The Strategist

4 rules for productive business trip



03/08/2019 - 04:59



A business trip can be a joy for the soul, but also a lot of stress for the body. Setting off on a work trips, we experience a surge of adrenaline. It is much more than ordinary office everyday life.



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At the beginning of the trip you are active and cheerful. Later, however, the hormone fades away, and so does the enthusiasm and efficiency. Here are four main rules that will help you keep yourself together on a business trip.
 
Rule No. 1. Plan everything in advance.
 
It is much easier to work when you have an elaborate plan. Make up a list of things that will help you to be more organized at the airport, plane, hotel and office. It may be:
 
noise canceling headphones or earplugs;
music playlist for work;
a to-do list;
some treats like useful snacks or chewing gum.
 
Decide what you will need in the aircraft and what can be put in the baggage. Try to fly with the same bag and always have your things arranged in the same way. This way, you will exclude long searches and feeling that you forgot something.
 
Rule No. 2. Make an "anti-alert" list.
 
“Reduce the level of anxiety” - make it the slogan of your business trip. Make a list of things you need to do before the journey:
 
download all the e-mails to your hard drive to be independent from the Internet;
recharge batteries on your gadgets and take the spare ones;
use external storage devices to save documents that may be needed;
check the airline’s baggage requirements;
check the airport and exact departure time.
 
Rule No. 3. Get ready if something goes wrong
 
There’s nothing that could save you from a force majeure. However, this does not mean that you need to immediately think about everything and try to prevent problems. It is enough to take care a dialogue with your inner disturbing voice. Prepared phrases will help you calm down at the right moment.
 
"This happens on the road."
"Be prepared for the unexpected, there is no adventure without it."
“Everyone can be late. The main thing is that I am alive and well.”
 
Rule No. 4. Reset your biological clock.
 
We cannot ignore our biological clock. If the time on our internal clock does not match the local time, we experience jetlag. Violation of the daily regime have very unpleasant symptoms: dizziness, loss of clarity of consciousness, difficulty concentrating. In the daytime you want to sleep, and at night you are awake.
 
A business trip means that the employee needs to be as concentrated as possible. There is a serious project, but all you want is sleep.
 
The following rituals will help to cope with the jetlag.
 
Follow the diet. Eat a high-protein breakfast and a rich carbohydrate dinner one. Make the second day "lean", eat at a minimum. Such an alternation of days, according to the Argonne National Laboratory, will ease the feeling of desynchronization.
 
Watch out your fluids intake. Do not forget to drink water, abstain from alcohol, do not abuse coffee.
 
Adjust the light. It is better to start doing this in advance when you are still at home. Artificially increase or decrease light intensity at different times of the day so that the body begins to get used to the new conditions.
 
It is important to remember that while the total sleep time should remain familiar, the time for waking up and going to bed should change.
 
If possible, fly on a business trip a few days before the important event. 

Based on "Find Your Focus Zone: An Effective New Plan to Defeat Distraction and Overload" by Lucy Jo Palladino