Business travel is definitely not a holiday. Whether you’re running your own business or working for a company, it’s typically the same routine: check in at the airport, pick up a rental car, and prep on-route for your meetings.

From traveling at short notice, to relying on the hotel iron, and somehow finding the energy to walking into meetings after having spent a tedious day in transit, there’s no doubting that business travel comes with its own unique sets of stresses.

So we’ve put together a guide to reduce that for you!

A Guide to Reducing Stress When Traveling on A Business Trip

Always Have a Checklist

This tip might seem to be pretty basic, but people regularly overshoot the mark when packing, and especially when many business trips are last minute by nature, it’s very easy to forget things when you’re running around in a frenzy.

Committing everything you need to memory is a recipe for mistakes and forgotten items, and the stakes are quite a lot higher when you’re traveling for business as opposed to for leisure.

If you’re a frequent traveler, it’s a good idea to keep a master checklist of all the typical things you require, and then add trip specific items for each trip. Your list should include absolutely everything from your toiletries to a pen.

Include action items on your checklist too though, things like charging everything the night before you travel. There’s nothing worse than arriving at the plane, or having to walk into a meeting with dead devices.

If you’re an incredibly frequent traveler and on the road for extended periods of time, it’s a great idea to keep an ongoing checklist of things you need to remember throughout your trip – things like addresses, deadlines, timezones, and and your hotel room number!

When you park in a numbered spot or check into a new room, create some kind of note to make it easy to quickly remember where you should be. Do not underestimate the value of this tip – it might just save you a lot of confusion and grief!

When you travel so frequently, hotel rooms and parking spaces all start to blur into each other, and it can be difficult to remember if you’re staying on the second floor, or if that was last week.

Eat Well

The nature of frequently traveling means your immune system will be put under a lot of stress, but one of the best ways to keep your body strong, and also maintain your energy levels while traveling, is by eating well and stay healthy.

With all the traveling you do, it can be easy to neglect your health and eat on the go. But if you don’t want to fall ill and have to cancel meetings, you need to make sure your body has all the nutrients it needs to keep up with your busy schedule.

Eat high-protein, high fiber, low carb meals, which are easy to digest, and also aim to eat plenty of fresh veggies. Like any fighting force, the immune system and energy army marches on its stomach. Immune system warriors need good, regular nourishment.

When you’re flying, the high elevations and low humidity typical of airplane travel have a dehydrating effect, which can provoke headaches, stomach problems, cramps, and fatigue, and diminish your immune system’s ability to fight off infections.

The simple solution? Stay hydrated by regularly sipping water before, during, and after your flight. Taking into consideration the above tips on avoiding water contamination of course.

Give Yourself Time to Relax

This doesn’t mean sitting around the pool instead of attending meetings, although that would be nice! But it can be a good idea to give yourself plenty of time between your check-in at the hotel and the start of your business work.

Flights can be tiring, so it’s important to give yourself enough time to relax and rejuvenate before you start working. And there are a number of small ways you can relax in a short space of time.

For example, a massage at a spa, a small nap, or even just chilling in your hotel room with your phone for company. You could download a game or get some help from Unibet casino guides to take your mind off work. Maybe you play a movie.

Relaxation is the best way to reset your brain after the stresses of transit, and if you want to be successful and productive in your upcoming meetings, you’ll need proper time to actually decompress, re-group, and de-stress.

Take Time Off For Sightseeing

If sightseeing fits into your schedule, why not take some extra time for leisure! You can book your flights to give you an extra day at the end of your meetings and conferences; this will give you time to explore the place you’ve been staying in before you have to jet back home.

Scientific studies have long agreed that travel is good for your mental health. Getting out of your daily routine can help you clear your head and put you in a rejuvenated mindset for when you land back at the office to recap.

You can also have a look around for gifts to take back for your friends and family; this is especially nice if you have to travel for business a lot. A little gift can show that you were thinking of them whilst you were away.