Conquering business travel
The Annual Meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society are happening in San Diego this week. Like many others, I spent yesterday en route to the conference.
Gratefully my flight was less than half full and so I had four hours to (literally) stretch out, read, and rest. Extra space offers extra mental and emotional capacity for introverts like me, which meant that I had a really pleasant and quite productive flight reading about habit formation.
Not all of us travel regularly for work. Over my career with InterVarsity, I’ve spent a decent amount of time on the road and have learned some lessons.
Jeff’s travel tips for work travel:
- Take an early flight (less chance of delay and more chance of extra space)
- Set productivity goals (identify what you must do)
- Take only what you will use (no aspirational packing)
- Pack an empty water bottle (don’t pay for water when you can get it for free and on demand
- If you travel monthly or more have a dedicated set of travel toiletries
- Use You Version for Bible reading
- Take no more than one book (especially if hardcover)
Jeff’s templated packing list for work travel:
- 1 pair of socks and underwear per travel day (excluding workout clothes, see #3 above)
- 1 dress shirt per travel day
- For trips 1-4 days, 1 sport coat and one sweater/alternate top; for trips 5-8 days 2 sport coats and 1 sweater/alternate top
- 1 pair of trousers for each two day period (alternated) and a pair of casual trousers for travel days
- 1 pair of shoes (exclusive of running shoes, see #3 above)
- 1 tie per day
- 1 belt
- 1 pair cufflinks and 1 tie clip
Jeff Gissing 