Working While Travelling: Top 10 Remote Work Tips for Business Travellers

Working while travelling is a major part of business trips (not to mention a major perk of the remote revolution), as it's vital to stay connected with clients and colleagues while you're on the move. For businesses, travel fosters those all-important in-person connections. But at the same time, travelling and working remotely comes with a heap of challenges, not least of which is its toll on your productivity.

The bottom line? Hopping time zones is tiring, and often stressful. This makes it difficult to focus on work tasks, leading to lost productivity and further stress. Whether you’re a frequent business traveller or just a digital nomad, try out a few of our remote work tips below to stay on track.

The challenges of travelling and working remotely

Business travel opens the door to fresh opportunities, but when it’s constant, it can take a toll on your health. This starts in the air. Frequent flying may come with unwanted side effects like dehydration, fatigue, and jet lag, not to mention exposure to other passengers’ viruses.

According to a YouGov and NexTravel survey, over 20% of business travellers also reported negative mental health effects, including stress. The reasons? Disruption to sleep schedules, the unexpected costs, and the impact on work productivity were all mentioned by those surveyed.

On the flip side, Booking.com for Business ran a survey that indicated that there can be lots of positive benefits associated with business travel, including benefits to mental and physical health. Ultimately, understanding the impact of business travel on physical wellbeing and adopting proactive measures can ensure that the benefits of business travel continue to outweigh the negatives.

That’s why it’s important to think about productivity before your business trip begins. Staying productive becomes more difficult when you’re dealing with jet lag and issues like dropped Wi-Fi or missing luggage, and some travellers feel anxious about travelling with colleagues they don’t know.

To make the most of work while travelling, it’s important to plan for these issues and minimise travel-related stress.

Why are business trips so tiring?

Have you ever returned from a business trip and feel like you needed to take some personal days? You’re not alone. Travelling in a post-COVID landscape comes with a whole new set of rules and regulations, increasing your mental load.

That’s not to mention the obvious jet lag and pressure to perform while you’re on the road, along with the disruption to your usual fitness routine and lack of healthy food options at times.

Of course, not everyone feels this way. Lots of people enjoy the personal development and change of landscape that comes with business travel. But whether you fall on the positive or negative side of the debate, it’s undeniable that there are aspects of business trips that will have an impact on your productivity.

How can you maximise productivity while travelling?

Planning is the secret to remote work productivity, no matter the destination.

This starts with research into the local area. By mapping out the area around your hotel, conference centre, or other meeting points, you’ll save time spent on figuring out directions.

Beyond the travel logistics, maximising productivity with a daily schedule, in whatever form works best for you. Keep yourself accountable with a prioritised to-do list combined with a live calendar to keep on top of important projects. While working on planes is certainly possible, you might want to block off travel days to mitigate stress and arrive at your destination feeling fresh, creative, and ready to go.  

How to be productive while travelling: top 10 tips

Teaming travel and work is a challenge, but with organisation, planning, and a few handy little hacks, you’ll be up for it. Here are our top ten tips for remote work productivity.

Remote work tips for how to concentrate better

Finding it hard to focus in a different time zone? Here’s how to concentrate better with a productive, healthy mindset.

1. Use a to-do list. Jet lag leads to fuzzy thinking, so keep yourself on track with a to-do list. Ultimately, a significant part of learning how to concentrate on work is simply to stay as organised as possible. That way, you won’t miss out on any important tasks, whether they’re work or travel related. This can be as simple as a running list on your smartphone notepad, or you could use of the many to-do list apps out there, like Google Tasks or Microsoft To Do. Then, whenever you start to feel frazzled, whip out your list to refocus your thoughts.
2. Build rest into your schedule. When you’re wondering how to concentrate better during a work trip, the answer is usually to get some rest. Business trips are often packed with meetings and events, and you’ll feel pressured to make the most of every minute. But you can’t perform at your peak if you’re exhausted, so look at your agenda and pencil in time for rest. Grab some downtime whenever the opportunity presents itself, whether it’s at the airport lounge or during a lunch break in between meetings. When you can’t fit in a nap, a simple stroll around the block can recharge your batteries.
3. Set a routine and embrace chrono-working. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of late nights and eating at odd hours when you’re working while travelling. Over time, this leaves you feeling confused and a bit out of sorts. What does your daily routine look like? Do you have any little rituals? For example, you might start the day with a yoga session in your room before answering emails over coffee. Try to replicate this when you’re travelling for work out of the office, to stay in tune with your usual routines. One of the biggest perks of work travel is that it gives you the chance to tailor your schedule to your natural rhythms. Some of us concentrate more easily in the early morning hours, while others feel creative at night. Embrace the freedom of work while travelling to try chrono-working, or working to your own body clock.

