Good business travelers are efficient and get their work done. Road Warriors do all that with upgrades, perks and insider tricks. But great business travelers do something more: they go beyond business on their business trips.
I recently met with a woman I’ll call Carol at a conference in Seattle. Carol lives and works on the East Coast but before returning there, she took a few extra days to get to know Seattle. Let me use Carol’s example to illustrate how you too can make the most of a business trip.
- She was intentional. Carol planned ahead and did her research as to places to see and things to do so that when she arrived, she wasted no time. She’d read about places like Kurt Farm Shop, a recently opened ice cream shop that I, as the local, had never heard of (but now definitely will check out). She went beyond the obvious tourist locations to discover what mattered to her.
- She made the time. People in Carol’s line of work are constantly dealing with new projects and deadlines. They are not people with much free time. But Carol carved out the time to do more than attend the conference. She took advantage of being in a place she rarely visits to explore.
- She gained more than she gave up. Because her time is such a precious resource, it would have been easy for Carol, like most business travelers, to say, “I just can’t take an extra day away from work or family to stay longer.” But creative work is not something easily measured by the clock: sometimes that break from work to refresh your spirit actually makes you more productive when you get back to work.
- She understood the freedom found in limitations. Too many tourists to Seattle try to take in Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, Pioneer Square, Fremont, Lake Union, the International District, Mount Rainier, ferry rides across the Sound and more, all in one day (which is roughly like trying to fit your head into a drinking glass). Instead, she made Ballard (a quaint Seattle neighborhood by the water) her base and only ventured as far as easy, local bus service allowed. She got more from less.
- She was flexible and inventive. To ride those local buses, she snagged a bunch of quarters from the bank only to find that in Seattle, you can ride within certain zones all for the same fare. Most of us might have begrudged lugging around all those coins. Instead, Carol found a pinball bar and put all that change to fun use.
- She reached out to others. She met up with work and personal contacts (some being friends of friends that were new to her) so that she was able to share her time in Seattle with others and learn from those she met. Solo travel doesn’t have to mean a solo experience.
- She inspired locals. I mentioned the ice cream place, but Carol also told me about some great restaurants I’ve not been to like Eve. She helped me see the place where I live with new eyes. She made the most of a business trip in part by inspiring me to do the same and to get out and make the most of the places close to home that can seem overly familiar.
I was at a gathering of filmmakers awhile back. One of them noted that the people who excel in their field are those who do the work others aren’t willing to do and who make the time to do what matters even when they don’t feel like it. That applies to making movies or any creative endeavor. And as Carol reminded me, it applies to travel as well – even a busy business trip.
One last thought: I regularly bring a camera with me on business trips. If the trip is short and to a familiar place, I’ll rely on my phone camera. If new or has interesting possibilities, I’ll take an advanced point-and-shoot camera since it is better for low-light situations. Either way, making time to photograph an new city, even on breaks from meetings, adds another layer of enjoyment and meaning to a trip.
If you want to learn how to improve your own photography, particularly on a trip, download my free Guide to Making Awesome Travel Photos. It’s great for both beginners and more experienced photographers who want to make the most of each image and each trip.
