Ever wonder how top professionals make the most of their downtime during business travels? Insights from a CEO and a director reveal valuable strategies for both personal and professional growth. The first expert suggests listening to audiobooks or podcasts, while the final insight emphasizes the importance of setting boundaries for personal hours. Explore six diverse tips from these successful individuals.
- Listen to Audiobooks or Podcasts
- Recharge with Walks and Hot Tubs
- Read Books and Plan Strategies
- Engage in Reflective Writing
- Explore Destinations During Downtime
- Set Boundaries for Personal Hours
Listen to Audiobooks or Podcasts
One way I make the most of downtime during business travel is by diving into an audiobook or podcast that offers fresh perspectives, like Bending Reality or The Alchemist. These kinds of listens aren’t just inspiring but also help me reframe challenges and spark new ideas for my business.
There’s something powerful about tuning into content that fuels both personal growth and strategic insights. Whether it’s exploring themes of self-awareness, pushing past limitations, or rethinking reality, that travel downtime becomes a mini personal and professional-growth retreat on the go.
Laura Rike
CEO, SimplyPintastic
Recharge with Walks and Hot Tubs
During business travel, finding ways to recharge is essential for staying focused and maintaining a positive mindset. One way I effectively utilize downtime is by carving out moments for mental clarity and rejuvenation, which helps me return to my tasks with fresh energy and perspective. I’ve discovered that stepping away from the work environment, even for just a short time, can have a big impact on my productivity and mindset.
For me, clarity often comes from engaging in simple, grounding activities. For instance, I enjoy taking walks around the town or city I’m visiting. This allows me to explore the local surroundings, get a change of scenery, and reconnect with the present moment. Walking also gives me a sense of freedom and calm, offering both a physical break and the mental space to process any thoughts or ideas that have been on my mind. During these walks, I can think more clearly about what’s next on my agenda, both professionally and personally, and sometimes, inspiration strikes simply by observing my new surroundings.
Another favorite way to recharge is by unwinding in a hot tub if there’s one available. There’s something deeply relaxing about being in warm water that allows my mind to slow down. While soaking, I often let go of any immediate stresses or tasks, and this short escape helps me reset. The combination of relaxation and solitude helps me create a mental space where I can reflect on bigger-picture goals, upcoming projects, and personal aspirations without the usual distractions. I find that I often come out of these hot-tub sessions with a clearer sense of what I want to focus on next.
Meditation is also a go-to method for me to find clarity during business trips. When I have downtime, I’ll take a few minutes to meditate, especially if I can do it outside where I feel connected to nature.
In these small but intentional ways, I’m able to use downtime to foster both personal and professional growth. Whether it’s a walk, a relaxing soak, or meditation, these practices help me reset, refocus, and approach my responsibilities with a fresh outlook. Taking time for clarity ultimately enriches my travel experience and ensures I’m growing, learning, and thriving even during busy business trips.
Nicole Moreno-Deinzer
Content Creator and CEO, Just Nicole Co.
Read Books and Plan Strategies
Traveling often presents significant pockets of downtime that can be turned into opportunities for personal and professional growth. While whiling away the long hours at airports or during flights, I indulge in reading a variety of books that span from the latest developments in technology to insightful works on leadership and management. This habit of mine has become a mobile mini-library, a resource I tap into to enrich my understanding and stimulate my thoughts.
Another effective strategy I’ve adopted is using these idle times to plan and strategize for my website, MissTourist.com. I reflect upon ideas to engage more visitors, analyze content performance, and devise marketing strategies. Whether it’s reading or strategic planning, I ensure that I utilize travel downtime productively, turning these moments into an enriching journey of knowledge and growth.
Yulia Saf
Founder, Miss Tourist
Engage in Reflective Writing
While on a business trip, I make viable use of idle moments by doing reflective writing. In addition to taking photos during the meetings and networking, I wrote down the observations for about 15 to 30 minutes, approximately. It not only assists me in sorting out the meaningful information I have collected, but also eases me in defining the direction I am heading.
Analyzing activities shows what goals and objectives can be set for personal and professional development in response to my experiences. Besides, while doing so, I found it useful to read literature of the field in which I am involved as it helps me to identify new trends in the market as well as come up with new ideas that I may incorporate at the place of work. Used in combination, this makes travel downtime the best time for self-development.
Mohd Rizwan
Director, Travelosei
Explore Destinations During Downtime
In my current position as a gastrointestinal pathologist, I often travel for work to manage labs and attend conferences. Luckily, there are often conferences in interesting destinations, such as Cape Town, South Africa, and Florence, Italy. If you are in medicine or another profession that has meetings and conferences in various locations, choose a topic that interests you and is in a great location. Joining international societies for your specialty is a great way to stay in the loop.
Even if you don’t get to choose the location, keep an open mind and a curious spirit, and you can find hidden gems anywhere!
I always try to arrive at a destination a few days early or stay a few days after the work portion of my trip is done. This allows me to explore these destinations without taking a separate trip, and the company foots the bill for my plane ticket and for the hotel nights during my work duties.
Before leaving home, I thoroughly research the destination and select a hotel that is close to my work site but is also in a walkable area of the city. This allows me to slip out while on break or during a lecture that does not apply to me and get a taste of the city. If I have a couple of hours, a “Big Red Bus” tour is a great way to get an overview of the location and decide whether I’d like to come back.
If my time is limited, I will at least find time in the evening to explore the destination and sample the local cuisine. One of the best ways to learn about a place is through your stomach!
The key for me is to learn about a place beforehand and figure out what aspects interest me. I can then often make time to squeeze in a few hours of leisure.
Jennifer Do
Travel Agent, Travel Blogger, and Travel Writer, Jennifer’s Path
Set Boundaries for Personal Hours
Setting limits and boundaries to personal hours is essential. If I am traveling for work, I will try to stop work around 7 p.m. as I prepare for my evening meal, eat, drink, relax, read a book, go to the gym, bathe, and go to bed early. I have done the opposite of this for many years, and you just end up living on stress and adrenaline. Burnout is real, and it takes your body a fair while to recover from it.
Set boundaries, give your body and mind time to rest; you will always perform at a greater capacity because of it.
Emma Orr
Business Development Consultant, Winning Business UK Ltd
