Out of Office: When Your Travel Plans Go from Bad to Worse, Try These Simple Shortcuts

This post is part of a series in which LinkedIn Influencers and members share their business travel advice and stories from life on the road. Read all the posts here.

I like to travel… except when I hate it. If you’re frequently on the road for work, you’ll know what I mean. When things are running smoothly — no traffic on the way to the airport, short lines at security (or even better, a TSA PreCheck line), plane and crew on site and ready for departure — I’m a happy camper. When they’re the opposite, you’ll find me at the nearest bar nursing a Chardonnay.

That said, I’ve been on the speaking circuit for about a dozen years now. What that means is that from March to May and again from September to November, I’m in airports and on planes a few times a week. (“Speech Season,” as we refer to it in my house, doesn’t extend into the summer, when few people want to convene on business, or the winter, when the weather means few people can.)

From those experiences, I’ve established a few Rules of the Road. Feel free to borrow them if they’re helpful. Even better, share yours with me.

Rule #1: Before All Else Fails… Punt. This past spring, on the very last leg of a five-day, four-city tour, my flight was cancelled. I spoke in Baltimore in the morning and was headed to Chicago around noon. Not arriving for dinner was not an option. When notice of the cancellation came over the loudspeaker, we were told to go back through security for rebooking on the next flight — at 5 p.m. — and I was no where near first out the door. So I pulled out my phone and called the airline's customer service. Luckily, it remembered me by my phone number, and I quickly got a person on the line. After ascertaining that they couldn’t put me on another flight out of Baltimore (no airline alliances blah, blah, blah) I asked when the next flight was out of D.C., and if they could put me on that. "Ninety minutes," he said. While he was finalizing the details, I was hopping in a cab. I made the flight and dinner. The lesson: Getting there is always the goal. As a frequent traveler, you can tell when things are going to go from bad to worse. Try to make other plans before that happens.

Rule #2: Start Early… and Assume You’ll Likely Be Late. You can’t control so much about travel these days. Weather happens. Crews time out. Planes need maintenance (at least that’s what they say — although it seems to me that’s what they say when, in fact, a crew has timed out). Get out of bed early and be on the first flight out of the airport. At least that way you’ll generally know that it’s come in the night before and is good to go. Similarly, build in sizable buffers to get yourself from one place (whether it’s an airport or a meeting) to the next. The worst that happens is that you’re early. There’s always a nearby Starbucks where you can plug in, access free Wi-Fi and recaffeinate. Actually being late is so much more stressful.

Rule #3: Don’t Change Your Watch. This doesn’t work overseas, but if you take a lot of short trips like I do, staying on home time makes a world of difference. It means you hit the gym in LA when it’s still dark out, order room service in Seattle before the coffee is ground for the day, and excuse yourself early from dinner to get a little shut-eye. But when you actually get home, there’s no adjustment to make. (Rule #3a: Pretend You’re Not Traveling works similarly and is particularly helpful while in transit. Just grab the most comfortable seat in the airport lounge that you can find, and get on your conference calls, edit your PowerPoints, and go about your day.)

Rule #4: Be Nice to Yourself. Even when everything goes well, travel is stressful. So, be nice to yourself. If given a choice, stay in the hotel with the nicer beds. Make time to exercise. Take yourself to the spa for a well-deserved pedicure or massage. And give yourself permission to stay in and watch "Rizzoli & Isles" instead of scheduling one meeting at day's end.

Rule #5: Eat at the Bar. It can get lonely on the road — and the best temporary companions are often at the bars of great restaurants and hotels. They’re the places where you can get meals that aren't just good, but reasonable. Ask the bartender what’s good or ask for a glass of a wine you wouldn’t have tried. Beyond that, you'll likely find interesting conversation to accompany both. I have met, among other folks, a Greek shipping magnate, a former WNBA player, actress Catherine Keener, recent grads (and their parents) of colleges my kids are considering, and a college classmate I never knew. All of which never would have happened if I stayed in my room.

Photo: Author's Own