Road Warriors

Living a life that requires being away from home much more often then actually being home has proved an interesting challenge: a real test of physical and mental strength.

I've become hyper organized, to the point where long time friends insist I've become OCD. When I am home, often sleep needs to be back burnered to allow for maximum productivity time, since my opportunity to get things done is finite.

I have digitized my pantry (yay phone apps), so on the flight home I can plan my meals for the next few days - cooking for one is a challage on it's own, but when home for only short stints it's an artform. I grew up poor so throwing out fresh food because it may go bad pains me. And I adore homemade food, eating out looses it's luster when you live out of a suitcase.

I feel like most of my time at home is spent unpacking and repacking - yet another fine artform if you're a woman and you're city hoping for three weeks.

I am fortunate to have a good friend I can trust to pay to take care of matters during my absence.

And thank the gods, most of the time I'm going to a home-away-from-home, so there's still a semblance of a sane pace once my feet touch ground again. Spending a comfortable night in with my lovers has become a priority - and secretly I fear they'll get bored. I'm not terribly wild about late nights in strip clubs or long nights on the town as a focus of our time together. I'm sure this is probably an unwarranted fear as there is an intimacy when you're both comfortable enough not to need a distraction to enjoy being together.

But there are days, like today, when I feel strung out - waiting for the straw that will make me snap under the pressure of keeping life together.

So, for those of you who travel a lot, what are your tricks for maintaining sanity an order?

With all due respect, I think most of your clientele can empathize with living out of a suitcase. At one time or another, even if it was years ago, most of us did an assignment or two (3, 4?) that involved 50%+ travel.

Some of us traveled in style. Some of us not as much. Ask Charles Tudor and he will give you a story that makes the worst of us look like royalty.

But to your point, I enjoy cooking. I too hate "wasting" food. As a result when I am home but traveling frequently, I tend to actually eat out more often. If I go to the grocery and fill the fridge and pantry some of it is waste. If I just eat out, I feel as though at least I'm not wasting.

With all due respect, I think most of your clientele can empathize with living out of a suitcase. At one time or another, even if it was years ago, most of us did an assignment or two (3, 4?) that involved 50%+ travel. Originally Posted by atlcomedy

Most certainly true, I've heard of being on the road 250+ days a year, and I'm getting close to that. To earn a very nice income requires some level of expertise on matters, which put a professional in demand all over the place. However, that was more an element of their past then their current life (thank God!).

I try to avoid eating out as much to preserve my figure and health as anything else. Fortunately I can cook in their homes, and druning short stays at my place, I either graze - cheese, bread, fruit, deli meats - so there's nothing in the fridge (and no time for a proper meal), or I cook for all my friends so I use up everything I buy.

I am quite envious when I see men traveling for two weeks with one bag holding two suites. I'm pretty good at packing but still can't get away with that kind of minimalism.

I used to do beyond 100K miles a year, and one or two years was completely unpacked for maybe 6 weeks. Most of the time there was a packed bag ready to go at a moments notice. Not having the luxury to pay bills online was a major hassle; that was perhaps the trickiest part of never being home.

A few things that always helped:

A friend picked up the mail every 2 or 3 days and left it in my apartment

I made sure the cleaning lady still came every 2 weeks so the place looked nice when I got home.

Meals that I made were usually ones where leftovers could be frozen so there was always some food when I got home and didn't want to think about shopping. There was always a pound of deli in the freezer just in case.

I always liked travel, treating each trip as an adventure of sorts made that even easier

Me time: whenever possible I would take a day off right after I got back home. Didn't do much of anything, perhaps a movie in the afternoon because it felt decadent.

Recognizing days that I was stressed and in a bitch of a mood and being extra careful before responding to a client, colleague, or friend.

