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Eight Revealing Emotions I’m Experiencing Not Traveling At All

As business travelers are grounded, literally, it’s been weeks, now months since we’ve traveled due to the current health pandemic.

The reality is only knowing business travel most of my life, I’ve experienced a wide range of emotions not traveling at all. Many of those emotions on the same day.

I don’t claim to be a highly emotional or unstable guy – I’m high energy, but not all over the place emotionally.

If anything, for most of my life I didn’t show much emotion, and the result was passive-aggressive behavior that unintentionally affected those around me. It’s been an area of growth for me to handle my emotions in a healthy, mature way.

But if I were to open up the honesty vault, during my 1st couple of weeks of being off the road when this health pandemic began, I had bi-polar contrasting opinions and emotions.

With reflection, I’ve identified

Eight revealing emotions I’m experiencing not traveling at all

I challenge you to consider how many of these are true of you right now.

Emotion One – Confusion

My last trip was on March 10th. I had some meetings even though a big conference I was attending was canceled last minute. Little did I know that it would be my last trip in who knows how long.

Even then I was a little skeptical and had no clue what would transpire in the world of business travel let alone the world as a whole.

The next week I was left spending hours, then days canceling everything I knew was canceled, which meant flights, hotels, car rental, meetings, etc. I was also waiting and waiting to hear if my next trip was going to be postponed or canceled, so there was a degree of shrapnel I was dealing with.

Emotion Two – Disappointment

Then I moved from confusion into some real disappointment.

I was really looking forward to warm places during an extended gray, unpredictable winter in Chicago.

I always make it to Arizona in March to experience Chicago Cubs and White Sox spring training. This was the 1st time in eight years this didn’t happen.

I had a couple of big events in Las Vegas.

I was going to take my family with me on their spring break to the west side of Florida to thank them since Dad was gone a lot during Q1.

I had a trip to the Bay Area for a conference and training.

I was going to Dallas for a training and was so excited to see the brand new Globe Life Park, home of the Texas Rangers. I have to update my “been to every single baseball park to date that is current” streak.

And on and on and on.

Events, people, experiences, sites – all postponed or canceled.

Disappointment was and still is real in this business traveler.

Emotion Three – Relief

Once the Stay at Home Act hit Illinois (thanks to Chicago), I didn’t realize how tired I was of the grind of Road Life and I seek to become and remain an elite road warrior.

We aren’t rushing our kids all around town for basketball and volleyball practice. My early morning flights out and late flights in are not an issue.

Spring is finally showing up in Chicago and my kids can get outside.

I can help my wife with spring cleaning like never before in the Buck Fam house because I’m a captive audience. We’ve purged so much, someone driving by on garbage day asked if we were evicted.

But instead of staying in “relief mode”, the next emotion started kicking in and kicking me.

Emotion Four – Frustration

It was kinda nice not having the rapid pace our family often finds ourselves in.

But then I had to figure out how to work-from-home with everyone home all of the time.

Now, a little background. My wife is a school teacher and all of my kids are in school except my youngest who is four.

During the school year, I have my home office and the entire house to myself which is ideal. I can work but also help out around the house by taking a break and doing some laundry. I can also prepare dinner for the fam so they can come home and eat.

Then during summer, winter, and spring breaks, the Fam is home but I also have the ability to go and work somewhere else: Starbucks, the library, and often my local string of hotel lobbies (thank you Residence Inn, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn) or they can go out for a day at the park, the zoo or the pool and I can get the house back for long stretches of time to work.

This gives me some variety and allows me to make the best of working from home.

But always having interruptions, hearing voices (which I believe was only my family), all the time is frustrating.

Emotion Five – Exhaustion

I thought the road had its moments of exhaustion but who would’ve ever thought there’s another smaller pandemic called Zoom Fatigue?!

I recently read an article on Fast Company addressing Zoom Fatigue. Who knew that would become “a thing” but it’s real.

I’ve hit a different level of exhaustion due to:

Seeming to always be on the phone.
Zoom meeting after meeting with no breaks in between – which the author of the article called “Zero Break Schedule” – at least on the road I had drive time.
One Position for One Screen – let me quote the article: “Another reason that video calls can be exceptionally tiring is that you need to physically hold yourself in one position. In an in-person meeting, you’d likely shift from side to side, tilt back in your chair, swivel from looking one way to another depending on who is speaking, and lean over to take notes. Unfortunately in a video call, you’re stuck in one place trying to stay in the center of the screen, and moving in any other direction can cause your face to become awkwardly cropped.”
Interruptions that are seemingly quick and not bothersome, but I have found myself constantly trying to get back my train of thought or re-engage in the meeting.
And most importantly, an exhausted wife who is doing online learning with her grade school class, learning new technology, home-schooling the kids, and feeling like she’s on house arrest.

