Is it possible to lead a well balanced life when you have so many tasks to take care of on business trips? People who travel frequently for business often find themselves stretched pretty thin, trying to take care of everything that needs handling on the domestic front while also doing their best to work on behalf of their company.
Being able to manage the details of your personal life when you also have heavy business travel duties can be difficult. However, you can achieve a better balance if you make some adjustments.
Begin by adjusting your attitude toward work hours and non-work hours. While we do need to set some boundaries, lest we find ourselves answering company-related emails around the clock instead of getting quality time with family and sufficient sleep. It’s okay to check your email when you’re off the clock, but try to do it in organized chunks of time instead of randomly or whenever you hear a new email arriving on your smartphone.
Make an effort to keep up on checking in with your loved ones back at home. This means organizing your schedule to take a break at the same time your kid is getting out of school, for example, so you can set up a video chat session and get in some badly needed face time.
Do some research ahead of your trip instead of thinking you can take care of the details when you arrive. This means getting the details about restaurants, meeting venues and where you can find amenities such as ATMs or stores before you get to the hotel.
Use an app on your laptop, tablet computer or smartphone to keep track of all your business expenses. Enter the details as they occur, instead of fishing through your pockets at the end of the week. The less time you waste on going over crumpled up receipts, the more time you can spend chatting with a family member back at home.
Moderation is a good approach when you are trying to maintain a balance between your work duties and your home life. The team at Pontarelli tries to strike a good balance between our time at work and our time at home too, so we know this is an important lifestyle issue that people should pay attention to. We hope these tips will help you achieve better balance.