So I picked up an interesting (to me) project in my other business. Which means I am back on the road. Business travel is not my favorite activity, but if I have to do it I may as well try to make it enjoyable. What is the secret to enjoying business travel? Trips which are, almost by definition, all business, might not seem to be ripe for travel related enjoyment, but it is possible to eke out a little joy from such travel. Or at least minimize the suffering.

Be Mindful of the Travel Itinerary

Since you are travelling for business, it might be tempting to prioritize efficiency over all else. Resist this impulse! It may turn out that the best flights are the most efficient, but it is possible that seeming ideal flights might be terrible. How? Consider a recent business trip of mine.

I had to get from Cancun Mexico to Edmonton Alberta (Canada). Now, Cancun is a very popular tourist destination, but people who live in the Western 1/3 of Canada (like Edmonton) tend to vacation on the west coast of Mexico - think Puerto Vallarta. I did manage to find two direct routes, but they were timed for people on a one week vacation.

If you are taking your sole vacation from the Alberta winter, you want to maximize your time in the sunny south. So the flight from Edmonton to Mexico left at 12:20 am, getting in to Cancun around 8:30 am. Now, this is great if you are trying to get the absolute most time in Mexico.. But for those of us who spend 6 months each year in Cancun, that extra half day is not nearly as important as a decent night’s sleep. There was a similarly disastrous route from Cancun to Edmonton, which involved flying through the night. (Whether destroying two night’s sleep is a good plan on vacation is a separate subject, but it is certainly a bad idea on business travel)

Nevertheless, I didn’t want to burn a whole day travelling back, so I took the midnight route. An added wrinkle is it was on Canada’s economy carrier Flair. I’m not trashing Flair - they get a lot of flack from Canadians over their carry-on luggage policies. Some of that is deserved. But I knew how they operated, and had no issue with that.

But even the extra leg room seat I had got pretty cramped after the 6 hour flight. Trying to sleep on a cramped seat with minimal cushioning becomes very unpleasant very fast. Since the only airline that had this direct flight back was an economy airline, there was no option for business or first class seating. The best I could do was the emergency exit row for the legroom, and a window seat so my neighbors didn't wake me up in the night. As it turns out I probably would have been happier with the aisle. Even the exit row doesn't have all that much room, and it would have been nice to get up and walk around. The point being I didn't spend a whole day traveling back, but I was so wrecked the next day I may as well have. On the other hand resting and recovering in a hammock in Cancun in February, isn't really something to complain too hard about about

When you travel, do you look like you are moving permanently, or staying for the afternoon?

Checked Bags or Carry On Only?

For extended vacation travel I'm definitely in team “checked baggage”. I hate being at my destination and kicking myself for not bringing that one more thing. Which means I travel with quite a bit of luggage. My carry on bag looks like I am trying to open an electronics store. It's not for everybody, but I like to have my devices with me wherever I go. And I like to have some other comforts on hand too. It can be hard to find decaf Earl Grey tea in most destinations, and that little treat just makes my mornings.

But when it comes to business I'm definitely in the carry-on only camp. Over the years I got to the point where I could travel for four or even five nights without checking a bag. This has so many advantages, and if you're entire day is going to be spent in an office followed by a quick stop at a restaurant and then back to the room, it's definitely worth traveling light.

Now, my case is probably fairly rare - a snowbird who spends winters in Mexico, but has to fly to Canada on business. Returning to Mexico with carry on only saved me probably 30 to 60 minutes when I arrived back in Cancun. Waits for luggage are notoriously long at the Cancun airport, and if you have several items of luggage you're almost guaranteed that Customs officials will pull you aside for a random search. But because I was traveling carry on only I walked off the plane went through immigration (yay e-passport!), walked right through customs and straight out to my shuttle. I was probably in my apartment 25 minutes away from the airport before most of the people on my flight even saw their suitcase.

It was also an advantage to have carry-on only because on my outbound flight I had a connection. It wasn't a super tight connection, I would have made it anyway even if I had checked bags, but it was sure nice just being able to roll my carry-on straight on through. Also, since the flight was arriving in my destination quite late, it was really nice not to have to wait for luggage in Edmonton either. I just walked to my transportation, and headed off to the hotel.

By the way, as a little aside, those living in Canada and the USA should definitely consider getting Nexus memberships. At both the US connecting flight, and at my destination in Canada, having Nexus sped things up. Because I entered my Nexus number when I was doing check in for my flight, I was listed as TSA precheck. This makes life so much simpler, you don't have to take your laptop out of your bag or take off your shoes or your belt, you just fly on through if you're in the TSA free check lane. And when flying out of a Canadian airport that has Nexus lanes, it's the same experience. A dedicated security line just for Nexus members, and a simplified scanning procedure. So much nicer. Business travel is difficult enough, you don't need extra headaches like being stuck in long security lines behind people who don't travel very often and seem confused when the security official is telling them to take their laptop and iPad out of their bag. Make life easy

A clean room with a comfortable bed - the business travellers dream.

Prioritize Rest

My last tip for this particular post about business travel is ,as noted above, prioritize rest. The fact is, most people don't sleep as well their first night or two in a hotel, or really anywhere away from their home base. Plus you're in crowded airports and airplanes, you're in offices meeting people that you haven't seen in a while, you'll be shaking hands with strangers: I just find the rest so important. If I get overtired on a business trip, it seems the likelihood of my catching a cold or flu goes through the roof. In February, when I did the trip back where I destroyed an entire night's sleep trying to get comfortable on an economy airline seat at midnight, wouldn't you know it a few days later I had the worst cold I've had in ages. And just couldn’t recover. I have been doing more travel over the last few months than I'd expected, and colds and flus just kept coming. But on my more recent trips, where I made a conscious effort to prioritize rest - checking into the hotel as early as I can, booking flights that allow me to get a solid night's sleep before heading to her from the airport, and just generally making sure my accommodations are comfortable and restful - has made all the difference. No colds, no flues, just feeling healthy. And let's face it, if you're not rested and it leads to sick days, nobody's benefiting. Not you, not your client, not your employer (if you have one), nobody.

I'm still not a big fan what business travel. I love to travel, but the airport -hotel -office -restaurant -hotel -office -restaurant -hotel -office - routine holds little appeal to me anymore. My current project that's putting me on the road is itself very interesting, and that's a big plus. But for those of you who have never done a lot of business travel, don't worry, you're not missing much. If you must undertake business travel the first goal should be to minimize the difficulties and make it tolerable.

That said there are ways to elevate it beyond just business travel. In years past I managed to enjoy an almost tourist-like lifestyle while on business travel. While it does not provide the freedom of purely recreational travel there are ways to make it fun. Maybe I'll blog about that in the future.

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