Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: This week we're talking about travel tips and how to
Speaker 1: use time well on the road. Today's tip is to
Speaker 1: build little adventures into your business trips in order to
Speaker 1: make them more fun and memorable. I travel a fair
Speaker 1: amount to give speeches, and in general I like to
Speaker 1: fly in and out. It turns out that if I'm
Speaker 1: giving a midday speech, I can fly to most of
Speaker 1: the eastern half of the US in the morning from
Speaker 1: Philadelphia and fly out in the evening. My one day
Speaker 1: trips have taken me everywhere from Orlando to St. Louis.
Speaker 1: Of course, this doesn't always work. A morning speech has
Speaker 1: me flying in the day before, and if the last
Speaker 1: direct flight goes in early afternoon, there will be extra time.
Speaker 1: Or else I'm giving two speeches on two days in
Speaker 1: one location, which is efficient from a travel perspective, but
Speaker 1: this means there will be downtime. Since I have trouble
Speaker 1: sleeping on red eyes, I tend not to take them
Speaker 1: unless I have to. That means any trips to the
Speaker 1: West Coast will most likely involve two nights in any case,
Speaker 1: I often find myself with some extra time. While your
Speaker 1: life might not look exactly like mine, I'm guessing your
Speaker 1: business travel features at least some of this open space too.
Speaker 1: Your last meeting ends at four pm and your dinner
Speaker 1: is at seven pm. Or else your first meeting is
Speaker 1: at ten thirty am, but you've flown from the East
Speaker 1: Coast to the West coast and you're up at the
Speaker 1: crack of dawn anyway. Or you're visiting two clients in London.
Speaker 1: Again gold star for the travel efficiency, but it's lunch
Speaker 1: with one and dinner with the other. It's definitely smart
Speaker 1: to use some of this time to catch up on work.
Speaker 1: Putting in long hours on the road means you can
Speaker 1: put in shorter hours when you're home. If you've got
Speaker 1: kids and your partner has been covering for you while
Speaker 1: you travel, this is particularly importan for household peace. But
Speaker 1: I think you can also make business travel far more
Speaker 1: enjoyable by seeking out little adventures for some of these
Speaker 1: gaps of time. One of my favorite options is to
Speaker 1: go to a museum. Many are located in the same
Speaker 1: downtown business districts where you're likely meeting or staying. I
Speaker 1: once spent a lovely snowy afternoon visiting the Art Institute
Speaker 1: of Chicago's Thorn Miniature Rooms when my nearby hotel room
Speaker 1: wasn't ready yet. After an afternoon speech in Seattle, but
Speaker 1: before a dinner, I stopped by the Chihouli Garden and
Speaker 1: Glass Museum near the Space Needle. The blown glass creations
Speaker 1: were truly breathtaking. Indeed, I got some great photos of
Speaker 1: the Space Needle through a clear ceiling bedecked with his work.
Speaker 1: The Museum of Modern Art in New York is closed
Speaker 1: for renovations now, but it's been a favorite stop between
Speaker 1: midtown meetings, as is the National Gallery in London for
Speaker 1: anything taking you near Trafalgar Square. While it can be
Speaker 1: used to spend hours in a museum, you can see
Speaker 1: a lot in forty five minutes. If that's what you've got.
Speaker 1: It's definitely more mind opening to look at great art
Speaker 1: for forty five minutes than to delete emails for forty
Speaker 1: five minutes. You can delete emails anywhere you can't really
Speaker 1: look at Vincent ven Goes sunflowers anytime you'd like doing
Speaker 1: something active is also a great option for adventure. One
Speaker 1: of my favorite runs ever involved waking up early in
Speaker 1: Vancouver and running along the waterfront to Stanley Park before
Speaker 1: I went to keynote to conference. The Embarcadero in San
Speaker 1: Francisco is similarly wonderful. Or running around Battery Park in
Speaker 1: New York City or through Central Park. Early morning runs
Speaker 1: are often easier to fit in than museum visits because
Speaker 1: museums tend to be open during the business hours that
Speaker 1: you might be well doing business. But you can run
Speaker 1: early or in that space between the last meeting and
Speaker 1: dinner or drinks. You can also be a culinary tourist.
Speaker 1: I have to confess that I had no idea there
Speaker 1: was any sort of stigma out there about eating alone.
Speaker 1: If I'm in a new city and I don't have
Speaker 1: dinner plans with friends or clients, I love to search
Speaker 1: for the best restaurants and make a reservation for one.
Speaker 1: I've had amazing Peruvian seafood in San Francisco and a
Speaker 1: stunning farm to table meal in Napa Valley, where I
Speaker 1: made sure to visit a wine tasting room too. In
Speaker 1: most cases, the restaurants have been very pleasant to me,
Speaker 1: and it hasn't seemed like a big deal to be
Speaker 1: dining solo. I think that life is too short to
Speaker 1: settle for lukewarm room service, or at least not lukewarm
Speaker 1: room service every night. Maybe one night you put on
Speaker 1: your pajamas, order in and watch a movie. But any
Speaker 1: other night, go explore that hole in the wall Chinese
Speaker 1: place around the corner that somehow has the best ratings
Speaker 1: in town. You'll find out why, and I bet you'll
Speaker 1: be a very happy camper. Do you plan little adventures
Speaker 1: into your business travel. If so, I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: about at them. Let me know your favorite destination or
Speaker 1: places I should check out at Before Breakfast podcast at
Speaker 1: i heeart media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four then Breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com
Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much. I look forward to staying in touch.
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