London is an incredible city filled with a diverse range of businesses, which is why it’s a popular destination for business and leisure travellers alike.
For business travellers, visiting London can quickly become a chore. When you’re not going home in the evening, not sleeping in the same bed, not eating the same food or working at the same desk, it can get all too easy to switch into vacation mode instead of being in your usual hard-working mindset.
Despite the jet lag, unfamiliar surroundings and the back to back meetings you’ve likely got planned, the good news is that there are some steps that you can take to make sure that any business trip you go on, is a productive one. Keep these tips in mind to help you minimize distractions and get work done, no matter where you are.
Upgrade from a Hotel Room:
Anyone who’s ever tried to work from a hotel room will tell you that it’s certainly not the easiest of experiences. Even if you have a desk, space is limited, and the Wi-Fi might be patchy at the best of times. Plus, you’ve got the noise of all the other guests distracting you. Instead, upgrade your stay and find furnished apartments for rent for a month or more, that you can take advantage of. London’s fully furnished rentals provided by Blueground are ideal for any business trip; you get plenty of your own carefully designed space in a premium accommodation, with a separate living area and bedroom that can help you get more done. Plus, you get a fully equipped kitchen, so you can prepare your favourite meals without having to rely on hotel dining times.
Utilize Technology:
Before setting off, determine which of your gadgets are going to be most useful to you on your trip and pack accordingly. Will you need your laptop for writing projects and spreadsheets, or will your tablet and smartphone do the job? Depending on the purpose of your trip, you might not need to take all your gadgets and leaving some at home will lighten your load. Whatever devices you decide that you need to bring, make sure that you have access to reliable Wi-Fi. If you’re flying, many airlines now offer this as an in-flight service but it’s worth checking, especially if you’re only taking a short flight where it’s less likely to be available.
Keep Up with Your Office:
Keeping up with your normal workload in unfamiliar surroundings and settings is perhaps one of the hardest parts of going on a business trip. It can be difficult to stay on track when your day to day routine is nothing like normal, so one of the best ways to get around this is to keep up with the people at your office regularly. Before you go, meet up with your team to get status updates and review any upcoming deadlines; talk about the upcoming trip and get a plan in place together. Once you’re there, it’s a good idea to spend some time every day catching up with the office; you can do this via video chat, for example.
Familiarize Yourself with Your Destination:
The last thing that you want is to be rushing around stressed out because you’ve got a meeting to get to and have no idea how to get there, so spend some time getting to know your destination both before you set off and once you first arrive. Find out which part of London you’ll be staying in and what’s nearby; figure out how far away the place is from anywhere that you will need to go for meetings and other work-related events to help determine how hard it is to get a cab or whether the nearby public transport will be good enough for getting you from A to B. Of course, you should also see if there’s anything interesting that you could do in your downtime; tourist attractions are always worth the visit.
Be Productive When Commuting:
If you’ve got a long flight or train journey ahead when setting out on a business trip, you can take advantage of this time and really use it to be as productive as possible. Even if you’re not going to have Wi-Fi in transit – pretty rare these days, but it can happen – then figure out what work you can do without needing to be connected to the internet and get that done during your commute. The more you can get done while you’re traveling, the less you’ll have to do once you arrive and the more relaxed and focused you will feel. Signing up for airline or hotel loyalty programs that offer business traveller perks can be a good way to help boost your productivity when traveling; you can take advantage of first-class lounges that provide a quiet and relaxing place to get stuff done while you wait for your flight.
Staying productive on a business trip can be difficult; after all, your routine has completely changed and you’re in unfamiliar surroundings. Keep these tips in mind to help achieve maximum productivity on your next trip to London.
