they need. This means I add all information here including: boarding passes and travel docs, access codes, travel block times (even if they’re walking), event info, info on the person they’re meeting, agendas, quirks they need to know, contact numbers etc. I also confirm all appointments the day before and ensure it’s marked as such in the calendar. Each morning (or evening depending on the timezone) I send them a “daily summary” for the day ahead. Each day I am also checking for any delays and adjusting things accordingly.

It is for me the perfect time to archive some documents, clean the area of unnecessary papers/documents. Plan in advance certain meetings with too many people involved. Time to lunch with colleagues you never have a chance to see.

Effective workload management involves setting priorities, for me it's always about priorities and creating a schedule. Regular breaks for wellbeing are important, take time out for a cup of coffee and a chat. Communicating with my boss throughout his travels is key so that we both are aligned on tasks and expectations, things happen quickly and things change quickly being adaptable is key.

It goes without saying that this is prepared in advance, that discussions have taken place with your boss before her/his departure, and that the logistics are more than fixed. Decisions have also been taken, and the agenda reviewed and modified to facilitate time management for this trip. All documents have been prepared and handed over to the manager. You have already contacted an EA colleague (at the client's site or in one of our offices abroad) to take over on site and ensure that everything is in line with my boss's expectations. He or she will be your eyes and ears on site, and it gives everyone peace of mind to know that we have an operational employee to deal with any eventuality.

In the past I have researched everything in advance. Locations, transport, bios, restaurants, hotels, meeting requirements, dress codes, etc. Once I have everything I need I can start to book the relevant meetings and work out flights & hotels and Visas and foreign currency. I prepare a pack for each meeting each day, with background on all the attendees, photos of them (so my boss knows who is who), meeting papers, restaurant info & menus. I organise drivers to pick up and drop off from every location. I gave my boss a zip lock so he could pop all his receipts in and hand back to me to expense.

After each trip, I like do a mini-retro. They run through key highlights/actions from the meetings or events so I know if any follow ups etc are needed. We chat about how the trip went logistically to see if there’s anything we need to improve for next time and also how it went from a “useful or not” lens. Any learnings I add to my travel bible notes, which I constantly keep updated and refer to when booking any trip.

I usually like to have a quick post-mortem to see how the travel/event/misc went. Here, I would take notes from our conversation and keep it on file so should we do this event again (like a CES or Cannes) you can compare your notes to see how you can make it more efficient for them as well as how you planned your day out around them while they were away.

You'll have to learn to manage on the fly and be ready for what can and will happen! Help yourself by connecting with other EA's or project managers to gain insight on best practices and how to juggle everything at once. What worked once may not the second time around so you need to learn to adapt and keep it going. Good luck!

One thing I love about when my exec is travelling, is utilising the time where they don’t need you to work through some of my wider tasks (ones that usually get pushed to the bottom of the pile). So once I’ve done my daily prep and check-in on logistics for the trip that’s happening, I will jump into some tasks I’ve been pushing. Of course you have to be ready to jump into support any issues that might crop up, but otherwise I turn my “deep work - slow replies” status on in slack and I focus on shifting some of those tasks I usually struggle to find time for. Once my exec is back, I usually feel like I’ve made real progress and no longer have those other tasks hanging I’ve time!