Emotion Six – Uncertainty

It’s hard not to get sucked in by the day-by-day updates on the news, articles being written, and the onslaught of social media.

How much longer?

What’s our plan?

How will my job, business travel, the world, look like post an unprecedented health pandemic?

All real concerns and ones that if not kept in moderation and perspective can lead to a whole other string of emotions like worry, fear, paralysis. Need I go on?

I’m a person of faith and this has been a real life challenge/opportunity to not allow uncertainty to steal my peace and my trust in God.

It’s brought our family closer together and strengthened our faith.

Emotion Seven – Curiosity

A mentor and friend of mine, Mike Kim, has this quote when challenging times confront us and here’s the quote: “What does this make possible?” or in other words: “What does being off the road for an extended period of time make possible?”

The longer I’ve been home I’ve tried to turn the uncertainty into curiosity.

How will companies handle this time with their business travelers on the ground to improve their road life so everybody can win?

How can I use this time wisely to have something to show for it other than relief it’s over?

And this has led into the 8th and final emotion I’m experiencing not traveling at all…

Emotion Eight – Motivation

Maybe it’s accepting the new normal right now.

Maybe it’s the weather finally warming up.

Possibly it’s my resilience and optimism coming through.

Probably a combination of all the above, but either way, I now only want to lightly experience any other of the eight emotions and spend my emotional energy on Motivation.

This will be a six-part series on how to leverage being home with the sole purpose of getting myself ready to get back to Road Life.

Are you in?

Emotions are real whether you choose to recognize them or not. We need to work through how they’re effecting our New Normal right now.

I encourage and challenge you to notice when these emotions come up and how you handle them.

Eight Critical Tips for Working From Home Effectively

Some business travelers work in an office building when they’re not on the road. But many, even most business travelers work from home when they’re not on the road. And this can be a challenge.

And right now, many have been forced into a work-from-home situation due to COVID-19. So, no matter what may be causing you to work from home when you’re not used to it or having to learn how to work from home, this is for you.

Now, working from home has its advantages as well as disadvantages.

I’ve had the following experiences:

Always in an office environment
Business Travel and going into the office on days I’m not traveling which was brutal, especially when I flew in late one night and had to be up early fighting Chicago traffic early the next morning.
Business Travel and working from home when I’m not traveling, which is my current reality.

A reminder of my home life: my wife is a school teacher, so during the school year and nonholidays or spring break, I just need to get the Fam out of the house, happy and on time. Then the house is mine.

During the summer or breaks, everyone is home all the time during my workday, which increases my challenges.

All this to say, I have an ever-changing Work-from-Home environment.

Based on years of doing Work-from-Home horribly and learning to make the most of what it hands me, here are my

Eight Critical Tips for Working From Home Effectively:

Tip One – Get Up on Time and Maximize a Strong Early Morning Rhythm

Working from home doesn’t mean it’s time to sleep in.

Be sure to maintain the morning schedule you had when going into the office, and if you now have more time due to not having to commute, use it for exercise or to have breakfast with the family.

Giving in to sleeping longer may reduce your energy level and make it harder to focus.

For example, I have the exact same morning rhythm whether I’m home or on the road with some variation. I do the following:

Drink 16 oz of room temperature water with a green mix of veggies/fruit, lemon juice, and sea salt
Make my hot green tea
Read my Bible for 15 minutes
Read a 2nd book that is inspirational or educational
Workout
Eat Breakfast
Connect with the Fam
Find your Morning Rhythm no matter at home or on the road.

Tip Two – Create a Designated Work Space

Don’t try to do your job from the sofa, or worse, your bed. If you don’t already have a designated office space in your home, create one.

Set up a table and comfortable chair in a room—or corner of a room—where you’re likely to have the most privacy. Use a decorative screen to help section off your workspace if need be.

Take over a guest room, if you have one, or claim the dining room as your new office, relegating meals to the kitchen instead. The idea is to have a space that’s as private as possible, where you can leave your work materials out at the end of the day.

My office was overtaken by those Buckley boys, so I created a workspace in our finished basement area that is a stand-up desk and faces a window. Brilliant!

Tip Three – Develop a Workday Startup Ritual

This is different from your Morning Routine.

You need to have a “Game On” rhythm that puts you in the work zone. It becomes a trigger to you that it’s Time to Work and Getter Dun!

