consultantsonthego.com

Ok so this may seem like a silly issue that’s not worth your time - think again! My goal is not to just provide generic advice - there are many resources out there, which do just that - but real-life, practical tips in a field that’s challenging enough without the hiccups that abound when you’re on the road. 

1.) LOSING IT!

 This is the scenario - you’re on your first consulting gig, you are all excited, you check in for your flight and figure hey! it’s so much easier to check my bag on these tiny planes with no overhead space. You have a connection to make in, let’s say, Chicago, and you don’t want to be worrying about your bags. You don’t want to do work - you’ll have plenty of that to do later on, you’ll catch a few z’s.

You get to your final destination and guess what? They lost your luggage, and you have a presentation first thing tomorrow morning. Uhm…the catch? Your paperwork is in your bag…yeah, the one that you just checked, that’s right.

 Although avoiding the above may sound like common sense, it happens too often! I’ve seen people check their laptops too, which is something I understand even less. Make sure that you pack well - have your laptop within easy access (you have to take it out during security screening), only check your garments (if you have to check anything), and even then, have a garment bag you can put a spare set of clothing and underwear into (garment bags are easier to stow on the plane).  It is best to keep your important work on a disk or a key chain USB storage device, and have a back up online in case that is lost (or if your laptop is lost/stolen). Online storage is fairly inexpensive and ensures that you are totally mobile - all your work can be accessed no matter where you are.

2.) STUCK IN TRANSIT!

 Ok, this is taken from painful personal experience so listen closely.

 I checked my bags on a flight with a connection. My first flight was significantly delayed, and I missed my connecting flight - the place I was going, however, was out of the way and that was the ONLY flight that particular airline offered that day. I had to be at my client’s however, at 8 a.m. sharp the next morning. Now, when it’s a new client, you do NOT want to regale them with tales of your travel woes, and so I boldly tried to rebook my flight. Well, that didn’t work so well, since the gate agent would NOT rebook me on a different flight without my luggage going with me. The new flight rules require that the luggage list and the passenger lists match i.e. the flight crew may choose to take your luggage off the plane if you’re not on it.

Although you can rebook your flight on a different airline (and pay for a separate ticket, thus doubling your travel costs), you have to make separate arrangements for your luggage, which can be very difficult (due to security concerns). Again, your luggage is as good as lost for a few days which may make all the difference.

The bottom line is to consider your travel arrangements and plan accordingly. As I mentioned above, online document storage, bringing garment bags with spare clothing, or simply packing light are very important. It is often difficult to pack lightly if you are gone for a two week span - which happened to me when I worked in California and commuted across the continent, which is where an apartment instead of a hotel room can be a better option. In any case, checking your luggage is not normally a very good idea, and if you do, be prepared for delays that often happen with air travel.