There’s something energizing about business travel, whether it’s to The Expo or the upcoming International Leadership Summit. You get to see new places and have new conversations, all while staying connected with what’s happening at the office.
As exciting as it is to step outside your regular routine, travel weeks can also pose challenges. Between different time zones and packed schedules, it can be easy to slip into “I’ll catch up later” mode. If you have business travel coming up this summer, a few intentional rituals can help you beat the travel slump. We share some ideas from Calendar’s Deana Ritchie in this issue of PromoPro Daily.
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Ritual 1: Do a pre-travel audit. Ritchie recommends spending just 30 minutes before you leave thinking about what’s due while you’re gone and what you need to do yourself and what you can delegate. She says many people skip this part and spend their travel week reacting to emergencies. By doing an audit beforehand, you’re not guessing from an airplane what you should have done.
Ritual 2: Do a daily 20-minute shutdown routine. Things tend to blur together when you’re traveling. That’s why Ritchie says a 20-minute shutdown is so important. Close your laptop, document what happened, what you learned and what’s due the next day. She says this ritual signals to your brain that the day is over.
Ritual 3: Set async-first communication blocks. You may be in a different time zone with your team, so flip to async while you’re away. First thing each morning, Ritchie suggests blocking 60 minutes for async communication like voice memos, written updates and recorded video messages. You’re not waiting for video calls but creating content people can consume whenever they need it.
Ritual 4: Core hour protection every single day. No matter where you are, she advises blocking an hour during your peak energy for real work. This means no replying to emails or returning calls but engaging in deep work like writing and planning. This ritual can prevent feeling like you traveled all week and got nothing done.
Ritual 5: Treat offsites as work compression sessions, not breaks. Instead of treating offsites as breaks from work, Ritchie recommends treating them as work compression sessions. Condense 3 weeks of strategic thinking into 3 days. This flips the script from travel time being lost to travel time being compressed productivity.
Ritual 6: Weekly reset call with your team every Friday. Ritchie says it’s a good idea to end your travel week with a reset call. Review what happened, what worked, what needs attention and what will be different next week. She says this 30-minute call clears the mental load of travel week. Everyone feels better because you’ve anchored the week with intention.
Ritual 7: Reentry block on return day morning. Once you’re back, you may instinctively want to reply to messages. However, Ritchie recommends blocking 2 hours first thing Monday morning to review what’s truly urgent and what can wait. This allows you to read the landscape with a clear head and can prevent the “back from travel” whiplash that can lead to overwhelm.
Try some of the rituals above, like doing a pre-trip audit and closing each day cleanly. This can help you create structure when you’re out of your usual routine. As a result, business travel feels less stressful and more purposeful.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Deana Ritchie is the editor in chief at Calendar.
