Travelin' Man

One of the coolest parts of working for a company is when I have the kind of job that allows me to travel just often enough to enjoy a breath of fresh air at a new location, however, it does not require a constant schlep from place to place that quickly becomes draining.

Right now I find myself in such a pleasant position, especially considering I current tap out this post from Riviera Beach, FL!

Over the years I picked up some of my own traveling best practices for me. Given my "unique" habits of nutrition, fitness, and other rituals, you mileage with these may vary.

1. Packing as little as possible without limiting my activity options. When I first started traveling I figured I should pack work clothes, after work clothes, and workout clothes. This approach resulted in a suitcase (if I actually could fit it in only one) that was not only of backbreaking heft, it elicited sufficient ridicule from co-travelers to cause me to change my approach. I now continue to err on the conservative side and figure in "creative reuse" to my wardrobe planning. This trip I set a new record for decreased weight and decreased ridicule, so I must be figuring something out.

2. Pack GOOD snacks. Off-site meetings are notorious for cookies, crackers, and all kind of break time garbage that does little to satiate and lots to blood sugar spikes (and crashes). I'll stack up on kashi, odwalla, and other low-glycemic index bars to snack on during the breaks. The difference is most noticeable at the end of the day where I used to be antsy for dinner, I can now concentrate to the end.

3. Be realistic about how much spare time will be available. I originally packed books, planned blog posts, and the latest Toastmasters speech book to take on during the oodles of night freedom and travel time. Due to the needs to wind down at night and other pop up activities, I will now just bring a book to read. I travel lighter and with a more focused attack I make great progress through that one book. (Btw, "Art of Deception" is quite interesting right now)

4. I'm liking Southwest. The crew doesn't feel like they're on a forced march, the boarding process works for me, and the prices seem right...especially since they aren't hidden!

And now, up, up, and away!
Jonathan