Travelling for work can be awful, here’s how I’ve learnt to enjoy it!

Travelling for work has been a constant feature of my life and continues to be so today, teaching me a number of lessons along the way. Here are some of my top tips to making travel for work a more positive experience.

1 – Recognise the VALUE in travelling. There is huge need to travel. There is no substitute for human interaction. In the years to come so many processes will be automated by artificial intelligence or augmented reality but the one thing technology can do is make that human connection, that genuine interaction which is best done face to face. There will always be a need to travel and a desire to travel so why not look at solving the problem, learning to create a commuting experience you enjoy and making it a feature of what you do not a bug.

2 – Travel sustainably. Sustainability doesn’t mean just thinking about your impact on the environment, think beyond the triple bottom line. Make travel choices taking in to account your health and wellbeing, the logistics of your journey, flexibility in travel and how this fits in with your family life. Think about the cost effectiveness of the entire day and journey, and how you can ensure you perform at your best and be the most productive that day. The most valuable asset you have is your time so keep that in mind when making travel choices.

Interestingly, despite travelling to Birmingham by car recently for a meeting I parked outside the city at a friend house and took an Uber to and from the venue as this was the same cost as parking for the day, much quicker as I could be dropped off at the venue, and gave me valuable prep time on the journey as opposed to the stressful experience of finding parking in the city, likely a way from the venue. 

3 – Free meetings. I will always have a primary reason to travel for work, a single meeting that’s worth the journey but if I’m going to a place I’ll make the journey really count. I will always schedule at least one more meeting, be it a coffee or a drink with a customer or colleague, or increasingly a mentor. As my networks have grown, in most cities across the country I know someone, have friends or family who could be an optional meeting, I may let them know I’ll likely be in the city and arrange to catchup if we both have time. This way if my primary meeting is cancelled, which happen last week after 5 hours of travel (one way), I still had a great meeting and learnt a huge amount from an amazing friend who is a leading light in the suitability world – if he’s reading this, thank you again for the advice!

"...if I’m going to a place I’ll make the journey really count. I will always schedule at least one more meeting..."

4 – Plan ahead. It sounds obviously but I mean really plan ahead, including the details and the days before and after travel. I like to have big travel days, cover a huge amount and then factor in recovery time the day after a big travel day, staying closer to home or having time in the office off the road. If you’re pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on a travel day don’t forgot to schedule the time you need to make the most of those meetings and share the outcomes with your colleagues.   

5 – Automate everything you can. Perhaps it’s the continuous improvement / consultancy part of my brain but I’ve learnt to control as much of the process of commuting ahead of time as possible. Set up automatic number plate recognition on the car so you don’t have to worry about parking, have postcodes to each part of your day and journey in your phone ready to go. I still don’t understand the tube so also make sure to have my connects screen shotted ahead of leaving. I’ve also invested in a WiFi plug which automatically turns my coffee machine on in the morning so this is ready and waiting for me in the morning, saving valuable minutes in the morning. Minutes in the morning count double when it comes to travel or commuting to get ahead of the traffic or the crowds. Book a train seat. Another tip on automation, set auto forward on your email so receipts from paypal etc go directly to your email should you need them for expenses – as a rule I try and handle information / admin tasks once where possible.

"Minutes in the morning count double when it comes to travel or commuting to get ahead of the traffic or the crowds"

6 – Travel light. The corporate world will tell you that slips, trips and falls and other muscular skeletal issue often present when travelling away form your usual place of work. Even if you don’t hurt yourself, travel with excess baggage (especially by public transport) sucks, its uncomfortable and annoying, especially in summer and winter, therefore travel light. Technology has made this so much easier now. I literally travel with sun glasses (or I get migraines), phones (I still use two), iPad Pro (& pencil), wallet and a klean kanteen water bottle in a satchel. Over the years I’ve taken more and more out of my bag and enjoy travelling more as a result – if you’re comfortable you’re going to be more happy.

7 – Technology. Let technology do the work for you, it’s gives you a range of tools to help you be more productive. Businesses owners and bosses, don’t cut costs here! You will cost yourselves a huge amount of good will, massively reduce productivity and ultimately loose money (and people) as a result – give your people the equipment they want and the equipment that will make them happy. I’m very grateful that at Sanctus we embrace this fully and giver everyone the tools they need to outperform their roles.

Another great example of the value of technology is a mistake I made recently. I booked my train ticket to London online so opted to collect at the station and because I didn’t book on my phone, I didn’t get the option of an E-ticket. I lost this ticket and faced buying another to return home that evening. I won’t make that mistake again, I’ll let technology do the work for me and automate the process and be more sustainable in the process saving the paper, power and printer ink.

8 – Use travel time to learn or be entertained. Have a range of podcasts and music to listen too. I can never be sure what I’ll be in the mood to listen to in a morning so have a range of podcasts ready but also apple music when I’m done having my thinking guided by something new. Some of my favourite podcasts for commuting are the Joe Rogan Podcast, Finding Mastery, the Herd with Colin Cowherd, the Lapsed Fan or the Co-Main Event Podcast – eclectic mix there I know. Spanning everything from life and business through to sport and entertainment. Increasingly I’m seeing people watching series or playing games on their iPads, especially on the commute home – this doesn’t work for me but if its fun for you go for it and enjoy as much of your travels as possible.  

9 – Don’t try and talk on your phone. It’s pointless, you will loose the other person and everyone on the train will hate you, and if you’re reading this and do talk on your phone – stop it, stop it now!

10 – Do low value work on the train. Some people like to work, others want to chill out. I am the fan of the former, I’ll use the alone time to work through email or similar admin tasks – I can now do everything I need to on my iPad. Plan ahead of time again and knowing you can use your travel time, create a bank of low value tasks that can be done on the train. Make that time count, I am away from home and away from my family so I want to do work that otherwise I’d need to do in the office when I’d rather be working with other people or meeting with clients.

11 – Avoid travelling at the busiest times. When travelling to London I’ll travel early to miss the busiest trains and get a better ticket for my money (interestingly I wrote my money even when it isn’t – there’s another blog there).

Once in London, I’ll set out of my journey and have coffee, making this a feature of the journey and avoiding the craziness of the tube at rush hour. I won’t use disposable cups so it’s a double espresso sat down at a lovely coffee shop. My advice is to take the time to find the nice decent / interesting place ahead of time – it’s worth it. I love coffee and great coffee shops so make I make it a feature of my commute. What’s your equivalent?

12 – What opportunity does the journey give you? Recently I’ve developed a love of photography and make that a feature of travelling. I’ll take pictures of the built and natural environment wherever I go and share these on social media. At Sanctus so much of our work makes a positive impact on the environment and great (well mine are mediocre but hopefully improving) images provide one of the best ways of telling these stories.

Overall, my advice would be to travel sustainability, travel less often, invest in being genuinely productive and effective when you do, enjoy the journey and the destination. If you’re going to do anything in life, enjoy the journey (process) and the destination otherwise choose to do something differently. Invest in yourself and your happiness as it’ll make you more productive as a result, think long term about the impact but also the opportunities that travel have for your business and you as an individual. Employers and business owners, remember that productivity is about more than the cost of individual purchases such as train tickets or IT equipment – invest in giving your people the tools that allow them to out perform their roles and the choices to travel in a way that works for them.

Overall, my advice would be to travel sustainability, travel less often, invest in being genuinely productive and effective when you do, enjoy the journey and the destination.