This work startup ritual doesn’t have to be elaborate but simple and consistent. Here’s mine:

Fill my Elite Road Warrior water bottle
Turn on instrumental music
Light a candle
Open up my planner to review my schedule for the day

That’s it. Nothing magical or life-changing, but I do it every day to start up my workday.

Wash – Rinse – Repeat.

Tip Four – Create a Key3

These are three key action items that will determine if your day ahead is a success or not.

I’m not talking about your overwhelming task list.

These are the Key3 that will make or break your day.

How do you know what to choose?

Well, if you don’t get them done, you won’t feel like you made the most of your day, something was incomplete or missing, or you “didn’t leave it all on the field” to use a sports analogy.

Those are the days when I feel I was busy the entire day, but don’t feel like I really got anything done. I look back and think, “I was always doing something, but what did I actually accomplish?”

For the record, I hate those days and avoid them whenever possible.

And it starts with creating my Key3 for the day ahead.

Here is my process:

Brainstorm what I want to accomplish for the day (and this is always a long list)
I look for themes
I narrow them down to the most crucial 3
I list them in order of most important, 2nd most, then 3rd.
Then I start with my 1st of the Key3.

I want to feel at the end of the day that I made the absolute most of the day and did what was key to me and that comes from creating your Key3.

Tip Five – Hide the Distractions

I’m not sure if you’re an easily distracted person or not, but being distracted on the road is completely different than being distracted in the comforts of your own home.

I’ve found three areas where I can become easily distracted:

What You See – I cannot have the TV on because I will glance up and see the movement and that’s all it takes / my phone is another visual that can hijack me.
What You Hear – I can’t have the TV on or even music with lyrics especially ones that I know. If I’m going to do anything that requires thinking or developing, I find that hearing dings, alerts, notifications from my computer or phone is another distraction hijack.
What Enables Procrastination – There are tasks in work that I simply don’t want to do – return that call, write that proposal, start the presentation. And if I notice the dishes are not done or the laundry needs to be folded. All of a sudden, they become incredibly important and MUST BE DONE NOW!

Know thyself and what will hijack your focus and productivity especially for your Key3. Avoid distractions with what you see, what you hear, and what enables procrastination.

Tip Six – Establish a Communication System

Working from home can often leave you feeling cut-off from your coworkers and managers, which can quickly stymie productivity.

Make sure you have a system for effectively connecting, using both chat programs and video conferencing to stay in regular contact. Don’t just rely on email, which can lack details and intent.

The idea is to avoid isolating yourself, even though you’re not physically present at the office.

Know how others like to be communicated with, but make sure it doesn’t become a distraction (like Tip Four) with all the dings and notifications.

Tip Seven – Work in Time Blocks

It’s easy to just open up the computer and dive right into email or CRM. So, Tip Seven is the Money of all Eight tips, so if you get anything from the eight, pay specific attention to this one tip.

In the book, Start Finishing – How to Go From Idea to Done by Charlie Gilkey, he lays out four specific time blocks:

Focus Time Blocks – 90-120 minute blocks of time when we’re especially creative, inspired, and able to do high-level work that requires your focus (this would be your key3). Focus blocks fuel your best work.
Critical – NO distractions. Turn off all alerts. Close email. Turn off your phone.

Social Time Blocks – 90-120 minute blocks of time when we’re primed and energetically in the right space to meet other people. This is interacting with people in real-time. This is your video and audio time when you’re home and have meetings, set calls, etc.
Critical – Spread these out throughout the day otherwise it will drain you. Also, take your calls on a walk. Productivity expert, Marcey Rader, calls them Walkie Talkies. Get some movement in, get outside, and double dip with the call and exercise.

Administrative Time Blocks – 30-60 minute low-energy blocks of time when we’re not in the zone to do the work that requires “heavy lifting,” but there are still types of work we can do effectively. Think: email, phone calls, CRM work, digital, paper filing, low-level filing, organizing, etc.
Critical – Batch admin tasks together which means lumping the same kind of work together (30 minutes of e-mailing, 30 minutes of calls, 30 minutes of CRM updates).

Recovery Time Blocks – variable-length blocks of time that we use for activities that recharge us such as a lunch break without a screen, going for a 15-minute mid-morning or mid-afternoon walk to “move the body and rest the mind.”
Remember, the other three-time blocks of focus, social and admin are energy output blocks, and just like a battery that outputs energy, they need to be charged and this is done with the Recovery Time Block.

Critical – Do NOT underestimate or devalue the importance of the recovery time block, especially when working from home. You need to recharge and stop thinking you’re superhuman and the quality of your work won’t suffer. Lies nothing but lies.

I live my days working from home leveraging these four-time blocks. Each day the amount and length will look different, but that can be planned ahead of time.

