Being an Entrepreneur – How not to travel

Over the last 6 months or so I’ve been to France, UK (twice), Australia (3 times), Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, USA (3 times), and if you are based in New Zealand like me that’s a lot of flying.

For a lot of people that sounds glamorous, and on occasion it can be, but seriously, the inside of a hotel room in Paris isn’t much different from one in Las Vegas and if you don’t get out of it you could be anywhere.

I’ve just got back from a course in San Antonio (Texas) and by the time I left I felt like a caged rat. In 8 days I only got outside my hotel 4 times, and that was to cross the road to get some lunch. In February I was in Las Vegas and saw the sky only once in five days and that was to cross the road on our way to dinner.

So what went wrong?

When I go away, I tend to load up with catch-up work to do in the evenings, you know the sort of thing – where you haven’t been able to get something off your plate for ages. This time I never even got to do that. The course was 10-12 hours a day, we had a software launch at home I was helping with, and when I did have a spare moment I worked on an ebook I have been writing and want to publish soon.

Let me be a warning to you!

Do that for 8 days, or even worse, once it becomes a way of life, you watch your health deteriorate, your frustration levels rise, your productivity drop and realise there is good reason for being overweight. Not to mention the absence of any fun. It doesn’t need to be like that, and last week was certainly a turning point for me. I’ve been doing this long enough, I should know better.

What should you do instead?

Don’t lock yourself in your room. Take time out to discover the city you are in. Some of our staff make sure they plan at least one ‘key’ experience, whether a special meal or a show. This ensures the travel stays fun and they have wonderful stories to share.

Don’t eat in the hotel, and especially room service. Discover your surrounding eateries. Whether it be as simple a visiting the local Whole Foods or  a Thai restaurant, the quality of food will likely be better, healthier and hopefully cheaper. If you can, enjoy the walk there as you will get to see the sights and stretch your legs.

Network. I did get to network with people on the course, at breakfast and over lunch, but from experience I have found spending time over dinner is much more effective for establishing long term relationships. That is when people really unwind, share stories and have fun together. Make sure that on at least some nights you go out and discover the city with your new friends.

Don’t over commit. Travel, and the job you have gone to do is work enough. Try to focus and giving this thing 110% of your focus and look after yourself. You will do a much better job there, and be twice as effective when you get home. Having said that, there can be a lot of downtime so make sure you take a good book, your iPod, our some basic work to kill the time.

Use the pool or gym. I know it can be more expensive staying in a hotel with a full gym facility and pool, but it is well worth it. Get up early, do a good 30-60 minutes on the bike or treadmill and you’ll have full energy for the day and jet lag will be a thing of the past.

Ignore family. I don’t really mean ignore your family, but telling yourself you miss them, and want to be home, is not going to make the trip go any quicker. It’s just going to make you miserable. I find this is easier said than done, but you need to focus on the job at hand and keep your thoughts with you. Plan your contact and use services like Skype to stay in touch. Your family should know you love them, and that you will be home safe soon.

Sleep, sleep, sleep. With all the work to be done, the networking completed and the change of time zones, this can be a challenge. But sleep is crucially important to your health, your ability to concentrate and, if you are doing a course like the one I was, then there is a significant link between sleep and learning. My tip for long distance travel is to try to keep normal hours when you get there. Don’t be tempted to go to bed at 10 am when you arrive because it’s 10 pm at home. Stay up until at least 8-9 pm so you get a good night’s sleep. Once you get to around that time, and as soon as that wave of tiredness hits, it should immediately be lights out. If you push on to watch the end of the movie you are going to be up for hours and in real trouble.

Anyway enjoy your travels, be more responsible than I have been, make sure you enjoy yourself and good luck with your travels.

Tagged as: entrepreneur, health, ideas, strategy, Tip, Travel