I had the same problems as you Lauren, so I cut back and now my schedule works really well. It wasn't the travel that was the issue, it was the amount of things I had to do at home, inbetween travel, in the least amount of time. It was ridiculuous and stressful. I now travel 4 (sometimes 5 days a week) for 3 weeks out of the month and spend one whole week (this week as it happens) at home. I am happier, healthier, less stressed and more productive. Back to back travel doesn't work for me..because going home after several weeks on the road to pick up where I left off is just too overwhelming. I think my breaking point was several months ago when I realized on one trip back that I had to get my car inspected and serviced in one day whilst doing a whole host of other things...and then finding out the car wouldn't be ready for 2 days..and I wouldn't be back for 2 weeks. It just got out of control. Trying to plan ordinary things like dentist appts and annual exam at the docs became a mammoth planning task. It was too much. As I said, I much prefer the way I do things now. One of the biggest problems I have to work with is that no-one can enter my apt when I'm away because there are no spare keys. My complex uses those electronic tags..and you are only allowed one if there is only one person living in the apt. That has been the biggest difficulty for me..because friends just weren't able to help me out with the things I really needed help with even though they offered.

As for eating..I'm home for 2 or 3 days at a time so its not that much of an issue. A day or so would be a nightmare. Was a nightmare. I also realized that I was taking my friends for granted a bit too...by hoping they could accomodate my schedule when I traveled more..and I didn't like that. They have been good to me and picking up the tab for drinks or dinner just didn't balance the equation for me..I just wasn't around like I used to be. I guess you have to strike the nearest balance you can...to achieve all that you need to achieve...but it will never be perfect. I am fortunate enough that both this life and my day job allow me to set my own schedule to a high degree. For those that don't have that luxury it must be very very hard to work within such confines.

C

I try to avoid eating out as much to preserve my figure and health as anything else. .. I either graze - cheese, bread, fruit, deli meats - so there's nothing in the fridge (and no time for a proper meal), or I cook for all my friends so I use up everything I buy.

I am quite envious when I see men traveling for two weeks with one bag holding two suites. I'm pretty good at packing but still can't get away with that kind of minimalism. Originally Posted by Lauren Summerhill

I try to graze and do as little eating out as possible. My trips tend to be long stays in one location rather than the numerous flights to different locations. So, I don't do the 100K miles per year, but I am away from home 200-300 nights a year. This year, I'm lucky. I've been home a total of about 7 weeks since the first of the year. And I expect to be on the road through the first week of December.

It just got out of control. Trying to plan ordinary things like dentist appts and annual exam at the docs became a mammoth planning task. It was too much. As I said, I much prefer the way I do things now.

C Originally Posted by Camille

I set Dr appts when I'm home & see the dr., which I regularly break. When I do get home, one of my first tasks is to make an appt the next week for all my drs.

The result is: I have two homes: the one with my SO, and my current hotel. Hotel stays tend to be in increments of 30 days, with most of them around 90 (or, occasionally, more).

I know exactly what you mean about planning the simplest things becoming a marathon task. A girlfriend asked when I'd be free to meet her in a city of our choosing and I replied "June".

Travel back to back is hard, and I can't bring myself to stop - not sure I really want to. I am having a blast when I'm wherever I'm going, but the in between stuff can be hard.

Your story about the key fob actually terrifies me! I hope my new place has keys (the building is in construction), it never EVER occurred to me to look into that!! I have three people who necessarily have keys to my home. Such a limitation would be a nightmare...

Like you, I am lucky that my day job can travel with me - my entire office and project studio is based on my computer. During an age of digital information, I can work with people in far away countries I'll likely never meet.

Between my day job and companionship I consider myself to be blessed to have been born during the internet age - really opens up the opportunity to have a boarderless freelance career.

So, for those of you who travel a lot, what are your tricks for maintaining sanity an order? Originally Posted by Lauren Summerhill

I don't travel nearly as much as I used to so I would imagine most of my advice could be considered a tad dated....

1. I moved as much of my life "on line" as quickly as I could find a suitable app. No more agonizing on whether important mail got lost or the bills got paid.

2. DG's cleaning service tip to the max!!! When you're not home much, it's a royal pita to waste a moment of it cleaning.