In the Elite Road Warrior book, it’s a concept called Block and Tackle. The concept uses these four-time blocks then focuses on tackling only the task in that block of time.

One last word on Time Blocks. Know your energy levels throughout the day.

I use the term energy pacing and learning to become an Energyologist which means becoming an expert of your own energy levels.

It’s key you match your time block with your energy level. Don’t try to do Focus Work if you’re tired or hungry – your results will suffer.

Tip Eight – Develop a Workday Shutdown Ritual

Just as you had created a Workday Startup Ritual, you need to do the same to “shutter down” for the workday.

Work during work hours. When working from home, it can be tempting to try and sneak in some domestic tasks or social engagements. Try to avoid this during designated work hours, as the distraction factor will quickly mount, and you’ll find it hard to keep switching between work and home life. Take a lunch hour and a couple of breaks for your personal tasks, then focus on work during the times you would while at the office.

Honor quitting time. One of the dangers of working from home is that your work is always right there with you. Be as productive as possible during work hours, then end your day as you normally would when at the office. Shut your computer down, organize your papers, turn off the light in your home office space and call it a day. Taking the necessary time to detach from work every day will ultimately make you more productive.

Here is my specific workday shutdown ritual:

One last check of email
One last check of work platforms like WeChat, Slack, etc.
Check my calendar for tomorrow’s appointments
Begin to create my Key3 or at least the list of tasks for tomorrow to create my Key3 based on how today went
Physically shut my laptop down and audibly say “Case Closed” – why? Sounds silly but it’s a trigger that lets me know I’m officially off the work clock and I’m now on HST – home standard time.

You don’t have to choose all the tips but at least try and implement one tip and see what happens. The goal is daily trying to improve your Work-From-Home environment.

The Biggest Misconception to Master the Business Travel Life

When I first started as a business traveler a long, long time ago, I took my Type A, driven personality to a whole new level.

It was unleashed on the “open road” if you know what I mean.

I dove into this new opportunity that now included traveling the country and eventually certain parts of the world.

And I loved it.

I already went 100 miles an hour at home and now I was given the freedom to do the very same things on my own on the road.

Brilliant!

And I met hundreds and hundreds of business travelers who validated my theory.

Drive.

Drive..

Drive…

Personal Drive which was inner.

Road Drive which was outer.

And I poured myself into my work.

Nobody could and would outwork yours truly on the road.

And if I found out you did, I would sleep less and try to wear you down.

I even coined a phrase I use often called the Travel Triangle:

Airport
Board Room
Hotel Room

Wash – Rinse – Repeat.

And between us girls, I got good and I mean really good at the Travel Triangle.

I prided myself on not being outworked and killing it on the road.

But here is the biggest misconception I thought to master the business travel life.

Are you ready for it?

It’s all about WORK.

Um, excuse me. Aren’t you there to work?

After all, it is called BUSINESS Travel.

Touche.

But not ONLY work.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This is not a free pass to slack off.

But let me repeat, the biggest misconception to master the business travel life is it’s not only about work.

I believed this lie for far too long.

I went from a not so suite job to c-suite.

I had the cheap rental cars and lousy hotel rooms and fast food meals to living large and driving cool cars right up to my plush hotel, eating the best of the king’s food and drinking the best of the king’s wine.

But in the end, believing this misconception, business travel is only about work, almost took two very important parts of my life.

Let me tell you how I found out first of all.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve always gone 100 miles an hour in my life and it manifested itself with business travel.

I could get more done in a day than the average guy.

More trips.

Let’s Land This Plane

The premise of Elite Road Warrior is energy habits. All six of the energy habits are encompassed within the three focus areas:

Work – Energy habit 4: Perform / Energy Habit 5: Develop
Health – Physical Energy Habits – Energy Habit 1: Move / Energy Habit 2: Fuel / Energy Habit 3: Rest
HomeLife – Energy Habit 6: Connect

My hope is this is a challenge, a wake-up call to see how you’re personally doing in the three focus areas.

You may be doing great in one, but what about the other two?

Or maybe good on two but what about the other one?

Remember, you can always find another job but you can’t always get your health back or it’s a long long journey or get your family back.

My hope and prayer are you do whatever it takes to become and remain an elite road warrior and it starts by no longer believing the biggest misconception in business travel and excelling in all three focus areas of Work / Health / Home Life.

You Got This!

Six Habits to Leverage the New Year as a Road Warrior

I love fresh starts and I cannot lie.

Paul has been on the road awhile and he has the weight to prove it.

He’s not big on New Years Resolutions with his only New Years Resolution this year is to not have any resolutions!

