The life of a “Road Warrior”…Some tips and tricks.

I’ve learned a thing or two in my time as a road warrior, as it were. Road Warrior, for those of you not ‘in the know’, is someone who spends their lives traveling or ‘on the road’ for work. They travel generally each week, maybe a few days a week or, like me, Monday through Friday.

I can tell you it’s not for the faint of heart and not everyone can handle it, but me…if you know me, you know I la la la love it! Some people love it and then grow out of love with it, they get tired or want to just be in one place. You have to do what makes you happy. JCT and I talk about this from time to time, ok, probably more than that, but…there were times when she was on the road and couldn’t wait to be off and at home with her family and then after a few weeks, she was ready to get back on the road, it’s a catch 22 if you ask me!

Once I caught the bug, it grew and grew, I can’t see myself stopping, but it could happen, you never know! When PSM and I were dating while I was on my project in Massachusetts, we went places on the weekends, but rarely got on a plane and I was jonesing to fly! And not just fly, but fly each week, Monday through Friday! Can you believe it!

I spend a lot of times in airports, sometimes I’m not sure which one I’m in. You might be laughing and think, how is that possible? Well, when you travel as much as we do, you forget where you are sometimes until you get there. For me, I do a lot of connections and I don’t always remember where I am flying through, sometimes I think I’m going one place and it’s really another. I sometimes don’t know the airport but recognize the food court in Cincinnati or the bookstore and kids play area in Minneapolis. It’s crazy, but it’s what we do. Would we change it? I wouldn’t.

Tonight I was talking with someone on my training team, SS, about traveling and I’ve been giving her some advice on how to maximize her time, get the best bang for the buck, keep the packing simple and ‘it’s all about the points!’. She kept exclaiming, “girl, I love you! You teach me so much!!” she cracks me up!

So, a few things I have learned I will share with you, I’m sure there are more I’m not thinking of and maybe you have your own to add.

1. Pick your wardrobe and keep it simple. I teach classes three to four days a week, sometimes five. I asked SS what did she have for clothing? Four pairs of pants and almost as many shirts. Nope! I have one pair of pants and four shirts. I am not always going to see the same people in each class all week. Same pants and a new shirt every day. Who’s going to notice my pants?! [You can even wear the same shirt, just add a sweater to it!]
2. Do laundry on the road if you’re going to be away for two weeks or more. Buy the laundry pods and a box of dryer sheets to travel with you. No powders or over sized liquids in your carry on. Be sure you have enough britches in case you can’t get home or to the laundry.
3. If you’re traveling back to the same place on Monday, leave your bag at the hotel for the weekend. Take your dirty things home if you have time to wash them.
4. If you’re limited on where you can stay and spend, maybe find a place with breakfast and happy hour or dinner provided.
5. Pick a chain and stick with it. I am a Hilton girl, you’ve heard me talk about it. Sometimes I’ve stayed at Hyatt and that was fine, but I like where and what I get with Hilton. Loyalty shows and pays!
6. Maximize the points, join every program out there, you never know what’s going to get you the best bang for the buck. If you can do it, switch hotels during the week, that gets you nights and stays.
7. Charge the food you order in the hotel restaurant or bar to the room, you get points for everything you purchase at the hotel.
8. Pick an airline and stick with it if you can. I say if you can because maybe there are stricter limits with some companies. It’s points and segments and money with Delta. I fly two legs almost every trip, that gets me closer to my goal of Platinum status this year.
9. If you can do it, get a credit card for where you want the most points.  Almost every hotel and airline chain have a points program you can join.
10. The thing to remember about the points is that the reason you are working towards your points goal with a chance to stay at really really nice, fingers crossed, hotels, for free. Maybe you get breakfast on the weekends, one less thing to pay for yourself.

I know there are more tricks and tips I know, maybe you have already thought about them, these are just a few to get you started. See you on the road!