| Maybe you are out recruiting (I certainly have spent a few too many Thanksgivings in Perkins eating dinner because I was recruiting at a soccer tournament). Or maybe you are out on the road with your teams playing in the NCAA Tournaments (good luck to you all!)
Whatever your reason to be out this holiday season, it might feel hard to stick to your high performance routine on the road (assuming you have one)…
But it doesn’t have to be.
My family and I have spent a good chunk of time bouncing around between hotels (my kids LOVE staying in hotels so it takes a little while to get them to settle down)…
As a well-seasoned road warrior, I know how tough it can be when you’re living in small spaces and new places with your family – and still trying to stick to your success routines and work schedule.
A few of you have asked for some holiday travel tips, so I wanted to share what I do to flow into my AM routine and maintain discipline no matter where we are:
1. Win the Morning with Your Nighttime Routine
Success tomorrow starts with your bedtime tonight.
Make it clear with your family about what time you must go to sleep. The Green’s start heading to bed at 9pm EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. No matter where we are.
Then you set a reverse alarm and determine boundaries for when you will:
a) Shut off electronics
b) Stop working
c) Stop eating
Make sure to think ahead about your sleeping environment… will it be cold enough, dark enough, quiet enough, humid enough, etc.
If not, bring eye mask, ear plugs, and even a humidifier.
(Josh and I always suffer the first few nights at my parents’ house when we are in different beds and use different pillows.)
I have a few friends who use the data from an Oura ring or Whoop band to get on a good sleep routine ASAP. I’ve never tried them but they sound amazing.
2. Morning Routine
Communicate your plan clearly to your family.
Put all your morning drinks (water, protein shake, and coffee/hot chocolate for me) in easy-to-access areas.
Make it easy to pick up your clothes and slip out of bed to your workstation.
Set every work item (laptop, notes, chargers, books, etc) out the night before at your morning workstation.
Ignore the temptation to let Loki (our German Shephard puppy) out of the crate! (Oh wait, that’s just for me, haha)
3. Do NOT Overschedule
You should expect to get 60 minutes of focused work done in a 90-minute block in a new location.
Sometime will be lost to the “newness” of the environment.
You also need to avoid overcommitting to work if you have family responsibilities that will take up a good part of the day (or keep you up late at night).
Ruthlessly cut what doesn’t matter… delegate more to your team… and use this time to expand their responsibility and give them the opportunity to step up.
4. Schedule Exercise
If you’re traveling and don’t have an active day of sightseeing planned…
Then put in a non-negotiable 30-minute bodyweight workout as early as possible in the day. I just got an X3 bar that I am excited to be able to travel with to get workouts in while on the road.
Your brain and body needs it.
Don’t skip out on exercise when traveling.
It must be done daily.
5. Schedule Meals
When you enter a new time zone, act as if you’ve been in that time zone for years. (This goes for eating, sleeping, exercising, etc.)
Get on a routine as quickly as possible in your new home and time zone and stick to that routine as strongly as possible.
(I once flew from Dallas-Newark-Amsterdam- in one day and was immediately up at 5am and on my regular schedule the next day.)
Make your breakfasts and lunches as boring and healthy as possible so you have freedom in family dinners.
But don’t overeat at dinner because that destroys your sleep.
And the first stop whenever you enter a new city needs to be a grocery store.
Get groceries before check in…
Josh and I either hit a local grocery, or a Target (but only Target if we have three hours to spend in the store, lol).
You should buy more water than you need…
And all the regular fruits, vegetables, and snacks that you consume at home (as much as you can).
If you’re not staying in an airbnb and must use a hotel, request a mini-fridge be sent to your room in advance or upon arrival. — By following these 5 simple tips when traveling you can beat temptation… overcome jet lag… and quickly adapt to whatever environment or time zone you’re in.
I hope these come in handy for you.
Let me know how it goes! Safe travels and I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!
To Your Success,
Mandy |
