We spoke to a number of independent business men and women about what they do to make business travel a less stressful and even pleasurable experience. Here are ten tips that we thought were particularly useful.
1. CHOOSE YOUR SPOT
“Whenever I can, I use a website called seatguru. You can find your airline and what planes they use and actually see the layout of the plane that you’ll be traveling on – so you can see the exact seat you want to reserve. You can also compare the seating plans of different airlines who serve the same route. Then, when I check in I always make sure to confirm that the seat I reserved is the seat they have assigned me at check-in. About a third of the time, this is not the case, so it’s important to do this. It’s not only a choice of window or aisle anymore. You can find where there is the most leg-room, or what seat is closest to the lavatories – or furthest away!”
2. TRAVEL LIGHT
“You should only pack half of the clothes you think you need. At the kind of hotels we stay in, good hotels, there is always a good, fast laundry or dry-cleaning available. Even for a trip of several days or a week, it’s possible to pack light and only take carry on, and still have enough clothes – clean clothes! – to get along well. It’s really worth it to be able to avoid checking luggage.”
3. FLY IN THE OFF-HOURS
I always try to fly in the middle of the day if it is at all possible. One of the advantages of being an independent businessman or entrepreneur is flexibility – after all, the reason many of us have chosen to sacrifice the security of a normal job is that we want to have independence and a flexible lifestyle. Most travelers fly in the mornings, especially for business – 06h00 to 09h00 are the busiest times. Long lines at check-in and security, more crowded flights, higher chance of lost luggage… Many of these hassles can be avoided if you can travel during the lighter times of day.
4. THE SOUND OF SILENCE
“I would never travel without my noise canceling headphones! I know this seems like a small thing, but it makes an enormous difference to me. I get on the plane or the train, I put them on and the world becomes quiet. All the irritating noises and distractions go away. I put my mobile and Blackberry on vibrate, so I’m still available, but otherwise I can relax, or concentrate on my work, without any distractions. Business travel is commonly a very stressful experience for people, but for me it’s the opposite – it’s sometimes the most relaxing time of the week!”
5. TAKE THE TRAIN
“Take the train! Whenever possible. In Europe we have so many good trains that unless it’s a journey of six hours or more, I think it makes no sense to fly – you have to go out to an airport, check in early, deal with security, which is increasingly a nightmare, deal with the crowds, etc. It’s exhausting to even list all the hassles. My favorite train is the Thalys. In fact, the first time I ever took this train (from Paris to Brussels) I was disappointed when I realized that we had arrived in Brussels only 80 minutes after leaving Paris – I was so comfortable and really enjoying the peace of the ride.”