Four Habits to Make Business Travel Healthier

Technology advancement has made possible for businesses and employees do just about anything virtually. Yet for all those advances, research shows time and again there’s simply no substitute for meeting face to face. At a personal level, business travel can be a great opportunity for one to meet with people from different parts of the world, experience different culture, and greatly enhance and expand your business experience. However, business travel can also add stresses to your already hectic life if you do not manage carefully. I have flew over two million miles in the last ten years and spent many long hours in the air over the pacific oceans. Here are a few things I do to manage travel.

Have a Packing Routine

Do not check luggage. Otherwise, Every minute you wait for luggage after 12 hours flight will feel like forever. It also avoids the headache of dealing with delayed or lost luggage which happens often. In addition, it forces you to be efficient with packing. I love packing cubes which make packing more efficient and organized. I use a Briggs & Riley roller bag and a tumi bag-pack. Between the two pieces of carryon luggages, I have traveled anywhere between a few days to two weeks. I only had to check in the roller bag once in Europe for the past ten years. I have a packing routine by packing each critical items into the same place every time, which saves time finding things and also help me mentally realize if I forget something. Here are a few additional items to consider: compressions socks, running shoes, universal adaptors, universal chargers, extra cash. For me, I almost always carry a camera as well.

Manage jet lag

Get good sleep. Some people try to plan when to sleep so that they can time the jet lags. Others use melatonin to help adjusting jet lags. My philosophy is to get as much sleep as I can on any long flights. I generally skip large meals and go to sleep early. Upon arrival, I always use exercise to get the body energized and refreshed. If I wake up early, I go to the gym for a tempo run. I find adjusting jet lag by exercising is a more proactive way of recharging the body. In addition, you will always end up eating more than what you body needs when you travel and some additional exercise probably never hurts.

Use the idle moment wisely

With such hectic travel schedule, idle time is hard to come by. Such idle moments are crucial for creativity. When your mind is able to wander, it is accessing memories, emotions and random bits of stored knowledge. The easiest way to kill time on a long flight is to switch on the TV and watch movies. I do occasionally watch a movie, but for the most part I use the time to do reading or writing. Most of my posted articles are written on long flights. You can also use this time to brainstorm new ideas and reimagine existing projects, or simply use the time to quietly reflect or mentally prepare the upcoming meetings.

Have a conversation with your neighbor when appropriate

Not everyone would be in a talking mood and many hesitate to initiate conversations with strangers. When appropriate, introduce yourself to your neighbor. By asking the right questions, you would be surprised how much you can learn from listening to people. I have had long conversation with many including a medical doctor who explained to me about the most recent developments on cancer research, a senior VP for a company that buys and leases airplanes explaining the international tax issues for leasing across border, an air traffic controller explaining to me how GPS technology improve fuels efficiency by allowing the optimization of flight route, a United manager explaining to me the integration issues after the merger between United and Continental. Just last month, I sat next to someone working in the US Embassy in Beijing and learned the collaborative work between the two governments on consumer product safety. Sometimes, I feel like I am back to business school discussing business cases with my classmates from different industries. The two things I generally consider off-limits for such discussions: politics and religion.

In summary, if business travel is part of your life, you should make it as less stressful as possible. At the same time, take advantage of the opportunities to learn from different cultures, different business, and different people to expand your horizon.

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