Creating a Travel Routine that Works For You

Creating a Travel Routine that Works For You: How to Beat Jet Lag, Keep Your Energy and Focus Up, and Enjoy Your Trip

When I first started on this business journey, I jumped from task to task, absorbed in learning everything I could. However, I struggled to find the time for it all. As I gained momentum, I started to form a routine that worked for me. I’d start my day early and focused, train my body and mind, and cross everything off my list, plus some. I gradually fell into a routine that complimented my energy levels and flow.

It worked great while working for a few weeks from home, but then I left for a week to travel with my husband and my routine went straight out the window.

The past few months have been busy with back-to-back trips. Six days away followed by three days home; another five days away, a couple days home, and so on. Without having a travel routine, I’ve had a hard time keeping up while away, and a difficult time getting back into the groove once returning home.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE to travel and enjoy every moment of this hectic time. But, because of it, I’ve hardly had time to focus on my business. I’ve struggled to keep up with laundry, meals, and cleaning between trips as my routines slip away and my business takes the back burner.

The thing is, frequent travel is a huge part of my life. So, instead of letting it work against me, I’m finding a solution to make it work for me.

Benefits of a Routine:

In my post about how to work while traveling, I discuss the strategies I use to work productively and enjoy my trip. However, I found that I only told part of the story. After traveling regularly for the past two months, I’ve realized the importance of a travel routine for both my personal wellness and the health of my business.

A routine allows your body and mind to function at their best. At home, your routine usually forms around pre-determined schedules, such as work or school hours. While away, our schedule can vary greatly, and our body and mind take time to adjust to this change.

My goal in creating a travel routine is to maintain consistency so my travel doesn’t put such a shock on my mind and body.

Today, I’m sharing my process to discover a routine that works with your travel schedule.

Creating a Travel Routine that Works for You:

Start with the key essentials from your regular routine to form the foundation of your travel routine:

Sleep

Often during travel, your sleep schedule varies greatly from your normal schedule. Whether it’s late nights, early mornings, or adjusting to a different time zone, these drastic changes can throw your body for a loop.

• What to do: If possible, try to stick to your regular sleep schedule as closely as possible. If you usually wake up at 6:30am and go to bed at 10:30pm, do that. If you need to adjust to a time change, try to adjust your regular schedule ahead of time. There’s an abundance of apps to help you reduce the effects of jet lag by taking into consideration the time change, time of your flight, and number of days to adjust. Although I haven’t used these apps yet, I’ve heard good things about Uplift and Timeshifter. Check out the reviews and please share your recommendations!
• For frequent travelers: If your travel schedule is somewhat similar each time, you may want to adjust your regular sleep schedule to match your travel schedule (this is what I try to do). This will also make it that much easier to get back in the groove once you return home.

Exercise

It’s difficult to maintain your normal exercise routine while traveling. However, it’s still important to move and stretch your body, not only for the physical benefits, but also the mental boost!

• What to do: I like to use a simple rule while away as my workout routine: to move every day. Whether it’s a quick workout in the morning, walking and stretching throughout the day, or 10 minutes of yoga before bed, the point is to do something. Don’t stress if you can’t get a full workout in while traveling, but if you can fit one in, all the better!

Food

Most of us have a routine with food whether we realize it or not. From the time of day you eat meals, to the amount, to the nutritional value. While traveling, you often eat out and have less control over the timing and content of your meals or snacks. Depending on how strict your diet is, this can throw your whole system off.

• What to do: Again, this is about aiming close to your norm, but also allowing yourself to indulge a bit. I like to aim for about 80% of my normal healthy diet and give myself leeway to enjoy those extra goodies I come across.
• Health tip: If you find an item on the menu that you’re dying to try, but it’s not the healthiest option, ask if you can swap out a simple carb for veggies or something a bit healthier instead. OR, try sharing with another person in your group. Meals out often contain more calories than we’d normally eat. Sometimes splitting a meal or ordering a small plate/appetizer offer more suitable options.

Mental Wellness and Spirituality

Whether it’s a daily meditation, weekly church group, or time set aside for prayer, your spirituality has a huge impact on your life and your business. When traveling, you’re no longer in your normal space and don’t have the normal time set aside for your practice.

• What to do: Be intentional about how you spend your personal time. Set aside time to focus on your spiritual practice, whatever that may be. This will look different for everyone. The important thing is to find what you need and what makes sense in your current season. Trust me when I say, your mind and soul need this bit of regularity just as much as your body!

Work

While traveling, it’s hard to want to work, let alone actually make time for it. This makes it easy to get behind and inevitably add unneeded stress.

• What to do: Read how to work while traveling for specific tips on how to balance your work so you can enjoy your trip!

Now that you have the basics down, apply some of the strategies I’ve shared to create an outline of your ideal travel schedule. Don’t over-commit yourself, but DO address each point, even if it’s with an “okay to skip” during your trip.

Below I’ve shared my ideal travel routine as an example.

My Travel Routine:

• Sleep Schedule: Adjust my regular schedule to reflect my normal travel schedule – Aim to wake up at 6:30am and go to bed by 10:30pm.
• Exercise: Walk and stretch throughout the day; try to fit in 5-10 minutes of yoga at least once during the trip. Focus on movement and stretching to combat stiffness from long periods of standing and walking.
• Food: 80% my normal, healthy diet and mindful of sugar intake/desserts – okay to indulge, but not constantly!
• Mental Wellness and Spirituality: Dedicate a few minutes each day for my gratitude journal. Pray anytime, anywhere.
• Work: Set aside dedicated time to work on my business and plan ahead to limit the work I must do on the road. Find a spot without distractions and interruptions to focus on work during this time.

Now that you have a plan to create a travel routine, what will your next travel adventure look like?