Easier (and more organized) travel
Do you travel a lot with your small biz? Overnight trips? Or maybe longer? It could be for conferences, to meet clients, or just to drum up new business. The reason doesn’t really matter. But making the travel easy on yourself sure does.
Here are three quick ways you can make travel easier.
Keep your bag packed. Yes, keep smaller, essential travel items in your suitcase. Ideally, you should keep small bottles of essential toiletries, a disposable razor, an extra toothbrush, and any other indispensable items packed. In fact, I just keep the liquids stored in a clear, quart-sized bag. If they leak, my suitcase is protected. Then when it’s time to pack I just have to throw in a few clothes and any medications and I’m ready to go!
Don’t check your luggage. More people are using carry-on items because of rising luggage costs. But it’s more than just saving that $15 or $25 fee. It’s faster to use carry-ons. Before the child, I always took one suitcase and my laptop bag. And rather than waiting for the baggage carousel, I could grab a ride and get to my hotel faster. And it keeps you flexible. If you want to fly standby, it’s much easier with a single carry-on suitcase. No worries about pulling your checked luggage. No concerns about switching airlines when needed.
I loved flying with just one suitcase. It was such a breeze. And it’s still fairly easy, even with today’s tighter security. But if you’re not in a hurry, go ahead and check your luggage. At least you can relax by walking onto the plane with just a magazine or book. Or your laptop.
Get a ride to the airport. This is a biggie now that I’ve discovered the joys of a car service (I know people). Sometimes that service is simply my husband, but it saves a lot of time to be dropped at the curb, rather than parking, grabbing my luggage, and dragging it to the terminal. And don’t choose a shuttle service that stops all over the place. They’re cheap, but it’s a total time waster. Unless you really want to go all over town picking up and dropping off people while waiting for your stop. And you brought a book or work along and you don’t get motion sickness. Otherwise, get dropped off and picked up at the curb. You’ll save time – and that’s time you can use to garner new business and make more money, right?
There are a lot of ways to make your travel simpler and more organized. We could talk about ways to ease through security with minimal hassles, if that’s something you’re interested in. What other things would you like to know about being organized during business travel?
Image: morguefile