Business trip adventures

Even on a business trip you can do little things to make life feel rich and full

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
This week we're talking about travel tips and how to
use time well on the road. Today's tip is to
build little adventures into your business trips in order to

(00:24):
make them more fun and memorable. I travel a fair
amount to give speeches, and in general I like to
fly in and out. It turns out that if I'm
giving a midday speech, I can fly to most of
the eastern half of the US in the morning from
Philadelphia and fly out in the evening. My one day
trips have taken me everywhere from Orlando to St. Louis.

(00:46):
Of course, this doesn't always work. A morning speech has
me flying in the day before, and if the last
direct flight goes in early afternoon, there will be extra time.
Or else I'm giving two speeches on two days in
one location, which is efficient from a travel perspective, but
this means there will be downtime. Since I have trouble
sleeping on red eyes, I tend not to take them

(01:07):
unless I have to. That means any trips to the
West Coast will most likely involve two nights in any case,
I often find myself with some extra time. While your
life might not look exactly like mine, I'm guessing your
business travel features at least some of this open space too.
Your last meeting ends at four pm and your dinner

(01:28):
is at seven pm. Or else your first meeting is
at ten thirty am, but you've flown from the East
Coast to the West coast and you're up at the
crack of dawn anyway. Or you're visiting two clients in London.
Again gold star for the travel efficiency, but it's lunch
with one and dinner with the other. It's definitely smart
to use some of this time to catch up on work.

(01:48):
Putting in long hours on the road means you can
put in shorter hours when you're home. If you've got
kids and your partner has been covering for you while
you travel, this is particularly importan for household peace. But
I think you can also make business travel far more
enjoyable by seeking out little adventures for some of these

(02:09):
gaps of time. One of my favorite options is to
go to a museum. Many are located in the same
downtown business districts where you're likely meeting or staying. I
once spent a lovely snowy afternoon visiting the Art Institute
of Chicago's Thorn Miniature Rooms when my nearby hotel room
wasn't ready yet. After an afternoon speech in Seattle, but

(02:31):
before a dinner, I stopped by the Chihouli Garden and
Glass Museum near the Space Needle. The blown glass creations
were truly breathtaking. Indeed, I got some great photos of
the Space Needle through a clear ceiling bedecked with his work.
The Museum of Modern Art in New York is closed
for renovations now, but it's been a favorite stop between

(02:52):
midtown meetings, as is the National Gallery in London for
anything taking you near Trafalgar Square. While it can be
used to spend hours in a museum, you can see
a lot in forty five minutes. If that's what you've got.
It's definitely more mind opening to look at great art
for forty five minutes than to delete emails for forty
five minutes. You can delete emails anywhere you can't really

(03:16):
look at Vincent ven Goes sunflowers anytime you'd like doing
something active is also a great option for adventure. One
of my favorite runs ever involved waking up early in
Vancouver and running along the waterfront to Stanley Park before
I went to keynote to conference. The Embarcadero in San
Francisco is similarly wonderful. Or running around Battery Park in

(03:38):
New York City or through Central Park. Early morning runs
are often easier to fit in than museum visits because
museums tend to be open during the business hours that
you might be well doing business. But you can run
early or in that space between the last meeting and
dinner or drinks. You can also be a culinary tourist.

(03:59):
I have to confess that I had no idea there
was any sort of stigma out there about eating alone.
If I'm in a new city and I don't have
dinner plans with friends or clients, I love to search
for the best restaurants and make a reservation for one.
I've had amazing Peruvian seafood in San Francisco and a
stunning farm to table meal in Napa Valley, where I

(04:22):
made sure to visit a wine tasting room too. In
most cases, the restaurants have been very pleasant to me,
and it hasn't seemed like a big deal to be
dining solo. I think that life is too short to
settle for lukewarm room service, or at least not lukewarm
room service every night. Maybe one night you put on
your pajamas, order in and watch a movie. But any

(04:42):
other night, go explore that hole in the wall Chinese
place around the corner that somehow has the best ratings
in town. You'll find out why, and I bet you'll
be a very happy camper. Do you plan little adventures
into your business travel. If so, I'd love to hear
about at them. Let me know your favorite destination or

(05:03):
places I should check out at Before Breakfast podcast at
i heeart media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

(05:26):
Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four then Breakfast
p o D. You can also shoot me an email
at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com
That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much. I look forward to staying in touch.

(05:54):
Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For
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