But he would like to make some changes as a business traveler and leverage the new year as a catalyst.

Things aren’t bad per se, but they definitely could use a lot of improvement.

Paul is typically ahead of the pack in many ways and when he feels bad about himself, he sadly resorts to comparing himself to others which allows him to feel better about himself.

But that’s not who he is most of the time.

Paul wants to get better not just get by and make the necessary changes leveraging the road to do it this upcoming year.

He has what it takes but needs to get momentum and focus on his side.

Paul’s story is like many that come to me asking for a better way.

And it all comes down to two primary words: ROAD HABITS.

These road habits encompass Three Focus Areas:

Too often, we struggle or even lose our health and our home life for the sake of work. You know, that job that never turns off and always demands more and more of you especially on the road?

Paul knows he can improve his work life but also knows if he improved his health and home life, his work would immediately improve as well.

As Paul and I unpacked this conversation, we found his biggest struggle was his mindset of his road life. He viewed the road for all that he couldn’t do:

It’s a challenge to eat healthy on the road
It’s hard to sleep in a hotel
I don’t have time to get in a good workout or a workout at all for that matter when I travel
I check in with the fam back home when I can but things get busy

… and on and on and on.

If you were to join my conversation with Paul, this is what you would hear…

Six Habits to Leverage a New Year as a Road Warrior

The first thing I told Paul was to view the road differently. Instead of what he can’t do, look for what the road will enable you to do then leverage it.

In other words, change his mindset of the road.

For example, his family doesn’t travel with him so he has his early mornings all to himself.

Paul creates his own travel schedule and does have some flexibility in when and how he travels, when and how he works.

Then we turned the corner to how to view certain habits, energy habits, through the lenses of not only work but also health and home life, the three focus areas of Elite Road Warrior.

The first three are physical energy habits:

Habit One – MOVE

Most of the time, the road does the moving for us. We’re just always sitting: to the airport, at the gate, on a plane, in a car, in a meeting, at a restaurant, then laying on a bed after a long day mindlessly surfing the tv or a device.

Most road warriors could make one simple change this new year and it would be to move more on the road.

But how?

Move leverages the Increase M4X Formula:

Stand More – think up on my feet not down on my butt
Walk More – think forward not still
Run More – think cardio and getting your heart rate up
Lift More – think strength training by using bodyweight, dumbbells, and resistance bands

Stand More – at the gate, on the plane, in a meeting, create a stand-up desk in the lobby, etc.

Walk More – take the stairs not the elevator, walk up the escalator, choose a higher floor at your hotel and take the stairs, park further in the parking lot, take a phone call on a walk.

Run More – actually use the treadmill or elliptical in the fitness center, try burpees in your hotel room, take an outside walk and turn it into a sprint for 30 seconds.

Lift More – actually use the dumbbells in the fitness center, do pushups and leg squats, bring resistance bands with you.

Key Concept: Movement Creates Energy

Challenge – choose one of the four Increase M4X this next month to focus on and master it for all its worth.

Do you need to stand more? Walk more? Run more? Lift more?

What would be the easiest for you to implement to get some quick wins?

What would challenge and push you to start the year with the energy habit of MOVE?

Resource – podcast episode #018 – How to Workout in a Hotel Room / #028 – MOVE and Posture with Dr. Keith Giaquinto

Habit Two – FUEL

One of the joys of the road is the amazing food and drink always at our fingertips.

I’ve eaten meals most people would die for. I’ve had a variety of foods that make your mouth water from local specialties to international cuisine. Kansas City barbecue, Seattle fish to Paella (pie-ay-a) in Spain.

There’s the Freshman 15 then the Travel 20.

But being the recovering over-achiever I earned the Entitled 40.

Aka: Heavyweight champion of the… road.

My food choices were as follows:

The easiest choice
The quickest choice
The tastiest choice
The largest choice

As a result, the weight gain and hating how I looked in the hotel room mirror – that guy followed me all over the country and showed up in every single hotel room mirror.

Something had to change.

Fuel encompasses the MTHC Formula: (Make the Healthiest Choice)

Continually Hydrate – adding more water into my road day
Clean & Green – cleaner foods and more greens with each meal
Carry a Controlled Substance – having healthy snacks always available

Continually Hydrate – drinking water 1st thing in the morning, drink more water throughout the day especially on a flight, adding 1 glass of water with every alcoholic drink – I even developed and now use the Elite Road Warrior branded water bottle on the road

Clean & Green – less ingredients, less sugar, cleaner meats, more greens in your meals

Carry a Controlled Substance – having healthy snack options available to you at all times to always MTHC – I chose to bring an actual snack bag with me

Key Concept: Food is Fuel and Fuel is Energy

Challenge – choose one of the three in the MTHC Formula to focus on this new year

Do you need to add more water to your day? Could you eat more clean and green? Can you start carrying healthy snack options with you?

