In 2017, the number of Indians traveling abroad spiked dramatically to almost 24 million, while domestic travel crossed a whopping 1.6 billion, according to figures published by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. Such phenomenal growth in Indians traveling would not have been possible without the speed and ease of connectivity that we have today. With smartphones becoming more powerful and postpaid plans more affordable, it’s easy to coordinate with colleagues and family even while on the go. Do here are some tips and tricks to not let work being disrupted while you’re traveling.
How to Be Super Productive When Traveling
A smartway to complete your work even while traveling is to make a sound plan and stick to it. Here are a few things to keep in mind to make the most of your travel time:
Organize Your Trip Well
Plan your meetings and events well ahead of your journey. By doing so, you will know the gaps in your schedule and can complete small tasks and projects during this time. Make sure you have booked your tickets, transport and accommodation well in advance. This way, you won’t waste time waiting for a cab or looking for an appropriate hotel. The more stress free you are, the higher is your productivity.
Plan Your Work
Think about all the tasks and have a concrete plan for completing them. If you’re planning to complete the tasks during travel time, keep laptop use for the hours spenton the plane. Use this time to type out all important mails and save them as drafts. You can send them once you land. Read a long document when traveling by a bus or train. This will help pass time and give some productive outcome as well. Lastly, when you’re in a car, consider making all necessary phone calls. Ensure that you have an appropriate postpaid plan that offers unlimited calls and enough data, so that you can work without interruptions.
Work a Little in Advance
Your deadlines are not going to disappear just because you are traveling! While on the go, you’ll definitely not be as productive as you are during normal office days. Tasks piling up, unanswered emails and approaching deadlines can cause you excessive stress. So, try to complete some critical tasks before setting out for your journey. Also, completing a few tasks beforehand will give you some extra time to relax and explore the destination you’re visiting.
Inform Your Associates
Inform your colleagues, clients and other business associates about your travel plans. Do this well in advance, so that they can plan accordingly and discuss urgent matters with you before you begin traveling. Don’t forget to set up an auto out-of-office email message, with dates of your travel and extent of availability. You could suggest a team member’s contact details for urgent requests, while you are away. Of course, you’d need to coordinate with this team member and abreast them of the status of your projects or tasks.
Carry the Right Tools
Make sure to doublecheck you have taken all your devices and accessories to work efficiently while traveling. There is nothing worse than having a full proof plan of completing the projects on time only to find that your laptop or phone has run out of batteryand you left your charger at home!Do remember to carry power banks, portable chargers and adaptersand have a good postpaid plan to remain connected to the internet.
Prevent Technology Mishaps
Depending completely on technology may not be the best idea. You never know when your laptopcrashes or your smartphone hangs!So, consider getting printoutsof the documents you need to read as well as your travel documents. You can also carry a diary and a pen to jot down important points and carry on with work rather than sitting helplessly because your device just died on you.
Plan Breaks
Traveling for long hours can be exhausting. So, plan for good sleep.And, do plan some breaks. Doing so will allow you to unwind and freshen your mind to deal with the workload. Take a walk around the hotel, do some yoga asanas, sit and sip tea on the verandah, listen to some good music or simply watch something exciting on your phone. Now that postpaid plans come with streaming of movies and web series, you have no dearth of entertainment.
A Useful Hack
Don’t have connectivity on your laptop. Simply create a hotspot using your phone’s connectivity. Your postpaid plan is more valuable than you imagined, right?Apart from this, try getting noise cancelling headphones. They will prevent you from being disturbed by the noise around you and let you focus on your work.
For most of us, working while traveling cannot be avoided. So, let’s make the most of the journey and the time afterwards with these useful tips.