If you’re a business leader who travels a lot just like me, then you’ll know just how stressful it can sometimes feel. Something as simple as being away from your normal business location can wear you out and make you even more tired than normal.

I do an awful lot of travelling around the world to see many of my clients. But also to attend speaking events and for my own self development too. I’m a firm believer you have to invest in yourself if you want to teach others what you know.

I’m currently writing this sitting outside on my beautiful balcony overlooking the harbour in Paphos, Cyprus. The sun is beating down and there’s a calming sea breeze that every so often, cools me down. It’s not a ‘holiday’ as such, I’m actually at a four day mastermind with one of my mentors and other likeminded business leaders who want to help themselves to serve their clients better.

Traveling here from Sweden was really tiring.

Everything from deciding what to pack in my suitcase to getting through the dreaded airport security can be a drain. However this time, I managed to travel almost stress free by using certain strategies I’ve developed and learned over the last few years.

And to explain what I’ve learned, let me tell you about one of my clients. She is a manager of a successful company and has huge responsibilities of people in three countries; The States, Canada and Mexico. Three different cultures means travelling to three different places. Sometimes, she’ll spend time away from home for longer periods of time when travelling which led to being more and more tired.

So we had a discussion about her stressful travelling issues to see where we could improve her life and reduce her stress.

The very first question I asked her was ‘What’s the most stressful part of traveling?’ She told me it was the fact that she didn’t know where her belongings were, not knowing where to work but the hardest part was being away from her family.

So we broke it down even further to see what those challenges really were.

The tiredness that came from the nonstop travelling made her much more on edge and nervous whilst being away from home. The fact she wasn’t used to her usual surroundings and belongings caused even more stress. It even got to the point where she talked about it affecting her own health.

“When travelling, you’ve got to be even more careful with your health” 

Here’s three simple ways to reduce your tiredness when travelling:

• Eating good foods that will nourish your body instead of empty convenience foods is a great way to boost your energy levels and feel less stressful when traveling.
• Making sure you get enough ‘quality’ sleep to help your body recover and recharge will help you fight the ever changing travelling time zones.
• As soon as you get on the plan, set your clock for the destination time to help prepare in advance. Not only that, think about exercising while on the plane. Take frequent walks up and down the aisle to keep moving. You’ll feel much better once you arrive at your destination – trust me.

Not only does travelling make you feel more tired, it can make you feel more on edge. Having 10 minutes here and there to spare an often feel like you’re rushed off your feet with no time for ‘you’.

To get over this hurdle, what I usually teach my clients to do is use those small chunks of time to meditate. There’s many different types of meditation – we won’t go into that today. But something as simple as grabbing 10 minutes to yourself is enough to ‘release’ any built up stress. Find somewhere alone to sit comfortably and relax. Or you can stand right where you are and get yourself into a bubble for a few minutes.

And the third part of feeling less stressed when travelling a lot is having a space for ‘your travel stuff’.

It can be a nightmare being away and living out of a suitcase. To get over the risk of not getting the right stuff packed down, find a shelf or draw in your home to store all your travel belongings. Doing just this simple action will remove all your worry of where things are.

Put your passport, your travel clothes and maybe a nightgown in there – that way you won’t have to ‘think’ where things are. You’ll just know and can easily find them when going away again and you’ll have a lot less stress.

Being away from home and reducing your stress doesn’t have to be hard.

Follow the simple strategies we’ve outlined today and you’ll quickly see your stress levels drop when travelling.

• Nourish your body with great food
• Get plenty of ‘quality’ sleep
• Use “useless” time to mini-meditate
• Have a place to store all your travel belongings at home so you know exactly where they are when you´re off for your next trip.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article. If you’d like to know more about reducing stress in your life, then I’d like to give you a helping hand. I’ve written a short guide called ‘The Three Easy Steps to Making Life Lasting Change In Your Life’. It’s my personal 3 step system that focuses on your Brain, Body and Base to take control of your life and be happy.

Click here to download The Three Easy Steps to Making Life Lasting Change In Your Life

Look forward to speaking soon,