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There are many reasons you might have to travel for work. It could be that you need to attend meetings and conferences, you might need to meet clients, or perhaps you drive trucks and need to transport items from one place to another. No matter the reason, being on the road can be a nice change of scenery, but it can also be taxing so you want to ensure you are as prepared as you can. This makes for a much more enjoyable trip that will also be more productive both for you and for your employer. Whether you’ve travelled for work many times before or are just starting and wonder where to begin, we have put together some top tips to help you along the way.
Try and pack as lightly as you can
When you are on the road, you don’t want to be lugging around a large suitcase where you can’t find anything. It can be very tempting to overpack and bring a wide plethora of things for any “just in case” moments, but all you will be doing is making life harder for yourself. Plus, you will end up with a load more washing when you get home. In order to avoid this, take a look at your plan for the trip ahead and decide on specific outfits for each event. Things such as trousers you can wear again, styling it with different tops, saving yourself even more room. By having less items with you, it also means you can bring a carry-on if you are flying and don’t need to go through all the hassle of checking a bag in and having to wait for it when you land on the other side. It’s a win-win situation!
Give yourself some downtime
When you are on a business trip, you will have your days spent meeting clients, on the road or at conferences. While this is all well and good, you’ll find that each time you check your inbox, the messages are racking up. This can mean you spend your evenings and any spare time you have, replying to messages and not allowing yourself any time to relax. Not only will you feel more stressed and be unable to focus on the task at hand, but it could also lead to burnout which means your whole trip could be less successful. Instead, put your out of office on, have someone back home sort out your admin and allow yourself time to just do nothing, relax and rejuvenate.
Ensure your vehicle is fit for purpose
When you are driving on the road for work, it’s vital your car, lorry or van is fit for purpose. From checking performance parts such as 12 valve cummins injectors to upgrade your system, to other vital vehicle components, it’s one thing you need to check. Be sure to look at the tire pressure and other components in the car such as your washer fluid and oil levels too. If you have a very long drive ahead, it could be worth getting it taken in for a service and be sure to check out the rest stops and fuel stations on your route as you might end up having to spend a lot of money otherwise!
Give yourself rest breaks on long journeys
Whether you are travelling by car, plane or train, you need to ensure you have rest periods on your journey. If you make an itinerary that is too jam-packed, not only will you be shattered when you arrive, but you will also not be able to make the most of your time in your destination. It can also mean that if there is traffic, plane delays or something else, the rest of your schedule is thrown off. A general consensus is that it’s best to fly or travel at least a day before so you can relax, get settled in and prepare for the trip ahead.
Keep all your receipts
When you are heading away on business, the first thing your employer might ask you to do is to keep all your receipts. This is so they can claim the meals back as well as a number of other items on your trip and offset them on their business tax return. Often employers will ask this of you, but if they don’t, try and keep your receipts anyway!
Try to eat healthily
When you are away on business, particularly if you are entertaining clients, you can find that you are going out for dinner and drinks a lot of the time. While this sounds delicious in theory, you may soon find that you’ve piled on a few pounds. Eating out and drinking alcohol regularly can cause you to put on weight very quickly and lead you to not feeling good about yourself and your clothes not fitting so well anymore! To combat this, limit yourself to just drinking on one or two days when you are away on business and try to opt for slimline options if they are on the menu.
Utilise company reward points and perks
Many travel companies out there on the market offer reward points and perks if you continue to use them. Airlines are notorious for it, so if you are looking to collect a good amount of points, it’s a good idea to always fly with the same airline. They can often give you points which can then be used for perks such as future flights, upgrades in your experience and money off your flights or other items. It might enable you to have a glass of champagne on board, to book a flight for cheaper, or live in the lap of luxury up in first glass.
Pack clothes for both business and downtime
When you are on business, it’s vital you remember to bring not only smart clothes for the days ahead, but also clothes to lounge about and relax in, such as in the evenings after a long and heavy day of working. Whether you pack your faouvirte pair of pyjamas or something cheery that reminds you of home, the choice is yours! Many people focus so hard on the clothes that will be needed for the trip, they forget there will be times when they can just wander to the shop or sit around watching TV in an evening. If your hotel or accommodation has a gym or pool, this is something you want to check ahead of time and it can be a great way to keep fit while on the road.
Set boundaries
When you are going away from colleagues and particularly your boss, it can be easy to slip into a friends mode. After all, you know each other well, work together and get on. Yet it’s important you keep it semi-professional. Just because you know them might not mean you want to spend every meal with them. Also, if you go out for drinks make sure you don’t have too much and that you get drunk and say or something you regret. Remember you have to speak to and be with these people every day back home so you don’t want to embarrass yourself!
Create a realistic itinerary before you go
Prior to your trip, put together an itinerary. This will help you know where you are going and what you are doing, as well as avoid any disputes for things such as where to go for dinner if reservations have been made already. Make sure to factor in downtime, particularly on the day you arrive and go and don’t cram everything in really close together. This will make it that bit easier to have an itinerary when you travel for work.
Consider tagging on a few days at the end if you are going abroad
If you need to go abroad for your work trip, why not tag on a few days and make it into a holiday? Some places are just begging to be explored and if you are put off due to not having time, why not fly out or drive a few days earlier or later? This way you get the best of both worlds and it can be something fun to do on the trip. You could ask a friend or family member to come out and meet you and have a few days together exploring the destination you’re at.
As said above, business travel can be a great way to have a change of scenery and mean that you aren’t just stuck in the office all the time. You get the chance to see new places, meet new people and do something a bit different. Yet it can get taxing when you are away from home, so you want to make sure you are as organized as you can be. Do you regularly have to go away for work? Or are you off on your first trip soon? If so, which of these tips are you going to try? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you!
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