3. I'd "drop ship" my clothes to a dry cleaner who would then "hold" them until I came after them or who would deliver them when I called for them. If I was traveling between home & a single job site, I'd find a dry cleaner there. In on Friday afternoon, pick up Monday morning.

4. Likewise, if traveling to the same job site...or on longer travel assignments...corporate apartment! I like to cook too! I'd do my cooking there during the week so I could dine out at home on the weekends with a clear conscious!

Good luck taming the beast!

. Not having the luxury to pay bills online was a major hassle; that was perhaps the trickiest part of never being home.

A few things that always helped:

A friend picked up the mail every 2 or 3 days and left it in my apartment

I made sure the cleaning lady still came every 2 weeks so the place looked nice when I got home.

. Originally Posted by discreetgent

Agree on the bills. My road warrior days were pre-internet bill pay as well. I just developed a discipline that no matter what else was on my plate one of my first tasks was to at least sort my mail.

As an aside, it (internet or phone) has to almost be the default for any road warrior. I can't put my finger on an exact date but somewhere along the line it seems the grace period on due dates went from like 30 days to 15-20.

As for the other stuff, living in a building with a fulltime staff (doorman, concierge, maintainence, etc.) is invaluable if you can get them to do small favors/errands for you. Paradoxically, the less time you are actually home, the more valuable these folks are.

2. DG's cleaning service tip to the max!!! When you're not home much, it's a royal pita to waste a moment of it cleaning.

3. I'd "drop ship" my clothes to a dry cleaner who would then "hold" them until I came after them or who would deliver them when I called for them. If I was traveling between home & a single job site, I'd find a dry cleaner there. In on Friday afternoon, pick up Monday morning.

! Originally Posted by Sisyphus

agree on 2.

I never really thought of the drop ship thing with the cleaners but there is no reason it shouldn't work. Even before all the airline baggage surcharges, I was the king of drop shipping stuff to my hotel in advance of my visit

Best tip I ever got, particularly for the ladies that use more beauty products than most of us guys, in light of the whole liquids through the airport thing: if you know you are coming back to the same hotel next week, check/leave a bag
with all that crap in it & you don't need to deal with it at the airport every week

What helped me was taking a few days to play tourist when I went to a new place. Most of my jobs are a week or two long. I'd always try to put a few days for me at the end before going to my next job.

3. I'd "drop ship" my clothes to a dry cleaner who would then "hold" them until I came after them or who would deliver them when I called for them. If I was traveling between home & a single job site, I'd find a dry cleaner there. In on Friday afternoon, pick up Monday morning. Originally Posted by Sisyphus

I work in an industry were I have to have a lot of equipment. I have double of everything so when I'm at one place, I can ship my second set to my next place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl3Qa...next=1&index=6

I remember 10 -15 years ago when those plug & play projectors (e.g. attach to a laptop and throw your presentation up on a screen) were still relatively new, large and heavy.

We'd have quarterly national sales meetings and at one the hotel conference room folks charged us some really exhorbinant rental fee to use theirs so from then on the national sales manager decided he'd bring his own. The sight of him trying to tote this along with the balance of his luggage thru the airport was kind of comical.

Hello Lauren,

You know your business, and what obligations you have.

It seems to me that you need a few more days at a time at home. Some of your stress may be from always adjusting to jet-lag. Being away for three weeks (or more) at a time will be more endurable if you have a week between trips away. From what you say, its the pace of your life that is stressful. When you do travel, you want to be "fresh" in mind and spirit as well as physically rested and fit. A ilttle more time at home for yourself could be viewed as good for business.

I wish you well.

Recognizing days that I was stressed and in a bitch of a mood and being extra careful before responding to a client, colleague, or friend. (thanks , discreetgent, how true! )

Having spent more years than I like to think about as a trouble shooter in the oil patch and on call 24/7 I have admiration and respect for the "road warriors" of today. The physical and mental toughness required to be successful while away from home ~ 300 days a year is demanding. I tip my hat to all !

Try and find a gym where ever you are. Keep that routine going.