“But do not ask me where I am going,
As I travel in this limitless world,
Where every step I take is my home.”
—  Dogen

Travelling light is an art I’ve developed. I do 150 to 200 flights a year and often long haul.

Here are my rules and tips.

1)     Hand luggage only
Why wait for luggage? Why carry more than you need to? And why risk the airline losing your belongings?

2)     Clothes
Take the minimum required: two suits, three shirts, two pairs of socks, washable underpants. Sounds horrific but Under Armour do great, stylish underwear.

3)     Food
Food is perhaps the hardest! Airport and plane food is notoriously bad. I take a drink made up of ground vegetables, protein powder and almonds. I can survive on this if I have to.

4)     Documents, credit cards
Same pocket, same place, every time. If you travel fast, you don’t need confusion or stress of not knowing where things are.

5)     Exercise
A kettle bell is stored in every hotel I stay in. I have 20 bells in 20 hotels. You need to keep fit.

6)     Sleep
Sleep while you can. There is plenty of time for sleeping when you’re dead. Max life!!

7)     Phone
Make sure your phone is set up for everything you need. I use an awesome app called Tripit; it keeps me up-to-date with everything.

8)     PA
You need a great PA if you travel fast. It’s essential and they must know you well. Mine will sleep different hours to help me and knows only to tell me the important things. Even these important things must be timed well. Emails that are timed to remind me also help.

Travel is not only exhilarating, it opens your eyes and widens your perspectives, it teaches you invaluable lessons about yourself and others, and it allows you to develop existing skills and learn new ones.  Therefore, it can only be of benefit to anyone in business.

See the video which tracks a typical week in my life for more details