We can’t be the only ones who roll into fall craving a fresh start. This season is the perfect opportunity to recreate that “first day of school” feeling by refining your habits and taking stock of what’s working for you. Here’s how to give your business travel routine a fall refresh.
Choose a favorite rewards program.
If you’re like many business travelers, you might have something like half a dozen different rewards program accounts going at any given time. Decide which airline and hotel rewards plans are your favorites, then make an effort to direct as many points to those specific programs as possible. Fly that one airline and stay in that one hotel chain as often as you can. With your efforts singularly concentrated, the points will rack up much faster.
Revamp your travel fitness routine.
Take stock of whether your on-the-road exercise routine is working for you. Do you get enough cardio when you’re traveling? If you’re already on a roll, great. If you’re not, think about any small tweaks you can make to your habits so that it’s easier to fit in a workout on the go - we promise you’ll come home with more energy that way!
Get in touch with life back home.
If you don’t do this already, try setting up standing FaceTime dates with family members or friends you miss while you’re on the road. If that’s not your jam, play pen pal with someone you miss by sending emails back and forth. Whatever form of communication works for you is fine - the key is to make sure you’re you’re giving yourself time to routinely keep in touch with the people you miss.
Create a recurring pre-trip checklist.
Write down everything you need to remember to do before heading out the door for a business trip, like leaving a key out for the cat sitter or watering the plants. Write out a recurring packing list too. (There are apps that can do this for you too.) Then - and here’s the important part - actually look at the lists! You might think you remember it all on autopilot because you travel so often, but this is an easy way to free up your brain space for more important things.
Create a reading list for your flying and transit time.
If you use most of your transit time to work, cool. But if you spend most of your time on flights and public transit mindlessly scrolling, you might be feeling your brain start to melt. Take back control of your downtime by making a list of books you’ve always wanted to read, and challenge yourself to start getting through them en route to your destination. Download them before leaving home (or, you know, get a physical copy if that’s your thing) so your reading will be close at hand when your Instagram feed starts calling.
Create an idea capturing system.
This is way less complicated than it sounds. Just open a note in your phone or grab a tiny notebook you can carry with you. Anyplace you can jot down notes will work. Anytime you get a new idea while traveling, or have a funny or thought-provoking experience on the road, make a note of it in that space. That way, when you’re home and have a chance to put those ideas into action, you’ll have them all in one place.
Create a decompressing process for the end of each trip.
Make sure you have a low-key routine for getting re-calibrated to life at home after your travels. Unpack, put on a face mask, review your notes of projects you worked on during the trip, or tackle anything else that helps you adjust. If you can, make your first day back at home a lighter workday as you get your bearings back. Just try to keep the routine as similar as possible each time you arrive home, because the more consistent it is, the more helpful it is!