Work Trips

-Sitting on my couch relaxing and watching last week episode of Grey’s Anatomy, Monday November 12th.-

Traveling for work. These trips are something that unless you’ve taken one you can’t fully understand. Lets start with your day to day responsibilities, when you are out of the office traveling, these don’t go away. You need to find time in between talking with customers, after dinner or early in the morning before starting the days activities to make sure you keep up with them. Then there are the responsibilities that you have for what you are doing on your trip; whether it be attending an industry trade show to meet with customers, training coworkers at a different facility on company systems or attending teaching conferences to learn more about your field. Each type of trip brings about different things that you are responsibly for and can make your day three hours long or twelve. But as I always say everything brings about a new opportunity.

My recent trip was one of the longest trips I have been on. It stretched eight days, seven states, six flights, four hotels and two rental cars. On this trip I was able to attend two industry trade shows. While both were similar shows, meeting with dealers and talking about this years new products, they were very different. Going from the midwest to the east coast allowed me to talk and see many different people but also learning about two very different markets. Making these connections is invaluable. In today’s world where people are a phone call or email away, in person communication is lacking and few people truly understand the full benefit of it. Getting to see someone facial expressions, gestures and verbal queues are just a few things that you don’t see or feel in email or while talking on the phone. People are also much more willing to provide feedback on things they think need attention or just to give you a firm handshake and thank you for everything you do. Small things like this could change your entire attitude and if they come at the right time give you a new outlook.

Without giving an hour by hour walk through of my entire week it is hard to understand just how long days can be. But while traveling the country (or world if you are lucky enough) I always try my hardest to find time for me while on trips. If I’m visiting a place for the first time I will attempt to go see some of the sights. Sometimes I get the opportunity to visit friends that I don’t get to see often. This is just another way to connect with people, getting to see their city, maybe get dinner at their favorite restaurant, meet their friends or family.

These are experiences that you may never get otherwise and why I feel that work travel is important. As a person that loves to be connected, whether it be having all of calendars synced on all of my devices, using home automation to turn on my lights before I get home or checking my office camera to make sure everything is still in its place; personal interaction in-person is the most important thing for me. Later blog posts will talk further on personal interaction and just how important it is to me.

-Jason😀🤣