 Remote work tips for working on planes

Long-haul redeye flights are best spent sleeping, but if you’ve a few extra hours here and there you can use this downtime to your advantage. Working on planes is easier than ever thanks to in-flight Wi-Fi and power outlets.

1. Pay extra for Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi comes as a standard feature when you’re flying business class, and even in economy you can usually pay for access. If you want to spend your flight brainstorming on the company Slack channel, planning how to get to your first meeting of the day, or answering client emails, it’s well worth the extra cost. This saves you time when you land. One thing to note is that it’s extra important to be mindful of security when using any public Wi-Fi service. Don’t send any company details or sensitive financial information unless you’re on a secure network.
2. Power up devices. Another great way to use your time in the air is by charging your devices. You’ll usually find these right next to your seat, but if not, you can invest in electronic accessories like a portable battery pack. Noise-cancelling headphones also come in handy on flights when you need to focus.

Remote work tips for working in hotels

Even with a packed itinerary, you’re bound to spend some time in your hotel room. Maximise productivity when working in hotels by setting yourself up for success.

1. Organise your workspace. Whether you have your own room or are sharing a suite with a colleague, book accommodation that includes adequate workspace. You should also take advantage of your hotel’s business centre or lobby for additional workspace. If there isn’t any workspace available when you need to work from a hotel, don’t be afraid to create your own. Move furniture to create a dedicated working area, asking for more lighting if needed.
2. Use the fitness facilities. The business centre is a great amenity for working in hotels, but don’t forget about the other facilities. Take care of your physical and mental health by using the pool, sauna, and gym. A workout might just be what you need to power through jet lag and alleviate stress.

General remote work productivity tips

Many of the same productivity tips you’d use in the office work equally well remotely, with a few small tweaks.

1. Travel smarter with productivity apps. Business travel itinerary templates are old-fashioned now – today’s travellers use virtual to-do lists, notepads and alerts to save time and stay on schedule. Mapping apps, Wi-Fi finders, business travel management apps, translators, and expense trackers can further improve productivity on the go. Cloud-based apps like Google Workspace and Microsoft Office 365 enable remote work by letting you access documents from anywhere in the world, and you can even collaborate with office-bound colleagues at the same time.
2. Plan for disruption. Lost luggage and cancelled flights are some of the main causes of travel-related stress, but you can keep this to a minimum with planning. Keep essentials you’re your keys, medication, and electronics in your carry-on bag, along with a change of clothes and toiletries in case you get stranded. Make sure you have a hard copy of your itineraries and use a corporate travel booking platform with built-in support.
3. Set expectations. Our final tip is to set working expectations before you depart. Share your schedule with team members so they’re aware of your travel days and don’t expect project delivery during these times. Set up out-of-office email replies and voicemails so that clients know you’re away, providing an alternate contact if necessary. All this means when you arrive at the airport, you can truly use your travel day to its best, most productive and stress-free advantage.

What is the 1-3-5 rule of productivity?

A top productivity hack that works well when travelling for work out of the office is the 1-3-5 rule. This breaks down your daily workload into three categories, including one major task, three medium or in-between tasks, and five small or minor tasks. You shouldn’t move on to any other tasks until these nine are completed. With a clear breakdown of your goals, you can work through everything on your 1-3-5 list in a day, helping you prioritise your time.

What is the ultimate productivity hack?

It may seem counterintuitive, but the ultimate productivity hack is to do less. Learning to say no to projects and tasks that waste your time is one of the most powerful ways to get ahead.

Before scheduling a meeting, think – is it necessary? Or could that time be better spent? When working while travelling, it’s easy to get in the mindset of always saying ‘yes,’ which leads to an overflowing to-do list and resulting burnout. You can still say ‘yes’ to opportunities, but in a focused, mindful way.

How to make the most out of a business trip

When it comes to opportunities and relationship-building, there’s nothing like in-person business travel. You can work while travelling more wisely by prioritising tasks, using downtime, and sticking to your usual sleep and fitness routine.

By using dedicated corporate travel management platforms like Booking.com for Business, corporate travel managers and travellers can also take a great deal of productivity-sapping stress out of the equation. Save time on the booking process by managing airlines, hotels, and car rentals from a single platform, all while storing employee itineraries in a single place. When delays or cancellations happen, that also means that the company can locate staff and change bookings remotely for minimal stress all around.