Road warriors seem to all look alike with their beaten up carry-on bag, wrinkle-proof suit and determine expression. There are actually many ways for them to boost their personal productivity. Before the actual trip, it is important to buy the tools and we won’t be able to have a good trip without proper tools. There are a variety of tools and gadgets that can improve our productivity and comfort. Things that we may need include GPS system, soft briefcase, noise-cancelling earphones and quality luggage. In general, we should choose a 20-inch or 22-inch carry-on expandable luggage that is well made, self healing, expandable and light weight. There are different features that we need to get from our luggage, such as strong wheels and a stability foot, pull along, external zippers and a pop-up handle with one pull action. Today, there’s no need of bringing a separate MP3 player of iPod, smartphones or tables could already work well to serve as music and audio book center. Noise-cancelling earphones are essential if we listen to music often in public areas.
GPS capability is a standard feature in smartphones and tablets, but we shouldn’t rely only basic GPS functionality found in iOS and Android. Some apps could provide more comprehensive navigation instructions and information on closest areas of attraction. When we plan to rent a car, we should consider having a compact stand that allows us to use tablets or smartphones as GPS navigation device. It is also important to bring a good kind of clothing. Travel outfit should be compatible with the local weather and shoes should be comfortable. We should be aware that it is likely that we will walk for longer distances to specific areas during our trip. Travellers should have prepacked luggage content, such as underwear, Ziploc toiletry bag, gym gear, first aid items, headache tablets, smartphone charger, backup laptop battery, stamped stationery and books of interest. For long trips in an airplane, we should have noise cancelling earphones, powerbank for smartphone, eye mask, eye drop, breath mints and compact toothbrush/toothpaste.
When choosing seats, it is a good idea to choose for the aisle seat, so we will feel less cramped. For longer flights, it is preferable to choose the window seat, so we can lean more comfortably. We need to pre-print our boarding pass and this will help us to save the long lines in the airport during check in. People who travel often should consider joining airline clubs and they could accumulate flyer miles for their trips. This will be useful for any kind of fun trip. To stay more productive, we should create a one-page template that includes hotel, rental car and flight details.
In any case, we should allow an additional 30-minute period to get to the airport. This will give us enough margin when there’s an unexpected traffic jam and the line is longer in the airline. It is better to sit in the airport and do nothing before the airplane departs, than spending time in the traffic and line.