Business travel can be stressful. Here are some tips to help organize your mobile office and pack for a business trip.
Working out of a suitcase can be a challenge. If you are new to working on the road or would like to feel more organized when traveling for business, then these tips will help you get organized.
The Essentials Kit
If you job involves frequent travel, purchase duplicates of inexpensive toiletry items such as:
- tooth paste
- deodorant
- hair brush
- shaving supplies
- shampoo and conditioner
- soap (or use the soap supplied by the hotel)
A dollar store is a great place to pick up small bottles (especially good are the bottles with pumps) and other travel packaging. Pack these items in a toiletry kit that can be hung up in the bathroom when you arrive making the items easily accessible. When you arrive back home, do not unpack this kit but do check to make sure that you don’t need to replenish any supplies.
Office Supplies Kit
Purchase a small tool or fishing kit, plastic box with dividers or plastic pencil case and fill the sections with office supplies such as:
- paper clips
- staples and mini stapler
- elastics
- fold back clips
- folding scissors
- tape
- ruler
- pens
- pencils
- markers (permanent, overhead, white board)
Again, don’t unpack this when you arrive back home; just top up any sections that have been depleted.
Paper Organization
Multiple file folders can take up space and weight. Try using an expandable file for hard copies. A better idea is to have your documents on your hard drive of your lap top and also on a memory stick and print out what you need when you get to your destination.
Tips for Business Travel Light
- Check to see if the hotel has an iron, blow dryer and clock radio before packing these bulky items
- Ship multiple hard copies of bulky meeting documents that you will handout ahead of time (so you are certain they arrive, have originals on your hard drive and memory stick or bring hard copies or ask your branch office to print and collate them for you.
- Choose your clothes so that they mix and match. Choose one solid colour as a base (such as black, brown, navy or grey), bring white or cream coloured shirts or blouses and then jazz things up with accessories to change the look and give a splash of colour.
Suitcases
Make sure that one of your carry-on pieces of luggage has wheels. There is nothing more exhausting than lugging a heavy shoulder bag through airports, especially if you travel over seas. Carry on a change of clothes and anything that you would be lost without – essential papers, memory stick, prescription medication and glasses and so on. Many office supply places carry great sets of luggage catering to the business traveller that have compartments for PDAs, matching lap top cases and sections for files. If travelling for two days or less, try to carry on all of your luggage as it will be a great time saver and not have the worry of lost luggage!
A great book on organizing a mobile office and organizing other aspects of living is Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern.
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