What would be the easiest for you to implement to get some quick wins?

What would challenge and push you to start the year with the energy habit of FUEL?

Resource – podcast episode #043 – Five Decisions You Must Make at Every Restaurant on the Road / #037 – Why You Must Carry a Lunch Box to Work on the Road

Habit Three – REST

If there was one habit that I neglected the most for the longest time, it was rest. Who has time to sleep on the road?

Sleep was completely optional to me.

I didn’t like it and felt it was a waste of time.

It just didn’t matter to me.

I was the guy who:

Had dinner with my laptop lover then took her up for a nightcap
Had every possible light and screen on
Went to bed way too late binge-watching and falling asleep with the TV on
Woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and felt like I had swallowed a dozen cotton balls
Woke up feeling sharp as a bowling ball
Never took a break and came home absolutely exhausted useless to my family and work

The Problem: I viewed rest as the enemy not as my biggest performance enhancer on the road

Rest encompasses the Strategic Resting Formula:

Sleep – Improve Than Increase
Breaks – Move the Body, Rest the Mind
Downtime – Time to Be, NOT to Be On

Sleep – having a bedtime ritual and a set bedtime, keeping your room cool, completely dark, using blue-blocker glasses, Bose sleep buds, Dep Sleepwear, bedtime meditations all to improve my sleep before ever even increasing my sleep

Breaks – taking micro-breaks that lasts seconds, mini-breaks that last a couple of minutes, macro breaks that take 15-30 minutes all with the goal of stretching, going for a walk, getting some water, going to the bathroom, meditating, anything to move the body and rest the mind

Downtime – finding your Road Thing that brings you energy whether going to a ballgame, being a tourist in the city, going to BN or a coffee shop just to read, etc.

Key Concept: Rest Creates Energy

Challenge – choose one of the three in the Strategic Resting Formula to focus on this new year

Do you need to have a clearer bedtime and evening routine? Do you start taking a break to move the body and rest the mind? Do you need to find your Road Thing to have some time just to be and not be on so you can ultimately be more productive?

What would be the easiest for you to implement to get some quick wins?

What would challenge and push you to start the year with the energy habit of REST?

Resource – podcast episode #035 – Why I Have a Sleep Kit and What Goes in It on the Road / #037 – Six Ways to Take an Energy-Giving Break on the Road

Now, we’ll focus on the three mental energy habits:

Habit Four – PERFORM

This is why you’re on the road – to perform. I truly believe most of us want to perform at a high level on the road.

But here’s the problem: we’re not willing to pay the price to perform at a high level.

We’re just so used to doing business as usual on the road and just getting by.

Or we compare ourselves to others and doing better than the other guy or girl but not our personal best. This was Paul’s go-to-move.

The key is being intentional so we can perform at an elite level.

Perform encompasses the Intentional Performance Formula:

Road Plan – is planning your day on paper, every part, and even finding the potential margins that may arise and what to do with them when they do appear
Block & Tackle – is focusing on one task for a set period of time
Energy Pacing – is knowing why and when your energy is low then how to pair tasks according to your energy

Road Plan – using a resource like the Full Focus Planner to think through your Big 3 of the Day, when you’ll have the gift or margins and an exact plan how to use that time

Block & Tackle – once you have a Time Block to work, spending, for example, 25 minutes to ONLY email and knowing which emails hold the most weight then attack them. Do the same concept for phone calls, CRM, proposals or quotes, etc.

Energy Pacing – actually look at your energy highs and lows through the day. When do they come? Do you need a break? Food? Movement? Change and work on a low energy task due to low energy? This change makes a huge difference for your performance on the road

Key Concept: High Performance Requires Intentionality

Challenge – choose one of the three in the Intentional Performance Formula

Do you need to create a road plan? Do you need two be more intentional with the margins that appear within your day? Do you need to focus on one task for a set period of time? Do you know to pay more attention to your energy so you can know how to pair your tasks accordingly?

What would be the easiest for you to implement to get some quick wins?

What would challenge and push you to start the year with the energy habit of PERFORM?

Resource – podcast episode #022 – How to be Productive in the Margins on the Road / #009 – One Change Every Business Traveler Must Make on the 1st Day of Every Trip

Habit Five – DEVELOP

If there is one habit that is often completely neglected on the road it would be professional and personal development.

How could there possibly be time to do anything but work especially time to read or learn?

