How to Travel Like a High Performer

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Vacation is usually meant for relaxing, but travel can throw you off the rails if you let it.

Whether you’re going away for business or pleasure, the whole act of “getting there” can sometimes drain your energy. And the last thing you want is to show up at your destination feeling (and looking) like you’ve been dragged through the airport.

Because if you’re there to handle business, you want to step off that plane and be on your A game. And if it’s for pleasure then you want to be able to enjoy your time instead of feeling like you need days of recovery from your travel time.

So, in this article I’m sharing 7 tips so that you can experience more high energy and high performance…even while you travel.

1 – Rest Up

This should go without saying, but I’ll mention it anyway. You have to make sure that you’re well rested the night before a big travel day – especially if you’re traveling across time zones.

Your body will be under some pressure just from traveling through the airport or sitting in a car for hours. To stay refreshed and mentally sharp, so you’re not feeling groggy, be sure to head to bed a little early the night before.

If you’re going away for a while, start packing a few days in advance so that you’re not trying to do it all the night before leave. If you wait until the last minute you’ll be up late at night tying up all those loose ends and you’re more likely to leave something behind. And you’ll probably wake up feeling tired which is not what you want on a travel day.

If you really want take it to the next level use an app like Evernote to create a packing list of all your travel items. My wife is a big planner and she introduced me to this idea.

Now, rather than having to think through all the things I need every time I travel, I just open my Evernote app and work through my checklist. It’s a fool-proof way to remember to grab everything that I need before I head out the door.

And since I don’t have to devote energy toward thinking about what to pack, I usually wrap everything up pretty quickly and I’m able to hit the sack early. That way I set myself up for a great sleep and I wake up feeling great!

If you need tips on how to get a deep, rejuvenating sleep you need to check out the article here for some of our favorite high performance sleep tips.

2 – Fuel Up

The morning before we have a big flight, Erica and I usually have a hearty protein shake. We love to use healthy fats, like avocado and a good protein powder. Here’s a video of her making a good protein shake here.

When you make a protein smoothie the right way it will stay with you for several hours keeping your energy high and hunger cravings away.

3 – Bring Snacks

When you’re traveling, your options are limited. You have access to what’s available in the airport, but if you want to bypass the offer for cookies and pretzels you’re better off bringing your own snacks.

If we know that we have a long travel day, Erica and I will grab a salad with some protein from a decent place in the airport (we like the Wolfgang Puck Bistro in Atlanta).

We’ll have that before we board the plane and break out the snacks while in flight. Especially if we’re traveling with our kids (they’re 1 and 3), snacks are a MUST.

We have a complete list of some of our favorites on our Pinterest Board, here.

4 – Bring an Eye Mask

When I’m traveling to Japan to support our Japanese business, I like to bring an eye mask. It’s tough to get decent sleep on planes because of the ambient noise and light pollution.

If you bring an eye mask, like this one you can block out excess light and fall into a deep sleep much easier. The added benefit of having an eye mask is that you can also use it when you get to your final destination.

Depending on where you’re staying, sleeping conditions in the room may not be optimal. If there’s light pollution in the room it can actually interfere with getting a deep sleep. Many people don’t realize that ambient light from clock radios, electronics and even street lights can lead to sub-par sleep no matter how early you went to bed.

This is why blackout curtains are essential. But if you’re traveling and you can’t be sure that you’ll have them, then the eye mask is the next best thing.

5 – Bring Essential Oils

We don’t travel without our essential oils. They have so many uses and they have been a huge benefit to our health – especially for the kids. Since we’re a family that prioritizes natural and holistic remedies, essential oils are exactly what we need when we’re in transit.

Plus, nothing can change your state like the aroma of pure essential oils.

Here’s how we use them:

– Vetiver and a Grounding Blend to stay relaxed in the airport and in flight
– Immune Protecting Blend to boost our immune system (and our kids’) so that they are well equipped to fight off environmental pathogens as we travel
– Lavender and Roman Chamomile to help the kids calm down and mellow out while we’re in flight (have you ever flown with a 1 year old?)

And there’s many more that we use at our destination, but these are great options for the process of getting there.

6 – Bring Your Hand Sani

If you haven’t heard yet, antibacterial soaps are bad for you. They contribute to the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria and many of them contain harmful ingredients that disrupt hormones.

This is why we don’t use the soaps in airport bathrooms, or public restrooms in general. We bring our own hand sanitizer.

For airport travel when environmental pathogens are high we just use a natural hand sanitizer spray. You can make your own from essential oils or you can use a brand like Dr. Bronners. We love the Organic Lavender Hand Sanitizer that they make.

The benefit of the spray is that you can also use it to wipe down surfaces (like airplane trays) that are not cleaned well. We don’t leave home without it.

7 – Hydrate

Before and after you board the plane make sure you are well hydrated. Nothing can dehydrate you like flying. Since they make us dump our liquids when we go through security, the first stop we make after we get through is to get some bottles of water.

If you’re waiting on the flight attendants to hydrate you with those paltry little cups, think again. You need more than that. So grab a bottle or two – depending on the duration of your flight and sip while you’re in transit and once you deplane to replenish your body and keep energy levels high.

What are your favorite high performance travel tips? We’d love to hear from you! So let us know in the comments below.