By Patrina Pellett, PhD

MSLs travel a lot. Work travel is so fun, especially in the beginning. You feel fancy and get to eat a lot of good food.

Eventually you are dodging polar vortexes and frantically running to be on time to your next presentation. It gets tiring. Here are work travel tips to help make the work travel as stress free and fun as possible. This post is inspired by Sarah Snyder's recent LinkedIn post about winter travel as an MSL in the Midwest.

8 Work Travel Tips for MSLs

1. Set Your Work Travel Boundaries

This is something I learned the hard way after giving a TERRIBLE presentation. My role was 80%+ travel and required flying all over North America to give educational presentations/training at universities and pharma/biotech companies. I had a huge presentation and decided to take a red-eye from Seattle to Raleigh. I wrongly assumed I would sleep on the flight. I didn't sleep at all and then rolled into my huge presentation with a packed room like a zombie. My colleague helped but I vowed to never do that again. And that's how my "no red-eyes" boundary was born.

Determine what kind of work travel helps you be at your best and create and stick to your travel boundaries.

2. Never Check a Bag

This was a fan favorite on Sarah's LinkedIn post. She writes, " Never check a bag, especially when you have a connecting flight. If you need to change airports and fly into a nearby city or fly standby, this helps your chances."

Erika Deppenschmidt recommends non-roller bag carry-ons. This helps avoid the delay when you have to gate check your bag and grab it at the entrance of the plane. This is a great strategy for those that have to take small regional flights and have short connections.

Waiting for checked bags are 20+ minutes of your life you will never get back 🙂.

3. Plan for Delays/Issues

Don't book your meetings back to back when setting up appointments with KOLs. There can be delays, traffic or something totally unpredictable. I once booked 3 back to back meetings at the Yale School of Medicine and West Campus. They are a 10-15 min drive apart and it was so stressful. When I was literally running to my rental car, I thought, "What was I thinking?"

If you have travel in big cities with lots of traffic plan a ton of extra time. I was once late to a really important meeting at UTSW because of horrendous traffic. If I planned a little better this wouldn't have been an issue. Dennis Sholler says, "I try to arrive to my meetings at least 30 minutes prior to what Apple Maps estimates and get some work done before the meeting. This has saved me more than once! 😅" Kelly Gorbe shares her no fail routine, "Wake up early, check the weather, arrive 2-3 hours early at the airport, it hasn't failed me yet. The extra time will keep you calm and allow you to get work done. "

4. Avoid Booking the Last Flight of the Day

It feels extra sad when you are tired from working all day and then your flight, that is the last one of the day, is canceled and you won't make it home. In case this is inevitable, bring enough clean clothes for the flight home the next day. B. Woun Seo also suggests bringing extra medication.

5. Utilize Apps for Up to Date Info

It's important to have up to date info when traveling for work and meeting KOLs. It makes it easier to reach out to reschedule or let people know you will be late. Cassandra Brinkman suggests getting the local DOT apps for traffic conditions in the states you cover. Jon Lyons recommends having several hotel apps in case you get stranded. Sleeping in a bed is way better than in some random spot in the airport! Austin Kershner highly recommends the Flighty app for airline updates faster than what you would get from the airline.

6. Prioritize Your Safety

Don't risk traveling in unsafe conditions to make a meeting. It's not worth it. I once flew into Manchester, NH and needed to drive 3 hours to Dartmouth. A blizzard started right after landing but I still decided to drive. It was so unsafe and stupid of me to do that! Gonzalo Gonzalez and Alicia O'Connor both live in snowy areas and pointed out that KOLs in snowy areas are super understanding of this. Don't risk it!

7. Don't Mess Around: Get TSA-Precheck and/or CLEAR

These services do not cost much and save you buckets of time! Many times credit cards or your employer will reimburse you for the cost. Jake Reeder has a great pro-tip for CLEAR: Make sure the airports you travel to frequently actually have CLEAR. If you travel internationally for work, Global Entry is a must have. You will just breeze through customs and immigrations when entering the US.

8. Chill in the Lounge

Flight delays are inevitable. Chilling in the airport lounge sounds cool and fancy, but the biggest benefit is that it makes it easier for you to get work done (and free snacks!). Some credit cards offer these benefits. Be strategic about which credit cards you get so you can utilize when on the road. Caleb Pepperday recommends the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Conclusion

Make work travel less stressful with these tips. Did I forget your favorite tip? Ping me on LinkedIn!