But once we learn the margins of the road and become intentional about development, you’ll find more than enough time on any business trip to implement this critical energy habit to become an elite road warrior.

Develop encompasses the Invest in You Formula:

Sharpen the Mind – putting content in
Process the Thoughts – getting content out
Monitor the Heart – finding out how you’re REALLY doing

Sharpen the Mind – reading books, articles, or podcast with the intent to learn – possibly leverage the moment you find your seat on a plane until you reach 10K feet

Process the Thoughts – putting your thoughts on paper called Think Space into one central location

Monitor the Heart – taking time even 5-15 minutes to ask key questions to make sure your priorities and your heart are in the right place

Key Concept: Learning is Selfish and Something Only YOU Can Do

Challenge – Choose one of the three in the Invest in You Formula

Do you need to find a book to focus and read (like the Elite Road Warrior book for example)? Do you need to get a journal to write down your thoughts for Think Space and to Monitor the Heart?

I highly recommend the Elite Road Warrior Journal – black leather branded journal with two inserts, one to process the thoughts in the Think Space Journal side and one to monitor the heart in the Road Life Journal side. You can order the Elite Road Warrior Journal at www.EliteRoadWarrior.com .

What would be the easiest for you to implement to get some quick wins?
What would challenge and push you to start the year with the energy habit of DEVELOP?

Resource – podcast episode #041 – Eight Questions I Answer Every Morning on the Road / #040 – Why Personal Development is Important on the Road with Scott Mawdesley

Habit Six – CONNECT

For the longest time, my connect time with my family and friends back home was very narcissistic, meaning it revolved only around my schedule when it was best for me.

I rarely considered my family’s dinner time, homework time, sports practice, piano lessons, bedtime, just what worked for me.

I was busy os it was okay, right?

It consisted of only the following:

Text
Phone call
Video chat
Now, there’s nothing wrong with these three.

But it’s what I call the bare minimums to connect with those we love back home.

Nothing special and reactive.

Connect encompasses the Protect Connect Formula:

Connect Intentionally – on purpose
Connect Thoughtfully – reflective
Connect Creatively – memorable

Connect Intentionally – thinking outside of the reactive text, call or video chat and choosing a time and method to connect on purpose.

Connect Thoughtfully – pre-writing messages to send to people that will really mean something to them when they read the text, recording audio or video for your family to listen or watch over and over, leveraging the Not Forgotten Journal by taking two minutes to write down a memory, encouragement, challenge, speaking words of life into your significant other.

Connect Creatively – sending postcards to your kids from the city you’re in, leaving or sending Connect Cards for your kids to open, creating Flat Kiddos to take pictures of your locations such as your rental car, hotel, people you meet so your kids feel part of your trip, creating a map of the country and draw out where you’ll be on what days so your family knows where you are, having your kids do some research on your location for the trip .

Key Concept: Become a Connect-In Guy or a Connect-In Girl on the road

Challenge – Choose one of the three in the Protect Connect Formula

Do you need to become more intentional about how you connect with those you love back home? Do you need to schedule Think Space time to write meaningful words to others? How can you leverage the creative ideas suggested to begin to implement immediately?

You can order the Not Forgotten Journal, Connect Cards, and Flat Kiddos at www.EliteRoadWarrior.com

What would be the easiest for you to implement to get some quick wins?
What would challenge and push you to start the year with the energy habit of CONNECT?

Resource – podcast episode #029 – How I Shocked My Wife with the Not Forgotten Journal / #013 – Three Mindset Shifts to Stay Connected With Those Back Home

Let’s Land This Plane

Back to Paul’s story at the beginning of the episode… He wants to leverage the new year to make some changes not only in his work but also his health, and his home life.

These six energy habits are the basis of the Elite Road Warrior book and philosophy to master the business travel life.

I challenge, double-dog road warrior style dare you to choose one of the six habits and leverage the energy habit for all its worth to become an elite road warrior.

If you’re interested in listening to this article, check out Episode 051 of the Elite Road Warrior Podcast.

Top Five Excuses I Heard From Business Travelers This Past Year

I had this coming and more.

People talk to me for two crazy reasons:

I ask questions
I listen to their response

My Dad used to say all the time:

Son, ask people questions and they’ll talk to you for hours. Talk about yourself and they’ll listen to you for seconds at the most.

And oh how business travelers can talk.

Talk when they’re bored and want to engage with someone who gets them.

Talk when they’re asked a question by someone who seems to listen.

But what they don’t know is WHY I ask many of my questions on the road.

One word: RESEARCH

I want to hear from every single business traveler I can to hear how they feel about Road Life.

Unfiltered.

This past year I wanted to hear what were the barriers to becoming an elite road warrior.

