Ways to Manage Your Time? Try Accomplish More While Travelling

One of the ways to manage your time effectively is to accomplish more while travelling. If you are a leader, executive or professional who is frequently flying around the world, finding ways to best use your travel time may well be crucial.

Or, if it's simply a long commute every day, or on some frequent basis, there's much that can be achieved. 

Having said this, let's also realize that sometimes it may be a real smart move to simply sit back and enjoy the journey. Let's not forget that as an option.

Huge amounts of time can be consumed with travel. Prepare work to take with you. If you have to drive, this is a good time to listen to training and motivational messages. It can also be used to get your thoughts recorded. Just remember not to do anything that will distract you from driving and thereby endanger lives.

If you don’t have to drive, take the type of work that you will be able to concentrate on given the distractions of plane, rail or bus travel. Keep in mind the amount of space you may have available to work in.

Collect the materials you need for the work you think you can best concentrate on. You should be able to get some good quality work or thinking done, despite having to travel.

Five Days of Coaching for Ways to Manage Your Time More Efficiently While Travelling

DAY ONE

Take the time to think about how you traditionally use your time when traveling.  What do you do?  Have you ever thought much about ways to manage your time for your greatest benefit, while in transit? What do you listen to?  Watch?  Think about? When do you need to relax?  Work?  This is the time to take your travel inventory.

The Coach asks:

• How do you use travel time? Take some time to think about the routine you follow? How would you describe how it leaves you? Relaxed? Better prepared? Sleepy? Rested? Like a holiday? Stressed out? Put some descriptive terms to your travel times.
• What are the thinking and attitudes that drive how you approach travel time? How are they serving you? What, if anything, needs to be adjusted?
• How prepared are you to institute change? What decision will you make?

DAY TWO

When traveling, what type of work can you best accomplish?  What tools do you need to accomplish this?  Tablet?  Binder?  Notebook?  Phone with appropriate technology? Particular apps? Start assembling your travel office.

The Coach asks:

• When you have have done work while travelling (in the airport, in flight, in transit, behind the wheel etc,) what type of things could you best work on? 
• What type of aids and resources do you need to take with you? What don't you have that would be helpful for being productive? Procure it. Assemble your travelling office.
• Keep in mind that sometimes the activity that will serve you best is non-activity. Rest, enjoy, meet new people, take in the sights, whatever will refresh, renew and reinvigorate you for the task that awaits you at your destination. 

DAY THREE

If you haven't already, start your library of training, motivational or fictional audio or music downloads for listening to in transit.  Assemble whatever will represent the best use of your time to relax or grow.

The Coach asks:

• What do you like to listen to as you travel? What's on your "listen to this" list? 
• If you have one, what's the mix between listening to learn and grow, and listening for entertainment? Is it about right? 
• With such access today, what do you watch as you travel? Beneficial? Mindless? Uplifting? How would you describe your watching habits? 
• Give some intentional thought to your listening and watching time in travel. What would you like it to look like that would contribute to life work balance, and increasing effectiveness? Maybe even absorbing more ways to manage your time for a long life of meaningful contribution? 

DAY FOUR

Preplan your travel.  Is there a full project or some aspect of it you could think about, record your thoughts on or further execute?  Some good preplanning will maximize your time.

The Coach asks:

• Take time to plan for upcoming travel. If you are working on a project and would like to use the time to concentrate on it, bring together what you need to actually execute and make progress. 
• Have a good picture of what it is you wan to achieve. Take an inventory of what you have assembled to take with you. Much of it may be on a tablet or laptop. Do you have the files, illustrations, background material and anything else you need? You don't want to be stopped because you don't have what you need. 
• Adopt an attitude that allows you to get to it once you are settled and able to focus.  

DAY FIVE

Don't forget about good old-fashioned interaction with people.  Build relationships. Sometimes this is more energizing (and often more profitable) than many other things you can do.

The Coach asks:

• People matter. Relationships matter. Life is enriched by interaction with people. So, don't overlook the people right around you. Enjoy their company. And, when you need to get down to work, they'll understand. 
• How will you handle that one person who seems to want to keep talking? How can you respect the person, but get focused on the work you've set out to achieve? 
• Enjoy your travel.

Spiritual Reflection for Christian Leaders

As a Christian Executive Leadership Coach I encourage Christian leaders to reflect on God's Word to add to their wisdom.

• 1 Th 5:11  Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 

• Jn 9:4  As long as it is day, we must to the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 

• Ps 90:17  May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us - yes establish the work of our hands.

• Eph 5:15,16  Be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 

If you are a leader, executive, or senior level professional looking to work with a Christian Executive Coach, I invite you to connect with me here.

If appropriate, we can meet by phone or Zoom to discuss your situation.

Record Your Progress

This is your opportunity to track your progress. Start by asking yourself how important this practice is to you? Record the importance as - not at all, somewhat, fairly, highly or extremely. 

Now next to it ask yourself how well you carry out this practice. Record your performance as - very poor, poor, okay, good or very good. 

The things we track, we pay attention to. Across time, come back and record your new results. You will find that as you are intentional about making improvements, you will bump your "score" up higher. 

This is significant. Don't miss the opportunity to acknowledge your success, and use it as a springboard for making even further gain. 

Notes

I actually think some of my best creative work came about when I was "somewhere else," and then got refined when back in the office. 

It's like for a little while the mind is able to be free of all the other distractions, and get a sharp focus on one thing.

Then the mind is allowed to wander and rest for awhile and another good thought arrives. This making use of travel and being away is just one of the many ways to manage your time in a way that allows you to achieve a lot of important things.