When I travel I often fall into the trap of trying to put too much into the working agenda. I try to meet everyone, schedule things over breakfast/lunch/dinner, team build after the day is over, show up first/leave late. The whole nine yards. I invariably walk away from business trips feeling like the trip was extremely worthwhile but also feeling drained.
This is also a trap from having worked from home for years. Travelling is my opportunity to look my colleagues in the eye and have those conversations that typically happen in an office environment – those conversations that allow two people to understand each other as people and not just coworkers. I do everything I can to maximize those opportunities.
What this means is that any given two or three-day trip is tiring but still easy to recover from. Any trip that is four or five business days typically can wipe me out completely for a couple of days. It’s because I shove so much into every day that I can often end up without any time for myself to unwind and let my mind get back to a grounded state.
This is not the best course of action. In reality, I should ensure that I leave some time for myself. Personal downtime is what keeps each of us sane. Taking it away is a quick and easy way to burn out and lack of focus.