Four Tips for Effective Work Travel

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July 2, 2008

After traveling for business last week a couple thoughts came to mind regarding how to remain effective while on the road:

  1. Plan your work. Since there are likely extended periods that you will not be connected to the world and with proper planning you can get quite a bit of work done during those times. I will frequently envision what I can accomplish at various times throughout the trip and be ready when they come up. For example if I know I will be in a cab for 20 minutes I can plan a couple phone call and if I will be taking an hour commuter flight will print documents ahead of the flight that I can review an annotate.
  2. Pack the right tool. Once you know what needs to be accomplished and the type of work you will be able complete you will realize what tools need to be packed, like cell charges, phones, USB drives, files, printed documents, etc. I also recommend that you think about the type of travel you will do to identify the best tools for the long term, for example, I don’t travel frequently (usually only once a month) and as such I choose a laptop with a large screen that make it difficult to work on a plan. If you travel frequently it is best to tools that lend themselves to the type of work you will need to do in an enclosed area.
  3. Find moments to steal. Since your work is planned efficiently you will inevitably identify a number of tasks that can be done in shot time blocks. As you wait for a flight or in line you will be able to accomplish a number of the task that can be done in short bursts.
  4. Relax. Travel can be stressful, consider using some of “down time” created by the flights and waiting to relax. I usually plan to spend the last part of any flight to just enjoy some down time before I get back to the work at hand; or when traveling I will try to find a café or outdoor area that I can work to spur creativity and get more accomplished. Use the change of scenery to reinvigorate your senses.

To remain effective while I travel I use by Getting Things Done tools and some Zen Habits to maintain high energy and efficient result. With well planned travel it can be just as easy to work on the road as in the office.

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