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Traveling for Work? Here’s How to Stay Healthy & Productive

traveling for work

If you’ve taken one of the 465 million business trips in the US last year, you’re probably familiar with the hassles that come with traveling for work. The headaches of being in a new city and having to familiarize yourself with and figure everything out.

You may have experienced a lot of wasted time, delays, searching for a place to stay, dealing with unreliable wifi and uncomfortable or unsatisfactory accommodation. You might’ve skipped the hotel gym or craved a home cooked meal after a couple days. All these things, lead to a loss of routine – the lack of; home comforts, reliable work areas and exercise. That loss of routine can end up costing more than just your time. It can cost your company and team, a lot of time and money.

You see, when you lose your routine it throws you out of whack. Couple that with being in a subpar hotel room, eating out every meal and letting your activity levels slip, and you can fall into a funk for days, even weeks, after you return home.

Here’s what will help you stay sane and productive while traveling for work:

A comfortable apartment.

When traveling you need a place to feel at home, take a hot shower after a long day, and make breakfast without having to put on pants. Having a space to work on your laptop at home is also a necessity. Forget hotel rooms that make you feel like a tourist or stuffy corporate traveler. Relaxing in a comfortable, private space that feels like home does wonders for your morale while traveling.

A designated space for work & meetings.

You need a place to take calls, work on presentations and prep for meetings while traveling. It’s best this is a designated space to go to plug in and do what you’re there for – work. Hotel lobby’s and cafes have unreliable wifi and get loud and distracting. When you use a coworking or office space, you can get online and into your work, fast. Plus, they have call and meeting rooms so you can be distraction free and present for your important meetings.

Prioritize your health and fitness.

Whether you prefer to squeeze in a 15 minute HIIT workout, knock out some stress in a boxing class, or decompress in an hour of yoga, having somewhere to move while traveling is essential. Prioritizing your health and wellness, lead to a happier, more focused and more productive you. Booking fitness classes ahead of time area a proven way to commit to your exercise goals while traveling. By booking ahead you’ve already committed, so even if you don’t feel like working out, you know you’ll be thanking yourself after.

Gain some knowledge on the city before you go.

Don’t waste your time spending hours searching for neighborhoods, city info, restaurants etc while there or taking the touristy suggestions. Getting information on the city, as well as local recommendations before you go, mean you can spend more time enjoying and less time being unsatisfied. Having recommendations and helpful info curated by locals, also mean you can skip the touristy areas and opt for some seriously delicious – and lower priced – restaurants. Plus, knowing the currency, cultural information, if there’s Uber there or which cabs to take, and which neighborhoods to stay in, come in super handy before arriving.

Stay connected to your team.

Staying connected to your team while traveling is incredibly important. Being in a different city or time zone can pose as a challenge, however if you’re prepared it shouldn’t be an issue. If you’re looking for the best tools to stay connected while working remotely, we shared them here.

All these should help make your business travels significantly better. While the airport line ups and travel time can’t be reduced, these four things will save you a lot of time – and headaches – ensuring you’re putting your best foot forward for your work trip. Plus, with staying healthy and booking in advance, you might just have time to see some neat places in that city! At Behere, we know how important these are, which is why we take care of all of them, in one easy to use booking platform. The best part, it’s free to use and your travel manager can also sign up and monitor your trips.

Ready to book your next business trip? Head to Behere or choose your city below. Want to share with your travel manager, send them this link. If you don’t see the city you’re traveling to next, send us an email [email protected].


meesen brownWritten by Meesen Brown, CEO of Behere.
Meesen is the cofounder and CEO of Behere. She’s an avid traveler, speaker, dual citizen, healthy snack lover and is always looking for ways to reduce her carbon footprint. She spends most her time in New York, Barcelona or Toronto.