Business travel can be exhausting. Packing and unpacking. Planes, trains, taxis and rental cars. Different time zones. Endless meetings. Even while on a business trip, work-life balance is possible. As with most goals, it starts with planning and scheduling.
Here are 5 tips for planning your work-life balance on your business trip:
1. Prioritize.
Prioritize what needs to be done based on the intended outcome of the trip. Are you there to close a deal? Is networking your main goal? Are you attending a conference where certain presentations are more important than others? Know what you should attend and what you don’t need to include.
2. Schedule appointments before you arrive.
By scheduling your appointments in advance, you’ll have a solid plan for your trip. You will be able to prepare for those appointments before you arrive and thus have a more successful trip. You don’t want to cut into your work time trying to find a quiet place to make calls and then making those calls.
3. Time to eat.
Eating healthy on the go is challenging enough without the added pressure of time. Schedule enough time to find, travel to (and from), and eat your meals taking into account wait time, type of restaurant, and check payment. A relaxed lunch breaks up any busy day in or out of the office. Also, who wants to eat delivery at their hotel at 9:30 pm?
4. Free time.
Schedule a free morning, afternoon, day or weekend during your trip. Take advantage of this time before, during or after your trip. Including leisure time during your business trips is an easy way to create a work-life balance and enjoy where you’ve traveled. Fifty-three percent of Americans often associate free time with business travel, according to a TripAdvisor survey. Michele Perry, TripAdvisor’s director of communications, commented: “It’s interesting that so many business travelers add leisure time to their business trips, and may help explain why so many enjoy business travel.”
5. Make personal calls.
Schedule time during your trip to call family and/or close friends. This will not only give you a breather, but it will also keep you out of the pound with certain people. It adds that often overlooked element of life to your business trip.
Work-life balance is possible on business travel if you plan and schedule it. Here’s to bringing your next business trip to life!
