Traveling for business is overrated. But that is oversimplified and too easy to say. While some may be envious, as I prepare to pack yet another bag and head back to the airport - where I was not even 18 hours ago - I am going to procrastinate by writing down some thoughts.

Morning flight from Stockholm, where the sun rieses later. (Taken at Arlanda Airport, 19. Nov 2011 with iPhone/Instagram)
 

Your brain is not on holiday mode

The biggest difference is mindset. Even if you are in a beautiful city like Stockholm, your mind is often somewhere else. You see the beautiful cityscape with the old buildings and water ahead of you. But you don’t absorb it. Your mind is half thinking about the project or report that needs to be finished next week. Or it is not even 10pm and you are struggling to stay awake.

Thank goodness therefore for colleagues who not only show you the sights and views, but also the way -home- back to your hotel. In fact, if you are fortunate enough to have wonderful colleagues you love, it will be the people you remember. Going out with people you already know, getting to know each other better, from personal stories to venting and gossip (btw, men gossip too). 

Exhaustion - literally

In addition to being in the office nine to five, plan in additional minutes and hours for a foreign commute, transportation system, getting lost finding the office in the business district - happens to all of us. But also build in also extra time to enjoy the breakfast buffet as well as dinners, drinks or tours with colleagues. All add up a less sleep and more hours awake - in sharp, on your toes mode. So when you finally arrive home, usually on a Saturday or Sunday, you spend the weekend just recovering.

Work piles up

Your normal workload will pile up as you sit in meetings. I support multiple international markets, so even if I have a hands-on week with one team, stuff piles up from the other teams. Somewhere between the end of the day and dinner out with people, you answer a few E-Mails and do a few things to keep things running, but everything else just piles up. It makes the first few days back in the office a little tough, which is why you might end up working on the weekend.

Ensure a successful trip

All in all, it is overrated, but not bad. You just need to approach it properly to get the most out of it. 

Prepare to be overloaded with work before and after your trip. So give clients notice, organize yourself and ask for support from other colleagues to ensure you don’t drown yourself in work. 

Get plenty of rest before a trip. If you’re already running on half a tank of gas before you fly, you’ll be empty when you get back. Know you are approaching empty during a trip and get some rest instead. People are more likely to remember when a colleague overslept and missed a meeting or came to a meeting with a hangover than one who left earlier than the others.

Most of all, recognize and remember that it is the people who will make it a successful trip. Seek to enjoy their company while relaxed at dinner or over drinks instead of trying to see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre all in an evening or two. 

Laugh instead with colleagues and enjoy their company while you can. The Eiffel Tower will still be there when you go back for a proper holiday. And if you’re really lucky, your colleague too.