How to Stay Productive During Business Travel

Friday, March 25, 2016

Find here some great tips on how to be productive during your business travel!

Even if you’re a veteran business traveler, being away from your desk presents a series of unique challenges that can really shake up your normal work routine. In your home office, everything you need to stay productive is easily accessible. But when you’re gearing up to head out on the road, finding Wi-Fi hotspots, charging stations and quiet places for organizing your day are sometimes few and far between. Before preparing for your next business trip, you might consider using some of these valuable productivity tips that can help you stay on task while you’re away from the office. Put in Time for Professional Development – Download Podcasts To continue adding to your value as an employee and a professional, one way to stay abreast of the changing landscape within your field is by downloading podcasts from industry thought leaders. This also works great for subjects that interest you in general business categories as well. So when you feel like brushing up on your interpersonal skills before a client meeting or learning how to develop an effective elevator pitch, podcasts offer a wealth of useful information. And if podcasts aren’t your thing, you can even find this same type of information, in video format, through a simple YouTube search. Plot out Wi-Fi Access Ahead of Time Today, most major airline carriers offer Wi-Fi access as part of their in-flight service. Another option is to purchase an internet service plan before you leave from providers like Gogo, which gives you in-flight web access on several of the top airlines. For airports, many provide Wi-Fi hotspots in and around terminals or in business lounges for busy travelers, but it’s still sometimes difficult to find private areas to do your work, or there are fees attached to joining a lounge. The best option in this case is making certain you have internet availability at your home away from home to avoid hefty data usage and to stay in touch with all of your files, emails and everything else you have at home. Organize Your Schedule Business travel typically involves back-to-back meetings and frequent updates to your home office on how things are progressing. Before you step off into the dis-organizational vortex that is business travel, take a moment to plot out your flight and meeting schedule, meals and any other expected anomalies you’ll likely encounter once you touch ground. If gate changes, airport security wait times and layover time changes could affect your ability to keep a tight schedule, you can also download the GateGuru app to know what your expectations should be. That way you can let your clients know if there are hiccups occurring to your planned timetable and sync up new meeting times accordingly. Jot Down New Ideas When you’re caught up in the day-to-day at the office, it can be difficult to get a clear picture of how things can be improved at work strategically. However, flying from one city to another usually gives you a few hours of breathing room, and can be a great time to come up with creative approaches to being more efficient and productive. If you need an all-in-one app and desktop software designed for saving notes, pictures and sound-bites while you’re on the go, Evernote offers a seamless and organized solution. You should also know that it allows you to collaborate with your coworkers who are traveling alongside you, at the office or in faraway destinations to keep everyone in the loop. Plan a City Outing It may not seem productive in a strict business sense, but getting out and enjoying the city you’re visiting is guaranteed to make business travel less exhausting, and ultimately make you more clear-headed. Traveling to a major city, check out tips for New York and San Francisco. So don’t be afraid to take advantage of being in a new locale and treating yourself to your new surroundings, either by visiting points of interest or just getting out and mingling with the locals. You may find it boosts your productivity more than you’d expect!