How do you maintain work-life balance when traveling? Although I’m not a fan of the term since I believe work is also a part of life, this question comes up often. I prefer to think of work-life balance as a balance among different types of activities that generally bring joy. Here’s how it works for me when traveling:
Two steps to maintain work-life balance when traveling:
Step One: Define ‘Life.’
First, clarify what ‘life’ means to you in this context. This might include activities such as reading, meeting friends, working out at the gym, taking walks, or spending time with your partner.
Step Two: Incorporate ‘Life’ into Your Travel.
Make an effort to integrate as many of these personal activities as possible into your trip. For example, you could bring books to read, plan time for walks, travel with your partner, or utilize the hotel gym.
To maximize your chances of maintaining work-life balance during trips, block out time in your schedule for activities that are personally meaningful, as defined by your ‘Life’ criteria.
Simple as that.
Many believe that business travel should be devoted primarily to work or meeting colleagues and partners. However, maintaining personal health and well-being while traveling enhances overall business value. Non-stop work leads to exhaustion, which deteriorates your ability to make sound decisions and hence influences outcomes accordingly.
Tips I Personally Use A Lot When Traveling:
Delegating:
I often delegate tasks such as booking flights, hotels, selecting places for team-building activities, restaurants, meeting rooms, notifying people, and more, depending on the situation. To ensure the quality of the outcomes, I have created guidelines that detail what is acceptable and what is ideal for each delegated task. I also make sure to work with an assistant who is capable and has proven their reliability.
Scheduling:
I schedule both personal and work-related activities. Travel can be full of disruptions, so having a detailed schedule helps protect my plans. It is crucial to shield this schedule from changes to achieve work-life balance during travel.
Strategic Trip Planning:
I am aware of how I feel waking up at 4 AM after only two hours of sleep to catch a flight. Thus, booking flights and scheduling time to maintain a health balance are crucial to staying productive when needed and minimizing discomfort.
This also involves choosing hotels based on location and the services they provide. I usually opt for hotels with lounge access because it offers a convenient space to work or take calls, which is often better than working from a room, especially if traveling with a partner. Lounge access also means I spend minimal time finding coffee or securing a place for meetings.
Mobile Office Setup:
I have a lightweight setup of devices and tools that I might need while traveling, without sacrificing necessary quality. This includes items such as headphones with a microphone, a power bank, chargers, adapters, mobile apps for accessing work documents, and necessary messengers.
Personal Comfort Setup:
Just as important as the work setup, personal comfort is vital. The smallest details can make a significant difference in enhancing the travel experience. Since comfort levels vary, it’s essential to recognize what’s personally important to you. This could include items such as napkins, personal hygiene products, healthy snacks, water, a sleep mask, a book, a pen, or even a brush and paper for drawing — essentially, whatever reasonably supports your comfort while away from home.
Try these travel strategies and see if they can be the catalyst for not just surviving your next business trip, but fundamentally transforming your travel experience.
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