Traveling and Productivity
Posted: June 8th, 2007 | Author: saldarji | Filed under: travel | 3 Comments »I boarded a flight to Chicago (ORD) yesterday with the hope that I could catch a connection to Minneapolis (MSP). Apparently there was some weather in MSP, so my connecting flight was cancelled. I tried to rebook for an early-morning flight, but the first availability was at 2:30 PM.
When I got off of the plane and was trying to rebook at the rebooking center, I asked for a hotel voucher. American Airlines refused to give me one because it was a weather-related problem! I was pissed! After I got off of the phone, a nice lady came up to me and said she got a hotel voucher for the same reason at the gate. So for future reference, if you are ever stranded and can’t get a hotel voucher from the re-booking centers, try the gates.
I’ve been keeping track of the amount of time that I spend in the hour and traveling. My productivity has plummeted. I spend a minimum of about 16 hours a week traveling. This week, if you include the time I am in a hotel in ORD, I lost close to 26 hours just getting to and from the client site. I am still getting in my hours at work, but it is KILLING my personal life and my personal productivity. On top of that I am eating unhealthy and not getting enough exercise.
my poor sweet baboo!
I so know how you feel.
I’ve come to recognize that a critical skill is to make that downtime productive, however you can – catch up on podcasts on your mp3 player, read industry journals, compose blog posts for later posting, whatever.
Of course it is often also offline time, but that’s a whole ‘nother problem.
Tracey: I am not your sweet baboo!