Business Essentials When Traveling
If you’re a frequent business traveler, you understand that preparation is crucial. You have to have all of your work and presentations perfect and be prepared for every possible scenario. To add to this stress is the chaos of planning the trip itself. You need to arrange flights, accommodation, and transport to and from the hotel and any other locations you need to visit. Then comes the packing. There is so much you need to take with you. You need all of your work essentials and digital devices, proposals or presentations to take into your meetings and other essentials like clothing and toiletries. All this is well and good until you need to be ready in a flash. Some business trips are very last minute and this is where being prepared can alleviate a whole lot of stress.
Some essentials are definitely more important than others and although you may be able to purchase what you forget, you may not have the time. With this list of business essentials on hand, you’ll travel like a professional in and out of the boardroom.
Pack A Small Carry On Bag
If you’re only planning on an overnight business trip, chances are you will only need a small carryon bag or case. Fortunately, most complete luggage sets come with bags or cases in a number of different sizes so you’ll be prepared no matter how long you plan on being out of town. For short trips, the small carryon bag can hold a change of clothes, toiletries and any other items you need. This will save you time when you’re packing and you won’t have to stand around the luggage carousel when your plane lands.
Hygiene Products
No matter how dashing you look in a three-piece suit, you can’t get away with poor hygiene. While some hotels offer complimentary soaps and shampoos, others don’t. A good dopp kit should be able to hold all of your hygiene essentials such as your shaving kit, body wash, deodorant and any other items you need to look and smell fresh and clean. Depending on the size of your kit, you may even store other items in there like spare cables for your digital devices.
Laptop And Other Digital Devices
Nowadays, a well-prepared businessman wouldn’t dream of embarking on a trip without his laptop bag. The obvious item to be packed in this is the laptop itself, but there are other items you may need to pack in there as well. Because of the sturdy, flat sides, you can have all of your various folders, booklets, etc., packed in the side pockets. You may even throw in your smartphone or tablet, or both. With all of these digital devices, you’re going to need extra power to operate them all. The trouble is, you may not always have access to a power source. If you’re worried about your batteries failing you in the middle of your presentation, take an extra power source with you. Power banks are small, rechargeable and portable. Get one or more and keep them charged and ready to go and you’ll never need to worry about your devices turning off.
Travel Adapter
If your business dealings only take you around your own country, you won’t have a problem connecting your devices to a power source. However, if you’re an international business traveler, you may find you can’t connect your devices in the local sockets. This not only means your digital devices may not be usable but if you shave using an electric shaver, you could find yourself attending a meeting with a five o’clock shadow. Travel adapters are cheap and easy to stash in your carryon bag or other luggage. Many have interchangeable plugs so you’ll be set no matter which country you visit.
Portable Wi-Fi
So much business is conducted via the internet these days that we can hardly remember the days when we managed without it. While in the air, you may want to get some work done, send some emails and stay in touch with the office. Connecting to the airline’s Wi-Fi can be expensive so it’s a good idea to invest in a Hotspot device. You can choose the amount of data you need and many can be used around the globe. While you’re looking at portable Wi-Fi, look at some of the travel apps out there. Some of these allow you to organize your boarding passes and any other data you need so you can access them at any time.
Wrinkle Free Clothes
There is nothing worse than packing your neatly ironed clothes only to find they’ve become hopelessly wrinkled when you open your suitcase. You look at your scraggly shirt and wonder how bad an impression you’ll leave if you show up looking like you slept in your suit. Some hotels have a laundry service and will wash or iron your clothes for a fee, but in case of emergency, pack your own small iron or a small bottle of wrinkle release spray.
Hydration
No matter where in the world you travel to, you need to stay hydrated. In some countries, it is advisable to avoid drinking tap water. You still need to drink water but don’t want to run the risk of drinking contaminated water and getting sick. You’d literally end up wasting your business trip. Take a filtered water bottle with you and you won’t have to worry about swallowing something nasty. If you’re not much of a water drinker, you can take a coffee thermos with you and get your caffeine fix between meetings, or if you’re running a little late you can take your coffee with you and still make it to your appointments on time.
First Aid
When you travel you need to be prepared for everything, and that sometimes means having to deal with bumps and scratches. The likelihood of suffering an injury is not very likely on a simple business trip, but you could have a mishap in the hotel bathroom, or you may get asked to join your hosts to inspect a construction site where the injury is a possibility. Of course, you may not suffer any injury at all, and you certainly hope you don’t, but long-distance travel often causes discomfort and headaches for some. Pack a few basic first aid essentials and certainly some over the counter pain medication like aspirin or ibuprofen. You can also throw a small sewing kit into your first aid kit in case you lose a button or pop a seam. You may not be a gifted tailor, but you should be able to do a temporary fix until you return home.
Frequent business travel doesn’t need to be stressful and if you have these essentials with you when you travel, stress will be almost non-existent. Having them ready in case of a short notice trip will remove the stress altogether. It may take a few trips to learn what essentials you need to take with you, but once you get the hang of what business essentials you need when traveling, you’ll be able to pack your bags and be on your way in no time at all. All it takes is a little preparation.
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