And did I get an earful and my research-validated?

Here are the Top Five Excuses I Heard From Business Travelers This Past Year

Excuse 1 – It’s Hard to Eat Healthy on the Road

Translation: I’m not taking any responsibility for the non-forced food I put in my mouth.

I love this one. I’ve had SO many meals with road warriors who give me this excuse.

But then I watch their food choices meal after meal, restaurant after restaurant, bad choice after bad choice.

It starts with the appetizer then the main course with all the trimmings.

There’s the Freshman 15.
Then the Travel 20.
And if you’re an overachiever like me, you earn the Entitled 40.

How? Saying “It’s hard to eat healthy on the road.”

The reality is many of us have two advantages:

We’re not paying for the meal
We can choose the restaurant most of the time

These two realities can allow us to eat in healthier places and give you healthier options.

The truth is food is fuel and fuel is energy.

And I want energy to be at my best on the road.

Energy Habit Focus: FUEL

Resource: Five Decisions You Must Make at Every Restaurant on the Road

Excuse 2 – I Can’t Get in a Good Workout So What’s the Point

Translation: I’m not as busy as I think and could make time for a short, effective workout.

So many choices:

Morning or Late Afternoon?
Treadmill or Elliptical?
Outside Walk or Run?
Dumbbells or Resistance Bands?

The answer? YES!

And I’ve found when I take even just 20 minutes, I often have a better workout because I’m time-sensitive and really get after it.

Whether I’m in the hotel fitness center or stay in my hotel room, taking just a few minutes does so much for me especially when I make it happen before the business travel day begins.

Remember, something, anything, just not nothing when it comes to exercise on the road.

Movement Creates Energy.

Energy Habit Focus: MOVE

Resource: How to Workout in a Hotel Room – Podcast Interview with Jeff McMahon

Excuse 3 – I Don’t Have Time to Read When Traveling

Translation: I’m not looking at all the marginal time that affords me reading time on the road.

This was me until I really started looking at my business travel days for margin.

Consider these times to get your “read on”:

Drive to the airport to listen to an audiobook or a podcast
On the long-term parking bus and going through security
After you board the plane and until you hear “we’ve reached 10,000 feet blah blah blah”
On the flight descent when you’re told to put your tray table up and prepare for landing
In your rental car or RideShare
1st hour of your morning when you’re in your hotel

Just sayin, there is more than enough time to get your “read on” while traveling for business.

Energy Habit Focus: DEVELOP

Resource: Five Reasons Personal Development is a Challenge on the Road

Excuse 4 – I Just Can’t Get a Good Night Sleep on the Road

Translation: I’m really good at hijacking my sleep when I travel.

I sucked at sleep on the road for a long, long time and here’s how:

I was on a screen (sometimes many) way too late
I would fall asleep with the TV on
I drank too much which my bladder and cottonmouth woke me up in the middle of the night
My brain was too active and I would just endlessly lay in my bed
My room was too warm and not dark enough

But once I realized that I first and foremost needed to IMPROVE my sleep before I needed to INCREASE my sleep.

Game changer, road warriors!

Now, I’m highly focused on having the best quality of sleep first then focus on the quantity no matter what.

Energy Habit Focus: REST

Resource: Why You Need a Sleep Kit on the Road and What Should Go In It

Excuse 5 – My Family is Just Fine with My Level of Check-In While Traveling

Translation: I’ve never done it any other way to see if it made a difference.

The road is challenging to stay connected with those back home and it may go something like this:

I’ll call when I can
I’ll send a check-in text here and there
I’ll video chat but yet still be checking email and not really paying attention

I know because that was me for way too long and still the case for most business travelers.

This is what I call a “Check-in Guy or Check-in Girl”. We do the bare minimum and it’s usually only when it’s convenient for us.

But what if we leveraged the road to stay connected with the family in thoughtful and creative ways that actually strengthen our relationships?

There are many creative ideas from Connect Cards to Flat Kiddos to the Not Forgotten Journal that can change the depth of your relationships back home in amazing ways and so worth this small investment of time.

Energy Habit Focus: CONNECT

Resource: Three Mindset Shifts to Stay Connected With Those Back Home

Let’s Land This Plane

In my book, Elite Road Warrior: Six Energy Habits to Master the Business Travel Life, I had a theme quote:

If you want to do something, you’ll find a way.
If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse. – Jim Rohn

And business travelers are king of excuses hence this article!

Excuses are opportunities that can be easily turned around.

What excuses are you using right now that you can leverage the road to turn around to help you become an elite road warrior?

I challenge you to check out the five resource links offered in this article. Take action and find a way, not an excuse.