In coaching C-suite executives, we hear that many are suffering from travel burn-out. Traveling can be a great personal growth asset, yet often it becomes a liability.
What are the signs that travel has burned you out?
- Your direct reports feel abandoned.
- Your peers forget to include you in meetings even when you are in the office.
- You feel heavy, tired, and your body and mind don’t recognize each other.
- It is harder and harder to reconnect with loved ones when you are home.
- Your spouse gets depressed every time you announce a trip.
- You only want to eat in, relax, and be alone, while your family and friends want you to go out, be engaged in life and have fun—the honey-do list is a sore spot.
There are more signals that travel might be burning you out (missing planes, missing meetings, reluctance to get out of bed, getting sick often, losing your keys, difficulty facing the day), but the question is, what can you do about it?
- First of all, stay connected to home. Technology increasingly is making connecting easier, in most locations anyway. Take advantage of it —not just to hear those at home but to see that booboo or trophy. You will smile afterwards and so will they.
- You may have more control over the amount you travel than you have exercised. Technology also works for the job. Another thing that works is delegation. Careful planning might obviate the need for a trip. At the very least…ask yourself the question: is this trip worth ALL of the costs?
- Remember the benefits of good nutrition, exercise, meditation, and sleep. These become more critical when you travel, not less.
- Set aside time to have re-entry and departure time with your family. Dialogue with loved ones about leaving and coming home as well as how to give and take on dinners out, time together, and time apart when you are home. Being home but on the computer, with the TV clicker in hand, or very self-absorbed only can cause problems with loved ones.
What can you do to better manage the amount of travel you undertake? When you travel, what can you do to make sure that you and your relationships remain strong?
