Travel is a significant part of lots of working lives.  Some people love it, but for some it’s stressful, tedious or an unwelcome drain on time.  As more of us use technology to communicate with colleagues on different continents, the time we actually spend face-to-face is reducing and the need to make it count is greater.  If you’re worn out by the travel, you’re unlikely to be at your best to do business.  Here are some of my top tips for enjoyable international business travel and hence more productive time spent with your colleagues or clients in other countries:

 

Planning

• If it’s possible, and especially if I’m travelling out of office hours, I plan NOT to work while I’m travelling.  I indulge in a good book and regard it as a treat.
• When I plan a trip, I don’t automatically go for the cheapest option.  If I can reduce the stress or discomfort by spending a bit extra, then I go for it.  (One of the perks of being my own boss!)
• I make realistic plans about what I can get done whilst travelling.  Assuming that I can make phone calls or answer emails at specific times just creates more stress.
• I tell people well beforehand that I’m going to be away, so that they are not frustrated by having to wait for a response from me.
• If I’m going to need to call people who are in a different time zone (like home) I plan when I’ll do that and write it in my diary.

 

Packing

• If I’m leaving home before midday, I always pack the day before I travel.  That gives me overnight to remember any last-minute items.
• When I used to travel all the time, I had a toilet bag permanently packed with travel sizes of everything and an extra toothbrush, hairbrush and other essentials.  It’s lighter to carry and saves time when packing.
• I prefer to check in as much as possible and not have a heavy ‘carry on’ bag to lug around the airport.  And it means I don’t have to compete for space in the overhead lockers.  Yes, it means waiting in the baggage hall. I can read some more of my book…
• When I get to my hotel, I unpack everything.  It saves rummaging around in my bags to find things and it’s easier for re-packing!

 

 

Jet-lag

There are both physical and psychological factors involved in jet-lag/

For the psychological:

• I set my watch to destination time as soon as I get on the plane.  That gives me the whole flight to get used to it.
• I resist the temptation to calculate what time it is at home and focus on destination time. (This is why I plan calls in advance – I know that it’s a sensible time to call without having to calculate it)
• Wherever I am, I do the things that it’s normal to do at that time in that location.

 

For the physical:

• Sometimes the reason you wake up at odd times after shifting time zone is because it’s a mealtime at home.  Eat something for dinner that will take a while to digest and keep you satisfied until breakfast.  (Pasta with cheese is my favourite)
• Drink lots of water.  Air travel is dehydrating and it can leave you feeling disoriented and make it harder to concentrate.
• If the urge to sleep comes at the ‘wrong’ time of day, take a nap, but only for 90 minutes.

 

General

• Enjoy the experience!  We live in a time when it’s possible for lots of us to travel the world at modest cost.  Our grandparents didn’t have this opportunity and it seems unlikely that our grandchildren will.
• Despite the hassle of parking, of airport security, of airline food and of baggage halls, we are fortunate to be able to cover such great distances so easily.  Consider the alternative!!

 

 

 

I first came across this quote many years ago and it made me feel better about having been told I was ‘unreasonable’.

In the days when I had a ‘proper job’ I did sometimes make myself unpopular by challenging the status quo or refusing to accept something that clearly wasn’t working.  Early in my career I learned to challenge processes, activities and assumptions rather than people.

So why did I bring this quote out again this week?  I was talking with a prospective client who is involved in IT Transformation and he described his role as being to ‘challenge everything’.  That sounds very demanding to me and possibly likely to provoke some resistance.

I think it’s important to remember George Bernard Shaw’s words:

“…all progress depends on the unreasonable man”

And the unreasonable woman of course!

No matter how tough it gets, remember that when you’re labelled as ‘unreasonable’, you’re supporting progress.

In this episode Wilma and Dianne compare their favourite Olympic viewing so far, discuss the passion and ‘will to win’ of athletes and consider the parallels in working life. We talk about why a lot of people aren’t passionate about their work and share our views on recent sports team managers who have left their roles.

Book mentioned:
‘The Anxious Generation’ by Jonathan Haidt

In the past week or two I’ve been talking about teams to a variety of people and so I decided to share this video from my YouTube channel and blog.  It’s not new, but it’s still my best explanation of how leaders can make sense of the differences between people in their teams.

Enjoy!

 

I love a notebook.

I know it’s considered a bit old-fashioned by some, but I love to put pen to paper and I like having the freedom to mind-map, draw diagrams or doodle.

I keep separate notebooks for different purposes.  Regular meetings each have their own notebook.  Major projects too.  I have an in-tray full of notebooks.

And every new coaching client I take on gets a lovely new notebook in which to record their notes from our sessions.  I’m a fan of Moleskin, Forex and the one in the photo is from MOO, the online printers.  It’s a lovely hardback notebook stitched in a way that every page lies flat.

Yes, part of the reason for the notebooks is just that I enjoy writing and I have a fountain pen that I particularly like to use.

Also…

Research indicates that writing by hand, as opposed to using a keyboard, enhances learning and memory. The study suggests that brain connectivity patterns during handwriting are more elaborate and crucial for memory formation and encoding new information.

You can read the research here:

https://www.psychiatrist.com/news/handwriting-shows-unexpected-benefits-over-typing/

I’ve been immersed in Shakespeare again.  A performance of ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ at the weekend and then a surprise trip to the McCready theatre in Rugby to see an Audience with Sir Gregory Doran, former Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and one my all time favourite directors.

He talked about – among many other topics – how some people go to see a play for the quotes.  In other words, the lines they recognise.

Reflecting on this, I began to wonder whether we sometimes lose the meaning or profundity of a line simply because it is so familiar.

The line above, ‘Fortune is merry – and in this mood will grant us anything’ is one I like because it carries with it (for me) such a joyful feeling.

Have you ever felt as though you can have anything you want?  That’s what this line is about.  In times past, people ascribed their moods, behaviour and results to outside forces – or Gods.

We know better than to do that, but we can still experience that joyful feeling when everything and anything feels possible.  Try saying the line out loud and notice how you feel…