Week 5

As I mentioned in my first posting, my job has changed significantly during the past year and travel?both national and international?has become not quite a nuisance yet, but a seemingly unavoidable element of the position. Whether you?re taking classes at your typical brick-and-mortar university or through an online program, like the IMC program at WVU, this can obviously put a damper on the work, school and life balance. This fact became especially evident when I learned recently (last week) that I?d be flying on Saturday, February 23rd to Frankfort, Germany to attend a 360º communications summit with 30+ public relations and advertising executives representing five different countries?both from my company and on the agency side.

The kicker here was two-fold. Not only did I have my Week 6 writing assignment due that Monday, but I was also tasked with what became the presentation of my career! A PowerPoint had to be developed and I needed sufficient time to rehearse my delivery. No pressure, right? What?s more, and to add to the stress of it all, I hadn?t really seen much of my wife or my dogs during the week leading up to Saturday, so that, and the accompanying jet lag made for a trip that forced me to complete a number of deliverables in a very short period of time.

I suppose to make a long story short; you do what you have to do in these types of situations. Surely, I can attribute my military training in the days of yore to influence this mindset, but it has stayed with me through the years. It?s the ol?, ?Suck it up, soldier? mentality that drives you to overcome obstacles as they arise and to simply ?drive on? in the face of adversity, despite the degree in which it presents itself. For those of you that may have found yourselves in a similar situation, perhaps you can relate. I?d be interested in hearing how you may have dealt with it. For those of you that haven?t or may have to in the future, here are some tips that have helped me get through time and time again:

Make a detailed plan. Prepare a well-thought-out list of ?to-dos? before you leave. Be sure to incorporate everything in your list?both for work and for school? while keeping the coming week in mind. Know what is due and when. Print out assignments ahead of time.

Maximize your time. Utilize long flights or layovers to either catch up on offline e-mails or get a jump-start on your schoolwork. Usually the peacefulness is conducive to getting caught up on reading, too. If you?re on a flight that feels like your seated in the middle of daycare filled with underfed toddlers, be sure your IPod with earbuds is readily available. I would have probably jumped out of the plane on the return flight home if I was deprived of either.

Pack accordingly. Ensure you have everything you?ll need at your fingertips (i.e., books, assigned readings, assignments, etc.) just as if you were at home. If you?re traveling overseas, invest in an international converter, too. Trust me, you don?t want to rely on the hotel to provide you an electric converter?they don?t always have them on hand! Oh, and another thing, be sure NOT to overpack. For this last trip I was flying Lufthansa and the weight limit for carry-on luggage is rather low, so do the diligence to reduce your luggage weight at every stop. For example, instead of packing my Direct Marketing book, I actually cut the chapters I had to read with an Exacto knife, paper-clipped them, and filed them in a folder. A bit unusual, I know ? but hey, it worked. Also, bring extra supplies, like flash drives and battery packs, for example.

Maintain your high standards. If you?re an over-achiever-wanna-be like me, you hold your grades and performance in the ?classroom? in high regard. Just because you?re removed from the luxuries of your daily routine, don?t compromise the effort you would normally give because you?ve got a few more pressures to face. Rise above and give it your all. Assume your personal reputation is on the line in each instance. And that?s not to say to sustain that reputation to impress others?do it for your self because you know you can.

Stay connected. It can be pretty taxing to be away from family and friends if even only for a few days. Modern technology is right there with us. If you don?t have cell phone access out of country, buy a calling card. If either are not options, use e-mail. If e-mail is not an option for whatever reason, send a postcard. Or, write in a journal about your days away and share them when you return home. Reaching out in some form helps to remind yourself that no matter how far away you are (this time was almost 4,000 miles), you?re never THAT far.

We?ll that?s about it for now. Would love to see some additions to this list. We could all use the support!

Jamie