How to travel like a Boss.

For the past few months, I’ve been travelling to meet new people and follow up on opportunities that can help Unedited become more established. You’ll see photos of me in America, the UAE, or Europe; it all looks glamorous. It’s not quite jet-setting. It's more likely to be EasyJet and other budget flight operators, which don't feel that impressive when you have a 6 a.m. flight, and you have to leave home at 3.45 a.m.

While packing for Jamaica last week, with an eye on Berlin next week, I was inspired to write this month's article. This is an odd blog, not the usual audio industry insights. However, if you’re going to make boss moves, you will experience travelling like a boss - whether that’s an international week-long conference or an overnight trip to Newport ahead of an early start the next morning.

After years of DJing with the Warner Music/East West Street team (salute Hakeem, for hiring me), I find packing for a trip easier. I could be called for a gig across the UK or overseas anytime during the preceding week. The call would usually come on a Wednesday or Thursday, and we would have to be on a motorway or at a train station by 6 p.m. on Friday.?

DJing wasn’t my day job, so I created a Ready-To-Go Bag: an old lightweight gym bag with enough to keep me clothed and fresh until I needed to return to work on Monday morning. I’ve kept those principles with me while travelling for short business trips. As much as I can, I don’t check in any luggage. Instead, I juggle everything between my carry-on allowance and a personal item (usually a small rucksack or duffle bag). Hopefully, sharing my Ready-To-Go principles here will help you take the headache out of making packing choices for your travels. Firstly, the basics.

1. Pack one pair of trousers. These trips are often functional, so take clothes you can work in as a priority. At a push, you can wear one pair of jeans all weekend. However, I prefer to travel in jeans and pack an extra pair of chinos or similar. For three days, that should be enough. I’ll talk about your ‘fancy clothes’ later.
2. Pack two shirt options for each pair of trousers. This is where you can be more creative with your choices. I go for two T-shirts and two other tops, e.g., a jumper or button shirt. Think functional. These should be the tops you can wear for an impromptu coffee meeting, a strategic lunch, or casual drinks at the hotel bar. Nothing too fancy, though.
3. Take three types of shoes. Footwear is my Achilles heel (no pun intended) for two reasons. With my size 13 US feet, one pair of trainers can take up half the carry-on luggage space. Additionally, I have a thing for shoes, so I usually can’t decide which ones to pack. So here’s my compromise: I travel wearing a pair of trainers (usually white), and I put my smart shoes and a pair of shower slippers in my carry-on in my personal bag. I also love socks so picking out a new pair for each morning, stuffed in the shoes, makes me feel special.
4. Underwear ‘plus one’. TMI but this is about being practical so let’s dive in. Quick maths: I work out how many nights I will be away and pack one more pair of boxers. If I have a little pocket of space when everything is packed, I will spoil myself with another underwear or sock option.
5. Rolling over folding. Even with the discipline of everything above and not wanting to mess too much with toiletries, I try to give myself as much space as possible. I roll all the clothes and place them in compression packing cubes to optimise the space.?
6. Put the outfit in your personal bag or suit carrier. If the trip is for a speaking engagement or a swanky do, I keep my stage wear separate from the other clothes as much as possible. This does two things to help me pack: first if I have to change at the venue when I arrive at the destination, I can leave my carry-on luggage at the hotel and pick up the personal bag.
7. You don’t need all your tech. I always want to take as much as possible if I need that extra cable or adaptor. However, I have narrowed it down to a mini Apple tablet, tablet stand, Bluetooth keyboard, speaker, and phone. I have a travel charger and a multi-cable with every adapter: USB Type-C, micro and Apple Lightning. Unless I need to, I don’t take a laptop. Any heavy editing or mixing will have to wait until I get back. My noise-cancelling headphones for the plane are in my personal bag, and my Bluetooth in-ear headphones stay in my jacket pocket. Finally, I have a trusty 10,000 mah power bank.
8. Toiletries bag. This was a straightforward purchase from a popular online retailer. When I return, I refill everything from my bathroom supplies.

To make this all work, I need a strict routine which is scheduled into my diary before and during the trip:?

• An appointment the weekend before travel to pack my bags,
• a reminder starting the night before the trip, and every night I’m away, to charge all electronic devices and
• Screenshots of flight and hotel confirmations in case there is no mobile data signal on arrival.

On my return from the trip, I have another diary reminder to ‘unpack’ and ‘follow up new contacts’ within 72 hours - often on the nearest Friday or Monday.?

It’s a deliberate process - a systemised way of doing things that makes it efficient. All of these ‘systems’ can feel rigid; however, knowing that everything is sorted and ‘good to go’ allows me to focus on the purpose of the trip: meeting new people, doing great business, and being excited about future possibilities. Now, travel safely and don’t forget your passport.

Do you have any handy travel tips? Don’t hesitate to drop me a line on LinkedIn.

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