When you travel frequently for business, it is likely that your computer isn’t going to see the light of day very much. Meeting after meeting. Conference to workshop. Late night business exchanges over drinks. These activities – though very important – can often neglect the one thing that connects what you’re actually there for…your work. The trouble is, your client meetings and working lunches are all essential, but back on home ground your staff and work can really take a hit if you’re not being able to get to your emails frequently and deal with your team. The next time you’re airport bound for a week or two of business travel, take a leaf from these tips and watch your week become super organized.
Rise And Shine
When you’re travelling, neglected emails can have a completely negative effect on your work overall and delay projects that are happening back at your office. The solution? Get up early. In doing so, mails can be responded to, projects delegated and you can rest in the knowledge that everything back on home-ground is being attended to. At lunch time, spend twenty minutes checking in on your inbox again, as well as when you return to your hotel room at the end of the day. Emails might have a delayed response compared to your usual reply time, but at least they’re getting attended to. This will also save you the hassle of having to reply to a weeks’ worth of emails on your return.
Use A Project Management Tool
When you’re on a plane for 8 hours or sat in conferences for most of your day, knowing what your team are up to is invaluable. Email communication does work for some, but project management tools are also ideal when you have a lot of staff members and want to quickly delegate projects and have updates on people’s assignments when you step off the plane. Asana is one great example, which allows task allocation, a useful calendar and a very beneficial interface for your whole team. With one glance you can see who is doing what, what is due when and anything that needs attention. Read more on some other tools we recommend.
Use Co-Working Spaces
Co-Working is becoming a massively popular activity worldwide, and it is great for business travelers who jump from city to city regularly. Essentially they are shared work spaces that allow you to be within an office environment with others. If the idea of working from your hotel room isn’t too appealing (or the Wifi really isn’t doing you any favors), when you have a spare few hours between meetings, co-working environments can offer a lot when you’re a frequent traveller. The internet is reliable, a quiet environment will almost be guaranteed, drinks are usually nearby and you can get your work done with that valuable spare time.
Sort Details Early
The last thing you need when you arrive in a new country is that your mobile isn’t set up right. It’s easy to think that it’ll work exactly as it does when on home ground, but a new country means you’re latching on to a different network and your phone needs to be set up in advance with things like data roaming. Different mobile operators offer separate options that will allow you to keep in control of your internet and web-based spending when you’re in another country. Ensure this is all organized prior to departure; trying to sort it out from abroad can lead to expensive phone calls and web usage. Not ideal.
Get A VA On Board
In hiring a business-grade VA, you can have peace of mind that certain aspects of your work are being dealt with while you travel. Your VA can deal with a whole range of tasks such as email management, administration and customer service. If you’re quite a small team – or even a solopreneur – a VA is an ideal solution that’ll save you both time and money when you’re travelling abroad, as well as the hassle of having to hire a full time assistant in your home office and the stress of wondering how on earth you can do it all as you try to grow your business, no matter where you are in the world.
