International Business Travel Tips From Frequent Travelers
If you have more than one office or if your team members are in different places, you probably want to be connected to them. And even if you love video conferencing, we do, sometimes you’ll have to meet in person.
But when you take long flights and cross time zones for work, the experience can be exhausting. That is why it is so important to learn from the experience of people who are masters of the art of international business travel. They have given us the solution to stay focused after 14 hours of flight.
So, we went to see Redbooth’s management team (many of the members know the route from Silicon Valley to Barcelona very well) and collected their favorite tips for maintaining energy and productivity on international business trips.
It all starts with putting your sneakers in your suitcase so that you can.
1. Start work immediately
“When you cross time zones (especially transcontinental), think about running for a while when you arrive.
When I run 10 km or more, I reset my body clock and reduce the jet lag. – Jon Sonnenschein, Vice President of Products
If you’re going to run, you’ll have to be dressed for the occasion! In her blog “A Runner’s Trip”, Sarah Lavender Smith shares a runner’s luggage list with serious runners who don’t want to fill several suitcases with running outfits. Sarah, a world traveler, track runner, and coach, has traveled the world with her family and discovered best practices and strategies.
One of their essential strategies is: “Get used to doing your laundry in the sink. (Read his post to find out which is his favorite item of specialized laundry for traveling runners).
2. Keeping a good book
“Keep work-related books for a long flight. Haven’t you had a chance to catch up on that leadership book yet? Your business trip is the ideal time to do it. – Carlo Beckman, Vice President of Customer Experience
Do you need us to recommend a good book? Choose a project management book that suits your personality or read excerpts from books here on our blog to guide you through the process of how to bring fresh ideas, create real organizations or understand the paradoxical characteristics of innovative leaders.
And if you just want to close your eyes and relax, wear your noise-canceling headphones and listen to a great audio book about leadership or happiness at work.
3. Take the fast track
“Sign up for Global Entry, it’s worth the $100 fee (valid for 5 years), as you’ll save a lot of time in the queue before you pass the TSA checkpoint as well as in the U.S. Immigrant Express Queue. – Charles Studt, Vice President of Marketing
Global Entry is a program run by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) but is open to more people than U.S. citizens and permanent residents: citizens of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Panama, South Korea and some others are also eligible to apply.
Registration requires some preliminary work: After applying online, you will also need to go to a place to register, where you will be interviewed in person (don’t forget to bring the required identification document).
But when it’s all sorted out, you’ll be able to travel more efficiently and have more free time to sightsee or turn on your laptop and catch up on work tasks.
4. Preparing for work
“Planes are the ultimate productivity machines. Get your laptop ready for the journey and get ready to spend a few hours of uninterrupted productivity. Without the Internet and work colleagues, there’s nothing better to do. I especially enjoy preparing presentations, writing essays and, of course, programming impossible features. – Pau Ramon Revilla, Director of Technology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE-dJ90Fqsg&t=8s
When you get your laptop ready and you’re on the plane, the next big question for extra-long flights is: Will you be able to increase your productivity, especially if your computer battery is not fully charged? SeatGuru delves into this issue, explaining how to find out if you will be able to plug your laptop into the plane, depending on the plane itself and where you are sitting. You’ll also find a list of power adapters to consider.
