I’m in the middle of over a month with just 5 nights at home. Then I’ll be home for 5 nights, which I’m really looking forward to, before leaving the country again.
For me that means key priorities are:
- Dry cleaning
- Laundry
- Haircut
I should probably do these more efficiently on the road. For one thing, I’d pack less. But I have my preferences for how each gets done, so I reserve those for home time.
Unfortunately I came home and found no food in the refrigerator. That’s good — I wouldn’t have wanted to eat anything that was still there. And it’s good that I had a meal on my last flight, too.
Consultants usually get Fridays back at home. But mix business travel with personal travel and it makes for a busier schedule than that sometimes.
I’m hardly a full time traveler. In fact, I’ll rack up just over a third of the year in hotels. So there are plenty of people putting up much more impressive stats than I ever do.
Do you ever feel like you travel too much? Does home feel like merely a pit stop?
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I have been travelling quite a bit for last few years. I used to often add in some personal days when I am away but have been spending too much time away from home. Now I try to get home for weekend. Earlier this year, had 1 meeting in Kenya followed the week after my a meeting in the Middle East. I flew home to California for the weekend in between.
A friend of mine averaged 3 weeks of 4 on the road for many years, with weekends mostly home (although often abbreviated due to Sunday night departures).
He credits that schedule with saving his marriage, as his wife was genuinely pleased to see him when he was home and he was excited to be able to engage with his family, instead of taking them for granted.
@Mallthus- That might be quite possibly the saddest rationalization I have ever heard. A marriage that can only survive because you see the person 1/4 of the time is a sad sad relationship. What is going to happen if that person ever switches jobs to one that requires less travel or what happens when he retires. Your friend needs to reevaluate his relationships is seeing someone often causes you to take them for granted.
Personally, the idea of spending loads of time on the road sounds like hell to me. First class flight upgrades and hotel suites are fun for a bit, but the idea of being treated like a VIP by a bunch of people who don’t know me and are only nice to me because it is their job and I am a valuable customer wears thin quickly. For me, true satisfaction comes from real connections and shared experiences with those who are important to me. Some people do not require human connections to thrive and others are content with mere superficial relationships. To each his own, but to me its a sad way to live.
Traveling extensively for more years then I can count, I can agree with Mallthus friend – I was traveling much less over the last year, and the wife was starting to frequently ask “Don’t you have a trip to somewhere coming up soon?” 😉
Gary, how does your wife feel about you being gone as much as you are? (I guess I assumed you were married, I thought I read that in one of your trip reports)… Don’t mean to be too personal.