Extended Business Trip Essentials

If you've ever been on an extended business trip, you know that it's not quite as glamorous as being whisked off to Paris to meet top designers from around the world in a career-making opportunity of a lifetime. And yes, I was referencing the much sought after business trip in The Devil Wears Prada. In the real world, many engineering consultants take awkwardly long business trips lasting between one and six months in the middle of nowhere. The worst is when you travel back on weekends, because you never actually get to meet settle into your new environment, and so you just spend months in limbo.

When I'm at my home office, I have events scheduled quite literally every night.  Sometimes, I'll even have three separate events in one day. So when I'm relocated to the middle of nowhere Kansas where I don't know a single other person, I kind of get a little stir crazy.

I've recently devised a plan for actually enjoying this alone time, and maybe it will help you too. The idea is to treat the time when you get "home" as a relaxing spa vacation. Go to the gym. Eat out. And, pack a "spa" bag.

I know, it sounds ridiculous and feeds into the stereotypes for women in so many ways. But, it's important for me to not spend so much time fighting stereotypes that I end up altering myself to be the some foreign entity. Especially on my own time. And, for people like me it is easy to get so caught up in causes, events, classes, chores, and friends that I forget to take some time for myself to just relax. So, I've taken to packing a spa bag for my days of "forced relaxation".

Your bag can be different, and obviously this is made for trips where you are driving or checking a bag (way too much liquid and gel for a day trip), but here is what is in mine:

• Pore strips (don't use these every night, nobody has enough blackheads for that.)
• Clay face mask (don't use this every night, your skin will dry out.)
• Salt or sugar scrub
• Really nice moisturizer
• Really nice shampoo and conditioner
• Professional looking nailpolish (I would recommend you try to go towards nuetral tones and dark colors, or rock out a french manicure)
• Calming bath salts (I'm a fan of lavender)
• A book that has nothing to do with work (sci-fi, chick lit, historical fiction, textbook for a new language, it doesn't matter so long at is completely unrelated to any real responsibility)

At the end of the day settle in with a glass of wine, tea, or hot chocolate (whatever gets you relaxed), and just relax. I know, it's totally unproductive and you probably can't do it every night. But just take some time to take care of yourself. Business travel can be physically, emotionally, and mentally draining- so it's even more important than normal to take some time to rejuvenate yourself for owning the next day.

Love,

Vanessa

PS. Got any tips for business travelers? Comment below!