Nine steps for packing when you travel for work
by Harvard Business Review,
2015-11-19 11:59:09.0
PACKING for a business trip doesn’t seem all that complicated — until you’re planning for a two-week sojourn through multiple climates and dress codes. To make it easier for yourself, consider this step-by-step packing guide:
1. Make a list. A couple of weeks before departure, jot down specific ideas as they occur to you, so you don’t forget them.
2. Assemble your chargers and toiletries. Oral Roberts professor and frequent traveller David Burkus bought two Dopp kits: one is filled with toiletries, the other with chargers and computer cables. He never unpacks them, so they’re always ready to go.
3. Select your shoes. Versatility is key. Consider the advice of Julie Hanna, executive chairwoman of Kiva: "Converse shoes are a staple," she wrote via e-mail. They’re comfortable, and can be dressed up or down. Plan to wear your bulkiest pair of shoes on the aircraft.
4. Choose outerwear that goes with everything. Also, since jackets and sweaters take up a lot of space, plan to wear them on the aircraft.
5. Evaluate and pack your clothes. Start by grabbing the pieces you wear most often. If you can, try to avoid anything that will have to be ironed or pressed.
6. Assemble your on-aircraft necessities. A friend in the State Department who has flown to almost every country in the world always keeps these items together and ready to go: travel pillow, socks, headphones, eye mask and melatonin.
7. Squeeze in anything else you need. Your bags are now probably almost entirely full, so this is the time to take stock and see what else you can fit in. A tiny folding umbrella? A slim book of crosswords?
8. Weigh your bag. Airlines impose limits on how much your carry-on bag can weigh. Weigh your bag by standing on your bathroom scale first with it, then without it.
9. After the trip, revise your list. When you’ve come back from a long trip, unpack methodically, taking note of what you brought that you didn’t end up using, and what you wore constantly.
(Adapted from A Step-by-Step Guide to Packing for a Complicated Work Trip at HBR.org)
© 2015 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp
Picture: THINKSTOCK
PACKING for a business trip doesn’t seem all that complicated — until you’re planning for a two-week sojourn through multiple climates and dress codes. To make it easier for yourself, consider this step-by-step packing guide:
1. Make a list. A couple of weeks before departure, jot down specific ideas as they occur to you, so you don’t forget them.
2. Assemble your chargers and toiletries. Oral Roberts professor and frequent traveller David Burkus bought two Dopp kits: one is filled with toiletries, the other with chargers and computer cables. He never unpacks them, so they’re always ready to go.
3. Select your shoes. Versatility is key. Consider the advice of Julie Hanna, executive chairwoman of Kiva: "Converse shoes are a staple," she wrote via e-mail. They’re comfortable, and can be dressed up or down. Plan to wear your bulkiest pair of shoes on the aircraft.
4. Choose outerwear that goes with everything. Also, since jackets and sweaters take up a lot of space, plan to wear them on the aircraft.
5. Evaluate and pack your clothes. Start by grabbing the pieces you wear most often. If you can, try to avoid anything that will have to be ironed or pressed.
6. Assemble your on-aircraft necessities. A friend in the State Department who has flown to almost every country in the world always keeps these items together and ready to go: travel pillow, socks, headphones, eye mask and melatonin.
7. Squeeze in anything else you need. Your bags are now probably almost entirely full, so this is the time to take stock and see what else you can fit in. A tiny folding umbrella? A slim book of crosswords?
8. Weigh your bag. Airlines impose limits on how much your carry-on bag can weigh. Weigh your bag by standing on your bathroom scale first with it, then without it.
9. After the trip, revise your list. When you’ve come back from a long trip, unpack methodically, taking note of what you brought that you didn’t end up using, and what you wore constantly.
(Adapted from A Step-by-Step Guide to Packing for a Complicated Work Trip at HBR.org)
© 2015 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp
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