Hello Lovebugs,
Anxious-avoidant baddies, this one is for you! Today’s topic is work travel anxiety. More specifically, the unique challenges that come with work travel because you cannot opt out. However, the advice shared in this post could be applied to anyone. That’s right, today we will be diving into what it looks like when you are forced to confront the very thing that scares you, under the added pressure of wanting to appear professional and perform. Work travel is actually what originally bridged the gap between being scared and wanting to travel more for me. The first time I ever travelled alone was for work, and although it was extremely scary at the time, I am a much more confident traveller now because that trip laid the foundation for all my travel moving forward.
The Unique Challenges of Work Travel
Work travel can be both a blessing and a curse. Speaking from the anxiety side, it is a blessing because it gives you no way out. One of my most-asked questions is whether I have ever cancelled a trip/how I actually follow through with my trips. Opting out has never been an option for me, and that is my honest answer. I took my first plane ride at 6 months old and have travelled at least once a year every year since. This year is looking to be my most ever, with 10 flights in the last 6 months and at least 6 more planned for the rest of the year. I have only ever travelled with family or for work, so I have never really had the option to cancel a trip because frankly, I have never been the one to book it.
Booking Without an Exit
My best advice for following through with a trip is not to give yourself the option. Choose the flight package that can’t be changed without a fee, book the non-refundable hotel, plan and pre-pay for experiences you can’t back out of. I get that may make your booking anxiety worse (go read my post on anticipatory anxiety to help with that), but avoidance fuels anxiety, so genuinely the only way to get out of the “book a trip, get anxious, cancel, be sad, feel bad” cycle is to go through with it and prove to yourself that you can do it. Exposure therapy, lovebugs, it sucks, but it works.
I know that is not an easy thing to do, so here are some practical things you can do to help you through travel without an exit strategy.
- Book your seat ahead of time – Most anxious flyers have a preference for a window or aisle (let’s be real, no one likes the middle seat). If you are set on one or the other, book it in advance or ask your work to do it for you. That way, you know what to prepare for, and there is one less unknown thing to worry about.
- Confirm the details of your accommodations before you leave – Research where you will be staying, how you will get there from the airport, what’s included, etc. This will allow you to become acquainted with where you will be staying, so it is less of an unknown, and also give you a chance to plan for things you may or may not need to bring/figure out (shampoo, conditioner, breakfast, Uber from the airport, check-in time, etc)
You may not have complete control over the booking process when travelling for work, which is okay. It can actually be nice to have someone handle all of the booking for you. That said, not doing the booking makes it even more important to familiarize yourself with your trip info. Basically, your goal should be to remove as many unknowns as possible before your trip.
Surviving a Flight With Colleagues
A unique challenge that comes with travelling for work is the possibility of travelling with colleagues. These are people you likely want to maintain a certain reputation around and may not be comfortable sharing about your anxiety with. So what the heck do you do when one is seated right next to you that you know will be calm as a cucumber while you are over here white knuckling and the plane hasn’t even left the gate yet?
- Know that you are not alone in feeling anxious about travel. – It is extremely common… that is why we are all here at the end of the day.
- Choose coping mechanisms that can be passed off for any run of the mill day to day thing; play a game on your phone or do a crossword puzzle (I am personally more of a sudoku girl) to keep your mind occupied, write affirmations in a notebook to look like you are journaling or read them off a book mark in an open book, wear jewelry or keep something small in your pocket you can fidget with, wear sunglasses if you are like me and love a pre-take off menty b (AKA a good cry).
- Create your own little world. Most people aren’t planning to chat for the whole plane ride, and they won’t be offended if that isn’t your idea of a good time either. It is okay to put your hood up, throw on some headphones, pop on a sleep mask, or take something and knock out in a deep snooze.
Surviving a flight is hard enough on its own. Add on having to maintain a professional persona, and you’ve got the Olympics of travelling with anxiety. That said, it is important to remember that, for the most part, people are preoccupied with themselves, and most will not look at you weirdly for doing a mindful breathing exercise.
Surviving the Work Trip
Great, you crushed the plane ride! Now we gotta get you through the actual work trip. There are some different things you should consider when going on a work trip that you don’t have to look at so much when on vacation.
- Time off alone in an unknown city. – If you know you will have some evenings or mornings off, or even if you don’t know your schedule going in, do research ahead of time and give yourself a couple of options of things you may want to do. This will eliminate the panic and overwhelm of wanting to do something with your spare time, only to know nothing and no one where you are. Be sure to keep the plans flexible in case you get invited out with your group or just want to catch some extra zzzz in your room.
- Hotel sleep and needing to be on. – Hotels don’t always have ideal sleeping conditions, which sometimes means less than ideal sleep, especially the first night. It is a new bed; there may be different noises from the heat/ac or from the city you are not used to, time changes, sometimes it takes time to figure out your ideal pillow situation, thin walls with loud neighbours, etc. This doesn’t matter as much on vacation, when you can sleep in or take it easy on your first full day there. However, if you need to give a big presentation the next morning and you toss and turn all night because the bed is too soft or the dog across the street won’t let up, you may run into some issues. So come prepared. Bring earplugs, a sleep supplement THAT YOU HAVE TESTED, not the time to try something new. The last thing you want is for it to knock you out so hard you sleep right through your alarm, etc. I have a post on travel sleep success coming soon, so make sure you keep an eye out for that one!
The Backup Plan
Finally, have a backup plan. Notice how I didn’t say “escape plan”-no opting out, remember. By backup plan, I mean if you get overwhelmed on the flight, in a meeting, at a work event, etc., have plans set in place for how you can excuse yourself to catch your breath. Having a plan doesn’t mean you have to use it; however, travel stress and work stress can be a lot to handle, and having a plan that lets you take a moment to centre yourself when you need to can drastically reduce the anxiety of feeling stuck. Remember that just because you are on a work trip doesn’t mean you need to be “on” 24/7; you are still allowed to be human, and ya know, see the sun for a couple of minutes here and there.
Until next week, lovebugs!
P.S. I’m proud of you 😉