Business travel when you're not going executive class

I was on a couple of long term consulting projects that were based in other cities. For one, I was three time zones away three days a week for about a year.
On another one, I was in Jamaica for two week stints more than a dozen times.

This kind of travel can be lonely and exhausting. I've learned a lot about how to do it better, without necessarily having an executive budget.

Cheers to the free agent nation!

Step 1 Packing the clothing part

You're on business, so you need to look reasonably good. Just because you are in a warm climate doesn't mean you can go all beach-y. Many countries have much more formal standards for business attire than we do in North America. Do a little web research in advance to check this out.

You're going to be humping all this stuff around yourself, so keep it as small as possible.
Even if there is access to laundry facilities, one thing you will not have when traveling on business is any time. But you can do a two week trip out of a rollerbag. Here's how.

[1] minimize patterns. everything needs to go together

[2] keep your rattiest undies for traveling. Throw them out as you go. [You can also hand-wash underwear, of course. I use shampoo for this]

[3] pack things like underwear scarves socks in ziploc bags. You can squish all the air out to get a very compact package and stuff it in the bottom of the bag. After arrival, the ziploc is for laundry that will be repacked.

[4] save think tissue paper from shopping or whatever. Fold sweaters and shirts around tissue paper. It keeps everything wrinkle free and surprisingly crisp. And there's nothing like putting on a crisp shirt after more than a week in a hotel. (Some people use drycleaning bags for this, i prefer tissue paper)

[5] roll soft items like sweaters, even those packed in tissue paper.

[6] get a pair of really cheap canvas sneakers that can crush down, so that you have some sport/casual shoes in addition to business shoes. I usually take some flip-flops so I have something to wear around the hotel also. [It's not like they clean those carpets too often]

Comments

[Phil B]

I have been in the same hotel for four or five days. I usually put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and make the room like I want it. The housecleaning staff probably wonder what I am doing in there, but I make sure I leave it as neat as I found it. I can use the extra bed (if there is one) as a table surface for spreading things out.

[asda653]

Do- do you sell soap? That's Tyler Durden's jacket...

[mrmath]

I've used a rolling breifcase for my laptop for 8 years. The only planes it won't fit on are the really, really small ones. I'm talking the 19 seaters where everyone, except the 19th passenger, has both a window and an isle. I've had two clients who issue me a laptop, and even managed to carry the extra laptop in there and still fit it under the seat in front of me.