The last thirty days has found me doing an increased amount of traveling. Traveling, as many of you know, is not the glamorous, wonderful experience many believe. Fun traveling? Maybe. Going on a real vacation could be extremely enjoyable. But business traveling, not so much.
So what I have successfully done in my latest flurry of biz travel focuses on two things: preparation and running.
In the past, I have spent WAY too much time tweaking slides, inserting last minute content and stressing over everything being just right. Don't think I'm not prepared, quite the contrary. I'm just doing much more of the stressing prior to departure time, leaving me extra time to do one of my favorite things on a trip: RUN!
Running anchors the trip and each day on it. It gives me an activity that is very much a normal daily thing when I am in an abnormal setting. Because running melts stress, I have eliminated much of that pre-class anxiety. Last minute class insertions still occur, but now they come within the confines (or lack of confines) that the run gives. Clarity and focus? No problem.
The key to the whole thing is simple: Just Do It! I make it a point to carve out the time for my run no matter where I am and what else is going on. During a macro cycle of between 65-70 miles a week, I have included traveling weeks of 66, 66 and 70 miles. Finally, I seem to have it down.
Other benefits of my run-on-the-road protocol are: 1) I sleep better (and sleeping on the road is NOT easy for me); 2) I am more focused during my classes and meetings; 3) I simply do a better job.
I live by Nike's motto: just do it! Running is my reset button, when all else fails, just run. I always have a pair of running shoes in my trunk as well.
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