5 Tips On Turning Work Into Play
Travel can be glamorous but when you go for work, it can be a chore.
Yet it doesn’t have to be because some work travel puts you in very desirable destinations, places that you ordinarily would jump at the chance to travel to on your own.
Here’s how to take advantage of being there while also getting your job done and keeping the boss and clients happy at the same time. Well, almost at the same time!
1.) Extend Your Stay Through The Weekend
If you’re able to pull it off, then you’ll have Friday night and all day/night Saturday to enjoy the destination all on your own.
Propose this trade-out to your company: Offer to return home on Sunday instead of during the week when airfares could be hundreds of dollars cheaper, in exchange for the company paying for your hotel room. I’ve done this and got to see Jimmy Buffett in West Palm Beach!
2.) Avoid Business Dinners
You’re with these people all day talking business; do you really want to go over the same things again in the evening? Try and avoid these if at all possible. Instead, carve out some personal time – go check out a restaurant on your own, walk or see the town, go have a few beers, see a show or whatever else the location may offer a visitor.
3.) Go Out On The Town
Even if you get stuck at a business dinner, don’t go back to your room or to the hotel bar with the others, go out on the town. Find a good bar – PubClub.com is an excellent resource for where locals go on any given night of the week – or some other activity that interests you. Heck, just going for a walk in a lively area and seeing locals out is a great way to have a mini mental vacation while you’re on a work trip.
4.) See More Than The Office Or Conference Room & Your Hotel
This is along the lines of the third tip but so many people get into that routine of going back and forth from the business location to the hotel that they never get out and see anything. Every location looks the same to them. Don’t let this happen to you – take advantage of being there and you’ll be amazed at how refreshed your mind and body will be as a result.
5.) Look For Events – Sports, Concerts Or Festivals – In Your Destination
Is a sports team playing while your in town? Is there a concert? What about a local event, like a food & wine festival? Check out what’s happening while you’re there and use that as your “breakaway” excuse. Or heck, invite some of your colleagues to go with you.
BONUS: Get Together With Any Friends In The Area
Have any friends at the destination? Call ’em up and get together for dinner, drinks and/or activities. If not, ask your friends if THEY have any friends in the area. This always makes for a handy excuse to slip away on your own.
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