You can tell an experienced business traveler from one who is
new to the experience. It is easy for
someone new to business travel to participate in excesses on the road. As business traveler, you are an adult and
you are trusted by your company to conduct yourself in a businesslike fashion
during your time out representing the firm.
But it is easy to let the idea of an expense account and free time in a
far away town get the best of you and to let yourself go as you travel.
These kinds of excesses are the types of behavior that you
will see an experienced business traveler avoid. If you are setting out on a lengthy business
trip perhaps lasting many weeks and traversing many cities, the road itself can
take a toll on your health and well being.
The disruption to your normal life patterns, the hard work and the
stress of making connections and moving from town tot own can introduce levels
of fatigue that can take a toll and even lead to illness on the road. And there is no more unpleasant experience
than to be ill while traveling for business and to still have to do your duties
despite your poor health.
It is for this reason that observing some strict rules of
good living on the road will pay off over the life of the trip and make the
rigors of travel much less serious. Much
of the discipline of business travel involves simply introducing a daily
routine to your life that includes some healthy activities so you can keep your
physical, mental and emotional state in good shape and ready for business each
and every day. Some simple but effective
rules to live by for a healthy business travel experience include…
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Sleep routines.
A good nights sleep is something we take for granted. And to get into a rested state takes more than
just a bed and an alarm clock. You have
routines at home that you use to cycle down toward rest. Adapt those to life on the road and allow
yourself that hour before bed to get ready to rest as well as ample time to
rest as well as sleep. Both are necessary
for good health.
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Regular exercise. Most hotels have an exercise room or pool you
can use to get some motion into your muscles.
Sitting in airplanes or conference rooms can cramp your muscles and keep
you from maintaining good flexibility in your muscles. Even if it is nothing more than taking a walk
after dinner or doing some simple exercises at night in the hotel, give your
body some movement so stretch those muscles and get some fresh oxygen into your
blood.
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Time not working. For the sake of your mental health, take some
time just for you. If you are in a town
that has some fun things to see, get away from the business side of business
travel and go to the zoo or a museum or see an attraction to give your mind a
break from the stress of business. And
take a few hours at night to relax in the hotel and read a book or watch your
favorite TV show. You need that mental
down time to recuperate and process all that is going on during your trip.
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Good foods.
Don’t cave into the temptation to eat fast food. Look for restaurants that will serve you
well-rounded meals and make sure you eat fruits, dairy, vegetables, breads and
good healthy proteins each day.
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Don’t drink.
Alcohol, while fun, is a huge drain on your body’s resources. The time drinking and recovering makes
demands on your body that take away from the task of recovering your health
each day. So avoid alcohol other than
perhaps a glass of wine at night. You
will survive the trip so much better if you are careful about your alcohol consumption.
Some of these ideas seem almost ridiculously simple. But if you have done any business travel at
all, you know that sometimes the simple requirement of a healthy diet and some
time to yourself to exercise and rest can be elusive in a busy work
schedule. But if you make it a priority
to live well on the road as you do at home, you will come home ready to deal
with home issues without having that long time to recover from the trip.
