Select Page

I have been traveling for work going on 4 years now. A lot of travel for a large corporation and now travel for a small startup. Traveling was awesome at the time. And it was terrible at times.

You get to see the world

The good: I traveled to nearly every major city in the U.S. It was great because most of the cities I had never seen. I’ve seen the Liberty Bell, drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and visited the White House.

The bad: You travel to cities you would never want to visit. Like Fresno. Don’t go to Fresno.

Free airway miles

The good: You’re racking up free airway miles. I fly first class half the time I travel, not because I pay for it, I’m way too cheap for that. You rack up so many miles the airlines view you as important and upgrades you for free.

The bad: I am literally always on a plane. Traveling to multiple cities in a week. Sometimes multiple cities in a day. I once flew to Fresno in the morning. Went to a meeting. Flew to LA for a layover, then Chicago for another layover, then Pittsburg for a 10am meeting the next day. I traveled for 28 hours with zero sleep (other than a few naps on the plane) to attend two meetings.

You get out of the office

The good: I hate being stuck in an office all day. I damn near go crazy. It gets out you out and about, talking to different people, experiencing something a little different every day.

The bad: You’re on a plane, in an airport, or driving to your destination, it’s very hard to get work done. I can’t count how many 18-20 hour works days I’ve had because I spent 10 hours traveling and still needed to get work done.

Eating on someone else’s dime

The good: It’s awesome when all you’re food is paid for by a company. Depending on the company, you can eat pretty good depending on how much money they give you every day.

The bad: With said travel, you spend a lot of time eating airport food. Airport food is fucking terrible. Even good restaurants make terrible food in the airport. It can also be very hard to eat healthy during travel, but it can be done.

You get time to yourself

The good: Time alone for anyone is a good thing. Gives you time to reflect. Sitting on a plane can almost be like meditation. My mind starts thinking very creatively on planes.

The bad: You are always alone. And I mean always. At the airport alone. In your hotel alone. Eating alone. You better be okay with being alone or you’ll go crazy.

In a nutshell, traveling for work can be amazing, but be prepared or you’ll get burned out in no time.