Is travelling a big part of your job? Then we say you should make the most of it! Just because you find yourself somewhere for business, doesn’t mean you should stop exploring. Even on short trips, you can experience a little something about what makes that place tick – and we want to help you do it with these tips.
1. FOLLOW YOUR INTERESTS
Don’t force yourself to do the normal tourist activities of a certain place if they don’t interest you – you’ll just be wasting your time, rather than enjoying it. Instead, seek out the local versions of things you love. If you are a foodie, then make a point of visiting a local restaurant, food cart or café that seems interesting. If food doesn’t really faze you, then it could a museum or similar that’s your thing, just tailor your visit to you and not to what you think you should see.
2. DO ONE THING YOU’VE NEVER DONE BEFORE
If you’re on a longer trip and have some time to yourself, then why not make the trip memorable by experiencing something new? It can be something big, or small, just as long as it’s different. Fit it in between your meetings and remember that you might be there primarily for business, but you’ve got to experience a place while you’re there!
3. NO TIME TO EXPLORE? THEN WALK
If you’ve got a pretty jam-packed schedule, then take in your surroundings by walking to as many places as possible. You’ll probably find that your meetings will be close to each other, and also likely to be in the hub of the city, so should be within walking distance of each other – try it out!
4. DO IT FOR THE STORIES
If you stick to just the business, and ignore the travel, you’ll have no stories at the end of the day. And memories are what life is all about! You don’t want to be able to tell people that you’ve been all over the place, but not be able to tell them any little anecdotes. So before you go anywhere on business, explore for the sake of your memories!
5. KEEP SOUVENIRS
At the time it may not feel like you’re doing the most fun thing in the world, but in reality you’re getting to do what most adventurers would give anything to do – getting paid to travel. When you remember that, you can remember that you yourself are an adventurer, making your own story along the way! And so no matter how long you are in a place, no matter how much time you have, remember to choose one thing to bring back with you to signify the trip, and start a collection of your time. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive or hard to get, the simplest little knick knack will work (just make sure it isn’t perishable!).
Whatever your reason for travel, make sure that you turn it into an adventure – even if it’s only a little one. If you already make the most of your business travel, share your tips with us and your fellow travellers in the comments!